Page 217 - updated on July

Yu Jihui: “A Stinking Old Ninth – A Tale of the Coal Capital” (updated on July 2020)

“The more knowledge you have, the more

reactionary you will be.” They would argue with

teachers on many occasions. The teachers had to be

very careful with their tongue. One word out of place

and they would be denounced by the students. The

students never listened to the teachers in class. They

made loud noises. They cursed at each other loudly.

They made fun of teachers wantonly. They were no

different from a crowd of hoodlums. To teach these

scoundrels was really a hard job. No wonder all the

people of the society looked down upon teachers and

no girl was willing to marry them. The moment I saw

the students, I would have a headache. But as a

teacher, I had to socialize myself with them. Actually

a teacher was at the bottom of the social ladder. They

were insulted as the Stinking Old Ninths. In the

evening, when I escaped from the school and lay on

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