Renmin University of China is a key national university directly under the central government, with a longstanding emphasis on the humanities and social sciences. As a vice-ministerial institution that prides itself on general education, one would expect its full-time doctoral graduates to possess a certain breadth of cultural literacy. Yet it is genuinely disheartening to learn that one of its doctoral students cannot even distinguish traditional Chinese surnames — going so far as to mispronounce the name of a colleague they have worked alongside for years.

If this is the standard of cultivated talent emerging from one of the country’s most prestigious universities, then one can only sigh in sorrow.

中国人民大学作为一个以人文社科为主的中央直属重点大学，作为一个非常重视通识教育的副部级高校，全日制培养出来的博士居然分不清中国传统姓氏，将共事多年的同事名字叫错，真是呜呼哀哉。