What happens when gaokao collides with the Internet? One consequence is the demise of Internet language, at least in Henan and Guangdong provinces.

Before the two-or three-day gaokao (or national college entrance exam) from Sunday, the two provinces' education authorities specifically forbade students from using "Internet language" in the exam. This shows how reluctant some educators are to accept the flow of the times.

All languages, including Chinese, have to keep evolving or they would die. True, the modern Chinese language has its origin in ancient Chinese, but it has kept developing by absorbing words and expressions from other languages. For example, The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (1881-1936), which is part of Chinese textbooks, has an important remark on the impact of foreign language.