Why Is It So Hard for Chinese Students to Learn Physics and Coding Effectively

Recently, my former teacher asked his third-year students in a Laser Principles course (who had already studied electromagnetism/electrodynamics) to write Maxwell’s equations on the blackboard from memory. Whoever could do so would earn full marks for their participation grade.But no one could.

It’s worth mentioning that this university is an average institution in mainland China, and the students are mid-level undergraduates. The program is in the field of physics education.

Intro

Maxwell’s equations are among the most famous in the world of physics, and virtually everyone who has studied a university-level science course will have heard of them.

• Gauss’s Law (Electric Field):

  • Principle: Electric field originates from electric charges; the more charges, the greater the divergence of the electric field.

• Gauss’s Law (Magnetic Field):

  • Principle: No magnetic charges exist; magnetic fields are closed loops.

• Faraday’s Law of Induction:

  • Principle: Changing magnetic fields produce electric fields.

• Ampère-Maxwell Law:

  • Principle: Electric currents and changing electric fields produce magnetic fields.

Unless I ask you to use a system of equations to solve practical problems by transforming the form according to actual conditions, I believe that writing a system of differential equations based on basic definitions should not be difficult if you have a mathematical foundation.And here is my point:basic definitions & mathematical foundation.

Why Is It So Hard 

In Chinese primary and secondary schools, the main goal of studying is often to pass exams, so mechanical memorization plays a role in helping students secure admission to universities in China. However, this approach significantly stifles their long-term development, particularly in terms of creativity and the interpretation of existing theories. In fact, when students engage in rote memorization, they often incorporate their own mistakes. A recent example is the debate in Chinese communities about whether 9.8 or 9.11 is larger—this comparison is fundamentally flawed because the precision beyond the decimal point differs. Only 9.80 and 9.11 can be meaningfully compared.

So,when they study Maxwell’s equations, instead of understanding the fundamental relationship between electricity and magnetism, they merely memorize symbols: a nabla symbol, a dot, an electric field vector equals a fraction, and so on. This mechanical repetition continues without grasping the deeper physical principles behind the equations.

This phenomenon is very common in regular universities, where these students fail to acquire useful knowledge or skills. Their daily focus is solely on achieving the minimum passing grade required for graduation. As a result, they eventually become ordinary employees in society, without having fully developed their potential.

And CS major student are like to learn coding in this way.The keep remember everykey words(kind like “int” “if”) in “Chinese”.They will translate everything into Chinese and wonder what is that rather than think in original language.

My suggestion

Educators and companies alike must take this phenomenon seriously. In science and technology, rote training will never contribute to meaningful innovation in China. It is essential to explore better academic evaluation methods (currently, China’s comprehensive assessment system is largely ineffective, serving as little more than a formality).

The government should collaborate with businesses to create job opportunities that provide students with practical skills training, rather than having schools randomly assign companies to host interns who merely complete tasks. Given that China’s economic system is primarily state-owned, why not place more interns in public enterprises to gain real-world experience?

 Companies should also prioritize skills over academic performance or the prestige of an institution when recruiting talent.