It is a realistic novel focusing on the inside story of professional title evaluation in China's education system. The story centers on Chen Dehai, a fifty-eight-year-old teacher from Mingcheng No. 1 Middle School. He tells the story of his 35-year teaching career, where he led fourteen graduating classes and three city college entrance examination top scorers. However, he repeatedly failed in the senior professional title review because he was not good at coaching and refused to give gifts. The whole book is not only a profound reflection on the education system, but also a tragic hymn about dignity and perseverance. It allows people to see: in the siege of professional titles, some people fall, some struggle, and some refuse to bow their heads until death.
