Two brothers who never spent a single day in primary or secondary school have been admitted to universities thanks to years of home schooling from their grandfather.

Zhao Meisheng, 21, and Zhao Yusheng, 23, were born to a farm family from Fangchang County, east China's Anhui Province, on the southern bank of the Yangtze River.

The boys did not receive any formal schooling when they were of school age. "It was not mandatory for children to go to school those days; besides, there were not enough schools for all the children in the county," said their father.

But the youngsters shocked the family when they demonstrated the ability to read and remember Chinese characters in traditional literary works at the tender ages of four and six, Zhao Sr. said.

After that, their grandfather, a former primary school teacher, taught them at home. He put nametags on everything in the house: furniture, food and kitchen utensils were all marked with their names to help the brothers remember the complicated Chinese characters.

When they were only 10 and 12, they passed the national English test for college students.

In 1992, their grandfather encouraged them to sit for the national college entrance exam, and the two have worked toward that goal ever since.

In 1996, Zhao Meisheng was admitted to the Chinese University of Science and Technology. By the end of his undergraduate studies, he was accepted by the graduate school of the university.

Zhao Yusheng's dream of college came true in 1998, when he was admitted to the Chinese University of Oceanography.

(People's Daily 09/14/2001)