Many young people busy themselves with getting professional certificates after graduating.
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history
考证 was the methodological core of 清代 (Qing dynasty) 考据学 (kǎojùxué, evidential research) — scholars like 顾炎武 and 戴震 reconstructed classical texts through philological evidence. The modern slang sense ('grinding for licenses/certifications') is a pun on the same characters.
usage
Among young Chinese in the 2010s+, 考证 most often means 'go after professional certificates' (CPA, lawyer's license, teaching cert). The classical 'textual scholarship' sense survives mostly in academic writing.
