In the year 2000, primary school students sat attentively at wooden desks while their teacher stood at the front of a Shanghai classroom. Light from tall windows fills the room, illuminating the students' faces directed toward instruction and reinforcing the framework of formal education.

The photograph depicts a conventional classroom environment marked by orderliness and discipline. At the beginning of the 20th century, education continued to act as a stabilizing force in daily life, with repetition, attentiveness, and presence constituting its fundamental influence.