html Cao Yuan, a genius born in 1955, will teach at the University of California, Berkeley. Everyone is impressed by the achievements of this "genius boy".
The report recorded Cao Yuan’s impressive achievements along the way: he entered the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China at the age of 14, went to MIT for graduate school at the age of 18, and graduated with a PhD from MIT at the age of 24.
Cao Yuan, now only 27 years old, is already recognized as a “graphene master” in the academic community.
Such talent and achievements are one of a kind in academia filled with talented people.
But looking at Cao Yuan’s step-by-step growth path, Dumb Dad couldn’t help but think of another Chinese genius: Feng Xiqiao. The name
once shocked the entire academic world and made countless people sigh.
html He studied at Peking University at the age of 117, was admitted to Harvard at the age of 20, and was promoted to professor by Harvard University at the age of 32... Coming from that obscure and simple era, Feng Xiqiao's academic career has been brilliant and has attracted much attention.
But his life ended abruptly at the age of 34, when he was full of infinite possibilities.
01. Heaven is jealous of talents, comets fall
On October 5, 1995, the University of California ordered the entire school to lower its flags at half-mast and observe a moment of silence.
This move confirmed the fantastic news in the newspaper: Physics genius Feng Xiqiao ended his life in Paris.
On the same day, Li Zhengdao, the Chinese Nobel Prize winner in physics, sent a message of condolences with a heavy and sad tone:
"Xi Qiao is one of the leading physicists of his generation. Without him, the world of physics has lost a bright star. Rising star."
Mr. Li Zhengdao is not exaggerating. In the academic circle at that time, Feng Xiqiao was a well-deserved star.
His extraordinary star shone brightly in his youth.
1977 was the first year of the resumption of China’s college entrance examination. Many people were eager to try it with a sense of luck, but many more were afraid to move forward because of insufficient preparation.
Feng Xiqiao was 17 years old that year and was in his second year of high school.
His intelligence far beyond his peers was noticed by his teacher. When he learned about the resumption of the college entrance examination, the teacher immediately suggested that he prepare for the exam.
Feng Xiqiao took a photo with his family. Left 2 Feng Xiqiao
Feng Xiqiao did not intend to quit because of his age. Instead, he showed a determination to win.
The result lived up to expectations. Feng Xiqiao was admitted to the Department of Physics of Peking University in one fell swoop, and since then he has started a bright life.
Back then, teaching resources were scarce, and teachers mostly wrote textbooks while giving lessons to students with handwritten manuscripts and photocopies. Feng Xiqiao learned eagerly under such conditions and spent almost all his spare time in the library studying hard.
He will be secretly excited because he has learned a knowledge point, and he will also anxiously ask the teacher for help because he cannot solve a difficult problem.
In academia, talent alone is not enough. Feng Xiqiao has long understood this truth, so he never misses every opportunity while working hard.
When Feng Xiqiao was a junior in college, it happened that Li Zhengdao returned to China to facilitate Sino-US educational exchanges.
With the support of Li Zhengdao, registration for the first China-US Physics Graduate Examination (CUSPEA) has begun. Students who pass the examination can go to the United States for further study.
This news shocked the entire Peking University, and Feng Xiqiao was no exception. But at that time, he was only an undergraduate and had not completed his professional courses. His knowledge reserve was far from the examination requirements.
But Feng Xiqiao signed up without hesitation. Because he knows that if he wants to succeed, every second counts.
During the preparation period, Feng Xiqiao studied quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics by himself day and night.
There is no room for respite when competing with difficult physics knowledge. When he was under great pressure, he couldn't sleep well for a week and almost had a nervous breakdown.
At this time, Feng Xiqiao still didn’t know that he was about to face the doctoral qualification examination in the Department of Physics of Columbia University.
This difficult exam lasted for 16 hours. Feng Xiqiao was almost exhausted after leaving the examination room.
But the result was beyond everyone's expectation. Feng Xiqiao, who was only 20 years old, beat all the candidates and got the first place in Peking University and the fourth place in the country.
In the subsequent interview, Feng Xiqiao spoke authentic English and answered questions fluently, which won the favor of the interviewer.
The other party expressed his approval straightforwardly: "Feng Xiqiao will become the world's first-class scholar in the future."
Later, Feng Xiqiao only spent three years to turn the interviewer's "prophecy" into reality.
02. Genius boy, growing up in love
In 1980, Feng Xiqiao successfully entered Harvard for further study.
At that time, most Americans had a stereotype of Chinese students, thinking that the "poor students" from China were dull and boring, and were "nerds" who could only study hard.
But Feng Xiqiao changed their minds greatly.
In the serious and boring classroom, Feng Xiqiao is extremely talented and at ease, and is favored by the teacher.
When it comes to the social scene of young people, he is just as comfortable as a duck in water - he is good at ballroom dancing, violin, and swimming. He also organizes art exhibitions, concerts, Chinese tables and other activities from time to time, making him the focus of academic leaders.
But having said that, the reason why Feng Xiqiao has "eighteen kinds of martial arts" must be attributed to his family.
Feng Xiqiao was born in a scholarly family in Beijing. His ancestors have accumulated profound family knowledge, and his parents are also highly educated.
His father Feng Zhoupeng is the chief engineer of the State Economic Commission, and his mother Shen Wenyun is the director of thoracic surgery at the 304 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
Feng Xiqiao is the eldest son in the family. He also has a younger brother named Feng Yiyi, who is six years younger than him. He was smart since he was a child and later got admitted to the Automation Department of Tsinghua University.
Feng Xiqiao showed talent like a "child prodigy" when he was very young. He was able to read and read at the age of two. He picked up a pen at the age of two and a half and started learning watercolor painting from his grandfather, and he was able to paint with style.
However, although Feng Xiqiao was very intelligent, his family did not ask him to make achievements in art. They just hoped that he could enrich his life and broaden his horizons.
So when 7-year-old Feng Xiqiao showed interest in the violin, his parents also fully supported him and bought his son a violin at a high price without saying a word.
But in that environment at that time, violins were easy to obtain, but piano scores were hard to find.
In order for Feng Xiqiao to learn the piano smoothly, his mother and grandfather had to go to great lengths to borrow the piano scores and copy them by hand. Copying music scores requires patience. My mother and grandpa divided their labors and cooperated. They first drew the staff carefully, and then copied the notes one by one.
The stack of manuscripts finally handed over to Feng Xiqiao was filled with the sincere love of his family.
Because of his special piano learning experience, the violin later became an indispensable spiritual companion in Feng Xiqiao’s life.
Growing up in such a comprehensive love, Feng Xiqiao not only was able to give full play to his talents, but also had rich and delicate emotions.
While studying at Harvard, Feng Xiqiao, with his charming personality, quickly won the appreciation of his teachers and the trust of his classmates. At the same time, his talent in scientific research made him far behind his peers.
html When he was 123 years old, Feng Xiqiao published his first academic article in "Physical Review Letters", which was cited more than 300 times while reading.
While his classmates were still worried about courses and papers, Feng Xiqiao completed all the courses in half the time and became a residential counselor for undergraduate students.
During his doctoral period, he won the highly valuable Harvard Outstanding Graduate Award.
In 1986, 26-year-old Feng Xiqiao successfully graduated from Harvard and was immediately appointed as an assistant professor by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
At UCLA, Feng Xiqiao gradually reached the pinnacle of academics. Not only did he publish dozens of articles every year, he also became a young teacher loved by students.
A great future was spread out in front of him, and it was a smooth road at a glance.
03. Hurt by love? The cause of death is a mystery
In the eyes of the outside world, Feng Xiqiao, who was in his thirties, was both a highly anticipated academic genius and a cheerful young professor. People in the circle were full of praise when they mentioned him.
No one wants to believe that 34-year-old Feng Xiqiao would suddenly end his life in such a decisive way.
In September 1995, the Paris police reported this sad news: 34-year-old Professor Feng Xiqiao was confirmed to have passed away at the home of a French colleague. After the news of
was confirmed, the entire academic world was shocked.
During the eight years he taught at the University of California, Feng Xiqiao published more than 80 papers, and his scientific research achievements attracted the attention of the industry. Having achieved such results at such a young age, he has high hopes from countless people, and some seniors even firmly believe that he can win the Nobel Prize.
But now, all expectations have come to nothing, and the end of life has ruined all possibilities.
While everyone is feeling sad, there are also more and more speculations about the cause of Feng Xiqiao’s death. Although there is no conclusion yet, among the different opinions, the most credible theory is that Feng Xiqiao was trapped by love.
To be more precise, Feng Xiqiao could not accept his repeated emotional setbacks.
In the article "My American Girlfriend and Me" left by Feng Xiqiao, we can get a glimpse of the clues that this proud man was hurt by love.
The girlfriend Feng Xiqiao mentioned was an alumnus of his from Peking University. The two have a common academic background. After studying in the United States together, they continued their studies at two prestigious schools.
However, due to heavy schoolwork, Feng Xiqiao and his girlfriend spent less time together and separated more, and their relationship gradually became estranged.
Feng Xiqiao, who was devoted to scientific research, received a breakup notice from his girlfriend unexpectedly in his third year in the United States.
The breakdown of this relationship almost made Feng Xiqiao collapse. He said: "This incident was the heaviest blow in my life. I was confused at the time and didn't know how to start."
Later, he could only use academic research To numb and heal the scars in my heart, I did not dare to try love easily.
It was not until he made a major breakthrough in the medical physics research of "near-infrared light imaging" that Feng Xiqiao gradually regained his confidence and slowly tried to contact American girls.
In 1991, when Feng Xiqiao was 30 years old, he met what he considered to be the "love of his life."
The other party is a third-year top student at the University of California Law School, and his personality matches Feng Xiqiao quite well.
It is said that traveling is the best way to test your partner. Feng Xiqiao once visited Europe with his American girlfriend, and they got along well and harmoniously. After the trip, the two soon decided to live together.
After living together for nearly two years, Feng Xiqiao thought it was time for their relationship to enter a new stage, so he took the initiative to propose to his girlfriend, who also agreed.
What followed was the engagement and preparations for the wedding, everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But unexpectedly, when Feng Xiqiao was fully prepared to welcome a new life, he got the news that his fiancée had cheated on him.
Like a bolt from the blue, Feng Xiqiao's mood suddenly fell into a low point: "We have lived together for more than two years, so this is the second big blow to me, and I feel very depressed."
It has been smooth sailing since he was a teenager. Feng Xiqiao blamed himself for the failure of his two relationships.
Ruminating over and over again about his emotional wounds but still unable to reconcile with himself, he finally chose to jump off the 15th floor in despair, ending his short but glorious life.
04.
In fact, it is one-sided to use "emotional injury" to summarize the cause of Feng Xiqiao's death.
For Feng Xiqiao, emotional injury is just an inducement and a trigger. What really pushed him to death was his uncontrollable inward attack.
The outside world praised Feng Xiqiao as a favored man and a physics genius, but he doubted himself after being emotionally frustrated. This huge gap between external aura and self-denial can easily destroy people.
A phenomenon is described in the book "Excellent Sheep". Among Stanford University students, there is a term circulating - "Stanford Mad Duck Syndrome".
means that a leisurely duck seems to be floating carelessly on the lake, and the water is calm. But under the water that we can't see, the duck's paws are flapping wildly.
To borrow a sentence from the Internet to describe it: you have to work very hard to look effortless.
Ordinary people are like this, and geniuses are probably no exception.
Behind
’s remarkable achievements, the young genius may not be as easy as he seems. Just like the hard work of lighting a lamp and boiling oil when preparing for the CUSPEA exam, Feng Xiqiao later achieved impressive scientific research results and must have withstood the huge pressure that was never known to everyone.
For us ordinary people, Feng Xiqiao’s short life of 34 years is not only regrettable, but also has extremely profound warning significance.
There is no perfect life in this world, but every moment of life is a gift.
What is more important than the pursuit of perfection is to discover the joy of life and the true interest of life, to construct oneself in dialogue with the world, and to establish an inner connection with everything.
I hope we can all move forward solidly and live this life seriously.
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