She, publishing poetry at the age of 4, and a collection of poems at the age of 5;
She was admitted to Peking University at the age of 13, was escorted to Harvard University at the age of 18, and became the youngest doctoral graduate of Harvard University at the age of 27.
As her wonderful life drew to a close, she made a confusing choice:
Married to an American mentor who was 25 years older than her.
She is Tian Xiaofei.
What the hell did this genius go through? What made her break away from the world's vision and marry an old American man who was 25 years older than herself?
Now that 22 years have passed, is Tian Xiaofei still doing well?
Some people are born to be "other people's children" in the eyes of their parents.
Tian Xiaofei is such a person, when children of the same age say unfavorable things, she has become a poet.
Tian Xiaofei, born in 1971, was born in Harbin to a Kochi family, the father of a poet and the mother of a teacher.
Affected by her family environment, she was able to recite poetry at the age of two or three, showing a high literary talent.
In 1975, due to the transfer of his parents' work, 4-year-old Tian Xiaofei came to Tianjin.
Coming to an unfamiliar environment, Tian Xiaofei rarely played with children, but hid in the room all day with books, so that she often forgot to eat. Her mother was distressed and asked her to stop and rest so as not to tire her eyes, and she retorted: "I can't read a book, what is the use of my eyes?" ”
This kind of persistence made Tian Xiaofei quickly stand out.
In 1975, 4-year-old Tian Xiaofei published a poem in tianjin daily that caused a strong reaction, which attracted the attention of writer Liu Xi.
After several twists and turns, Liu Xi finally found Tian Xiaofei's home. Looking at the childish little girl in front of her, Liu Xi was surprised and happy, and then, the two exchanged views on poetry, with the intention of seeing each other and hating the night.
This has become a good story in the poetry world.
A year later, Tian Xiaofei published the poems he usually accumulated, and became famous.
Talented and intelligent Tian Xiaofei, self-esteem is very high, she does not want to stay with her peers, she skipped several grades, at the age of 13, she has read the third year of junior high school, not only excellent courses, but also produced 5 poetry books.
This made many colleges and universities throw an olive branch to her.
In 1984, Tian Xiaofei received an acceptance letter from Peking University, inviting her to study English and American Literature in the Department of Spanish Languages at Peking University.
Tian Xiaofei became the youngest undergraduate student at Peking University, and because of her young age, it was difficult for Tian Xiaofei to have a common topic with the seniors. So she spent all her time absorbing knowledge and lingered in the library of Peking University every day.
Here, she met her lifelong best friend, Cha Haisheng.
This name may be a little unfamiliar to people now, but in recent years, the popular golden phrase "do not live up to Shaohua, take dreams as horses" comes from his pen, and he also has a world-renowned pen name - Haizi.
Like Tian Xiaofei, Haizi also entered Peking University with the aura of "prodigy". Haizi, who was a teacher at Chinese Min University at the time, shared a common topic with her.
The appearance of Haizi, like a beam of light, pointed out the future direction for the 13-year-old Tian Xiaofei.
"If you can persevere, you will be a great poet." Haizi had encouraged her in this way.
In 1988, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Peking University, Tian Xiaofei used his own experience as a material to write "The Encounter of 13 Years old", which immediately caused a sensation and was once selected as a Chinese textbook for middle schools.
"The will is me, and the boat that is not tied is me, even if there is no wisdom, no rope and no sail mast."
For a time, Tian Xiaofei's reputation as a "genius girl" went away.
But Tian Xiaofei could not predict that ten years later, she really became an untied boat, drifting away from her homeland to her hometown.
In 1989, with an imitation of reality, Haizi went to the world of "facing the sea and blossoming in spring".
Why do people who have been encouraging themselves to persevere end up not sticking to it? What is the meaning of life? Tian Xiaofei couldn't help but fall into self-contemplation for a while.
In the two years after Haizi's death, Tian Xiaofei did not write another poem, and she decided to go to the United States to seek the meaning of life in a larger and broader place.
Also in this year, Tian Xiaofei went to Harvard University to pursue a doctorate, becoming the youngest doctoral student in the history of Harvard University.
Here she met Stephen Owen, a professor in the Department of East Asian Studies.
Stephen Owen, though an authentic American, was very interested in classical Chinese poetry and gave himself the Chinese name of "Yuwen Soan".
In the first class, he was attracted by the unique classical temperament exuded by Tian Xiaofei in the first row.
When he learned that the girl in front of him was from China and had the pen name "Yuwen Qiushui", he couldn't help but be moved.
"Yuwen Soan", "Yuwen Qiushui"?
Perhaps, in the darkness, fate begins.
Tian Xiaofei, who had just arrived at Harvard, was also amazed by Stephen Owen's fluent Chinese.
In the subsequent research project, the two discussed the Tang poetry and Song Ci together, from Li Bai to Bai Juyi, from Su Dongpo to Xin Abandoned Disease, the precipitation of culture, more and more thick, two hearts, but also more and more close...
In 1998, Tian Xiaofei successfully obtained a doctorate in literature from Harvard University. On the day of the graduation ceremony, the class organized a tour, and Stephen Owen walked up to Tian Xiaofei and invited her to take a walk together.
He used this to confess to her, although before this, the two had feelings for each other, but neither of them first confided in each other.
Now, Tian Xiaofei has graduated and will face new choices in the future. If you wait any longer, this relationship may end here.
After listening to Stephen Owen's confession, Tian Xiaofei froze, she had a premonition about it, but when all this became a reality, she did not know how to answer.
"I'll think about it!" She said to him.
Can the age and geographical differences between the two be accepted by parents who are far away in China? Tian Xiaofei did not know.
That night, Tian Xiaofei received an email, which was opened by Stephen Owen, with only eight words on it: "Love is like a rock, love is stronger than gold."
After a night of consideration, Tian Xiaofei decided to accept his confession.
When the news reached China, Tian Xiaofei's parents suddenly felt five thunderbolts.
They are all highly educated enlightened people, and they are not opposed to their daughter staying in the United States, nor are they opposed to her finding an American husband, but the husband that the daughter is looking for is older than her father.
The couple chose to deal with it coldly, hoping that one day their daughter would change her mind.
In Tian Xiaofei's view, although she loves traditional Chinese culture, she yearns for freedom and romance in her bones. In the face of fiery love, nationality and age are not a problem, so she launched an ideological offensive against her parents.
Faced with a stubborn daughter, the couple had to acquiesce in the marriage.
On January 1, 1999, 28-year-old Tian Xiaofei finally married 53-year-old Stephen. irving.
After the wedding, Tian Xiaofei changed her nationality, got a green card, and became an American.
This has also been criticized a lot, with her conditions, what kind of young talents can not be found? Why change your nationality and marry an old American man?
Some people also scolded: "Once you were our idol, I didn't expect that in order to climb the branches, you didn't even care about shame, and the motherland cultivated you?" Did your parents raise you for free? ”
Some people also defended her: "As a liberal arts student, in my bones, I am a romantic literary scholar, and I have met a tutor who is like-minded and whose literary attainment is not lower than her own. ”
For these, Tian Xiaofei did not pay attention to them, but threw herself into the work with full enthusiasm.
Tian Xiaofei was originally an assistant professor at Cornell University's School of Chinese Classical Literature, but in order to be closer to her husband, she jumped to Harvard University's School of East Asian Languages and Literatures as a lecturer.
In 2006, in recognition of Tian Xiaofei's achievements in the field of literature, Harvard University promoted her to a teacher, thus becoming the youngest professor of Chinese in the history of the prestigious university.
Various media in the United States also rushed to report on it, praising it as the "goddess of wisdom of the East".
Ideologically, the couple are like-minded, Stephen. Owen was fascinated by Tang Dynasty poetry, while Tian Xiaofei focused more on the culture of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, publishing a number of works such as Beacons and Meteors: Literature and Culture of the Xiaoliang Dynasty and Shenyou: Traveling in Early Medieval Times and Nineteenth-Century China.
With a soul mate like Tian Xiaofei, Stephen. Owen's achievements in the field of Tang poetry have also improved by leaps and bounds.
In 2018, he won the third Tang Prize for Sinology, and accompanied by Tian Xiaofei, the couple also attended a literary seminar at Peking University.
Perhaps because both of them are busy with their careers, for more than twenty years, Tian Xiaofei has not had her own children, and now that she is over fifty years old, I am afraid that she will not have the opportunity to have her own children again.
Now Tian Xiaofei often comes to Chinese universities to promote classical Chinese culture. Appearing in the camera, she has gray hair and a gaunt face, showing an old age that is not commensurate with her age.
Who can imagine that she was once a sensational "genius girl" in China?
Drink water with people, cold and warm self-knowledge.
In the face of love, some people only promise, and finally disperse; some people give up the choice in their hearts and are safe from then on; some people break the routine, boldly pursue love, and live the life they want to live.
Is Tian Xiaofei's choice worth it? As an outsider, we do not rate.
It is worth affirming that for twenty-five years, she has been working on the other side of the ocean to spread Chinese culture, and has not made any negative evaluations of the motherland where she was born.
The love of Chinese culture is rooted in her genes.
Compared with those "Kochi women" who have been exposed on the Internet in recent years, Tian Xiaofei is undoubtedly a clear stream.
In 2011, Zheng Momo, who graduated from Xiamen University, posted on the Internet: "Cherish life, stay away from China", and did his best to carry out various kneeling licks on India and the United States.
Netizens dug deep to find that Zheng Momo was just a second-room married to a so-called "high-caste" family in India, but he showed off in this capacity everywhere.
For highly educated people in the 21st century, this virtue is truly pathetic.
In 2017, in a graduation speech at the University of Maryland in the United States, Yang Shuping, an international student from Kunming, China, made a remark that belittled the motherland and praised the United States:
"I grew up in a city in China where I had to wear a mask whenever I went out, or I might get sick. However, the moment I breathed american air at the airport, I felt free. ”
Just such a flattering performance, but also in the United States in exchange for development opportunities, after returning to China, Yang Shuping, became the object of everyone's avoidance, still unemployed at home.
Looking at the epidemic raging in the West today, her remarks are more like a cold joke.
……
Where the heart is, where the love belongs.
If a person is not patriotic, he will lose the foundation of his feelings and will lose his foothold
。
As for Tian Xiaofei, she just chose her own life, as she wrote in her poem "Lu":
"In the morning and in the night, I am self-destructive, I am not the tears of the stars, nor the shining pearls, I am what I am."
. END .
【Text| Canghai Mingyuesheng】
Edit | Daniel Lee]
【Typography | Drizzle】
Recommended articles in previous issues:
Mao Yanwen, a talented woman in the Republic of China: Ran away from marriage at the age of 16, married a 30-year-old man at the age of 36, and lived to the age of 101
She can memorize poetry at the age of 4, and she can read ancient Chinese at the age of 6, and her talent is not inferior to Lin Huiyin, but she only married at the age of 35