Teenager Tian Xiaofei
Goethe once said, "Independence is a fundamental feature of genius." ”
A truly intelligent genius is never limited to the eyes of others, just like Tian Xiaofei's life, every step has the envy and criticism of everyone.
Tian Xiaofei was born in Harbin in 1971, is an authentic northeastern girl, her parents are literary workers, although not a scholarly door, but contact with literature is bound to predate most of her peers.
Although the guidance of parents is important, but more important is their own interests and qualifications, Tian Xiaofei is indeed as everyone expected, from a young age to Chinese characters and language is very sensitive, only 3 years old has been able to read a thousand words.
When she was four years old, Tian Xiaofei followed her parents to settle in Tianjin, and Tianjin's cultural heritage made Tian Xiaofei excited all the time.
Because his parents are literary workers, many colleagues and friends are also mostly peers, and after seeing Tian Xiaofei, they all think that this is a good seedling.
In such an environment, Tian Xiaofei wrote the first poem in his life, and was accepted and published by Tianjin Daily, although this report did not get much response from readers, but it was already a great encouragement for 4-year-old Tian Xiaofei.
Tian Xiaofei and his father
In the days that followed, Tian Xiaofei continued to improve and show amazing talent, and at the age of 5, he could sit with many writers and talk, and behave more like an adult who had experienced the world.
At that time, many writers thought that this child was very interesting and had unlimited prospects, and even some writers had to find creative inspiration through communication with Tian Xiaofei.
In addition to poetry, the young Tian Xiaofei is also very interested in ancient poetry, and can even be described as crazy.
In Tian Xiaofei's own words, she can feel the author's state, mood and even thoughts thousands of years ago from the words in the poem.
In 1983, when Tian Xiaofei was 12 years old, her parents sent her to Tianjin No. 13 Middle School, just as the so-called gold will always shine, and Tian Xiaofei has long developed the habit of reading every day, which can be described as easy in learning.
Not only has her academic performance, Tian Xiaofei has also been able to do both academic and interesting, and she has never stopped writing over the years and has published five books of poetry.
Tian Xiaofei's writing has gradually matured, and she only smiles at the praise of others, and the most rare thing about Tian Xiaofei is her mentality and mind, knowing what she wants.
Tian Xiaofei, who is constantly shining, also ushered in his first turning point in life, when the admissions team of Peking University was organizing enrollment work in Tianjin and accidentally discovered Tian Xiaofei's works, whose writing was mature and beautiful, which shocked the admissions team.
When the Admissions Team of Peking University approached Tian Xiaofei and asked if she was willing to skip classes to peking university, Tian Xiaofei agreed without hesitation.
In fact, this is nakata Xiaofei's heart, the middle and high school courses are no pressure for her, and it is just a waste of youth to continue to stay here.
In this way, Tian Xiaofei was admitted to the Spanish Department of Peking University and studied English and American literature.
Peking university
This year, Tian Xiaofei was 13 years old, eccentric and talented, coupled with the vigorous state every day, many teachers attached great importance to this little girl.
But when it comes to the trip to Peking University, Tian Xiaofei admits that his biggest gain is to know "Haizi".
Haizi, whose name is Cha Haisheng, is a young genius like Tian Xiaofei, who teaches at the China University of Political Science and Law and is an excellent poet.
Cha Haisheng
It is inevitable that geniuses meet geniuses, but the feelings of two people are more inspired by encouragement.
Cha Haisheng once held Tian Xiaofei's work and encouraged: "If you persist, you must be a great poet." ”
This sentence is very important to Tian Xiaofei, you must know that she was only a teenager at the time, the future road is still very long, full of uncertainty, but with this sentence, Tian Xiaofei also has the motivation to persevere.
When Tian Xiaofei was 16 years old, she wrote "The Encounter at the Age of Thirteen", in which she explained in poetic language how she became a Peking University student step by step, and told everyone that the so-called genius was just an ordinary person.
The day of the 18-year-old coming-of-age ceremony was also the time when Tian Xiaofei graduated from Peking University, and she had already chosen the next road for herself.
Tian Xiaofei graduation photo
That is to accept the invitation to the University of Nebraska in the United States to continue to study literature, just after arriving in the United States, Tian Xiaofei's first thing was to tell her friend the good news of the landing of "Haizi", but the sudden bad news made her unable to help herself.
It turned out to be a good friend of Peking University, "Haizi", who committed suicide, why such an excellent poet and scholar chose to end his life in this way, Tian Xiaofei did not know.
But there was no doubt that this incident hit Tian Xiaofei hard, and she couldn't figure out why this was, she was depressed for several months, and she hadn't written poetry for nearly half a year.
In the end, Tian Xiaofei decided to let time dilute all worries, be a lone brave person in the United States alone, inherit the will of "Haizi", and persist.
In 1991, Tian Xiaofei won a master's degree in English literature, this year she was 20 years old, experienced a lonely drift across the ocean, Tian Xiaofei began to fade the childishness of the body, thinking more mature, more desperate for literature.
Tian Xiaofei then decided to continue her doctoral studies, so she went to Harvard University.
The atmosphere of Harvard University is different from that of Nebraska, which is more free and unrestrained, and here, Tian Xiaofei has been maximized, her writing effect is increasing day by day, and she has published many articles in succession.
Harvard University
People who have read Tian Xiaofei's articles have all been amazed, and since she published the poetry collection "Small Poems on Green Leaves", she has begun to gain countless fans, and readers can only describe her articles and poems as beautiful, and her writing makes readers enjoy it immensely.
"Little Poems on Green Leaves"
It was at Harvard University that Tian Xiaofei met her mentor Steven Owen, who was the head of the Department of East Asian Languages at Harvard University and a doctoral supervisor.
Owen is very good at chinese language and is very interested in Chinese poetry works, and he is also full of expectations for this talented girl from China.
Owen was attracted by her temperament for the first time he saw Tian Xiaofei, and Tian Xiaofei exuded the aroma of books between her hands and feet, and the cultural connotation was obvious in her body.
Steven Owen
And Owen is also a talent, although not the genius of people's mouths, but by hard work, at the age of 26, he got a doctorate from Yale University and then came to Harvard University to teach.
Therefore, Owen has no resistance to a girl with a very cultural temperament like Tian Xiaofei, but he can only suppress his feelings as a mentor and watch Tian Xiaofei's growth from a distance.
Interestingly, Owen also gave himself a new Chinese pen name called "Soan", and Tian Xiaofei's pen name is called "QiuShui", which is the so-called Autumn Water Soan, owen is also reflecting the hope that he will become Tian Xiaofei's destination.
Tian Xiaofei and Steven Owen
But Owen said that in the end, he was more than twenty years old in terms of age, so the two people were not suitable in the eyes of the outside world.
In the past few years at Harvard University, Tian Xiaofei's influence has become more and more prominent, and she is unique in literary creation, although many scholars have a boycott and skeptical attitude towards her articles, but this does not mean that Tian Xiaofei is not an excellent writer.
Finally, in 1998, at the age of 27, Tian Xiaofei received a doctorate from Harvard University, which has never had a student who received a doctorate at such a young age.
In the year of Tian Xiaofei's graduation, Owen invited her to go to the suburbs to climb the mountain, and it was normal for the tutor to take the students on an outing, and Tian Xiaofei did not hesitate to agree.
The two people at the top of the mountain overlooking the earth are full of emotions, on the return trip, Owen thought that Tian Xiaofei was about to go away and fly high, his heart was sour, so he plucked up the courage to confess next to Tian Xiaofei.
Tian Xiaofei
But the wind whistled on the mountain, and when Owen said the key point, he found that Tian Xiaofei actually had no reaction, so he had to silently prepare to drive back.
In the eyes of foreigners, no response is rejection, which makes Owen feel like a knife along the way, because he feels that Tian Xiaofei is not a person who will reject him because of his age.
When Tian Xiaofei was sent to the door of the apartment, Owen couldn't help but ask Tian Xiaofei again, asking Tian Xiaofei: "What are you worried about, what is the reason for your refusal of my pursuit?" ”
Tian Xiaofei suddenly realized, explaining that the wind on the mountain did not hear clearly, but when it came to Owen's pursuit, Tian Xiaofei still hesitated.
Although Tian Xiaofei has lived abroad for many years and is quite independent in all aspects, she still maintains Chinese inherent conservatism in her thinking.
So she told Owen that all the doubts and troubles, including age, were something that had to be carefully considered, but she did not resent Owen and told him that she would consider it carefully.
During this time, Owen tried his best to show his talents, hoping to keep his beloved, for tian Xiaofei, Owen continued to improve in the Chinese language, and wrote a love poem to Tian Xiaofei.
Tian Xiaofei has a superiority, that is, he can feel the emotion of sitting between the lines, and it is very accurate, and this love poem has become the key to touching Tian Xiaofei.
In particular, the phrase "love is like a rock" made Tian Xiaofei feel Owen's emotions from the bottom of her heart, recalling the mutual encouragement and help of the two people in academics and in life, Tian Xiaofei finally chose to walk with Owen.
The following year, Tian Xiaofei became an assistant professor at Cornell University with her outstanding ability, although she was an "intern" professor, Tian Xiaofei's literary level had long exceeded the limits of professional titles, and many students were impressed by her talent.
Tian Xiaofei who talked in class
Tian Xiaofei also deserves to be called a double harvest of love, and Owen also proposed to her on one knee during this period, although Tian Xiaofei reluctantly agreed, but still worried about the attitude of the family.
Because both parents of the Tian family are literary creators and have great respect for traditional concepts, when they heard that their daughter was going to marry a foreigner far away, and she was still a foreigner in her twenties, Tian Father was ten thousand unhappy.
But Tian Xiaofei is not hypocritical to Owen, she feels that Owen is reliable and the two people are soul mates, very common language, so she lists the experiences of the two people on the phone with her parents, hoping to get some relief.
Although Tian Xiaofei's parents are conservative, they are enlightened, since their daughter is so righteous, why should the old man say more?
The half-year-long "tug-of-war" finally came to an end, and Tian Xiaofei's parents still chose to send their most sincere wishes on the wedding day.
Tian Xiaofei and her mother
On January 1, 1999, the 53-year-old Owen embraced the beauty and married Tian Xiaofei, a 28-year-old talented girl.
The wedding took place in New York as scheduled, and the two swore an oath in front of the statue of Jesus that they would not leave each other regardless of life, old age, illness or death.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, Tian Xiaofei is indeed courageous, crossing the ocean alone, choosing a mate in the United States, and also suffering criticism from others, and more importantly, she is one step further away from her hometown.
Because marrying Owen means that from the date of marriage, she is no longer a Chinese national, and in order to live permanently in the United States with her husband, she can only change her nationality.
Tian Xiaofei is creating
But in this way, people who despise Tian Xiaofei in China have seized the handle and made a big accusation against her on the Internet, and for a period of time after marriage, Tian Xiaofei has been living in such a shadow.
Fortunately, after marriage, the two people are very sweet, Tian Xiaofei herself has a very good mentality, this personal attack did not have much impact on her, but stimulated her greater writing potential.
Tian Xiaofei has to write for more than ten hours a day, which can be called a waste of sleep and food to work, Owen in order to take care of his wife's health and taste, self-taught Chinese cuisine, every day does not repeat the same for Tian Xiaofei to cook vegetables to eat, the sweetness does not need to say more.
In 2000, Tian Xiaofei was invited by Harvard University to become a lecturer at Harvard University.
Tian Xiaofei, who is already a lecturer
Although the assistant professor position is greater than that of lecturer, Tian Xiaofei still chose the lecturer position, just to enter Harvard University and continue to feel the atmosphere of free creation.
During his teaching at Harvard University, Tian Xiaofei created many excellent works with the support of Owen, including works such as "Dust Records" that caused great repercussions.
And her works have even had a more or less impact on domestic education, for example, in the poem "Drinking" in the middle school textbook, "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely looking at the South Mountain" was changed to "leisurely seeing the South Mountain".
This small change has a very big effect, Tian Xiaofei believes that the word "see" is more appropriate than "hope", and it can restore Tao Yuanming's state of mind.
"Dust A Few"
Tian Xiaofei's huge energy also quietly soared, becoming the most talented lecturer at Harvard University.
In 2005, Tian Xiaofei was promoted from lecturer to associate professor at Harvard, and from associate professor to professor, all of which were indispensable to Tian Xiaofei's preparation for several years.
This year, Tian Xiaofei was 35 years old, and her students agreed that she was not only gentle and elegant, but also full of wisdom, which made many Americans have a great change in the way of oriental women.
"Oriental Wisdom Goddess" has also become Tian Xiaofei's title in the United States, and her works and fame have truly entered the international world.
Around 2008, Tian Xiaofei and his wife were invited back to China to give academic lectures, and in the face of enthusiastic Chinese students, the two were deeply moved, and they could even feel that they were legends in the eyes of these students.
Tian Xiaofei and his wife did academic research at Fudan University
But for her change of nationality, the domestic discussion has never stopped, some people say that Tian Xiaofei is married to an American, lives in the United States, and takes a salary of US dollars, which has long left the motherland behind.
But Tian Xiaofei strongly opposed this statement, first married to the American because she and Owen two people are like-minded, and have love as the basis, academically can also communicate with each other, in life to take care of each other considerately, this is incomparable to others.
Secondly, even living in the United States has not changed her Chinese heart, including changing to American citizenship, which does not show that she is not patriotic.
Tian Xiaofei also has nostalgia, every year during the Spring Festival, he will contact his family, genius is not cold-blooded, and he is not in the United States to take up a Harvard professorship at all for salary, but to continue to improve his creative ability in a place with a strong academic atmosphere.
However, this transnational love is still not optimistic about many people, but Tian Xiaofei went to the United States alone to study and work hard in his teens, and it has long been common for criticism.
Today's Tian Xiaofei insists on only doing what she thinks is right, living, working, and creating, she is no longer the talented girl that everyone is looking forward to, but a powerful female writer who can stand alone.
Tian Xiaofei with white hair
If Tian Xiaofei must say a regretful thing, then the only thing that cannot be returned to China is to do filial piety for her parents.
But with such an excellent daughter, how can parents not be proud of it, even if they listen to their daughter's voice, they will be satisfied.
Time flies, now the two have been married for 23 years, Owen has also entered the age of ancient rarity, the genius girl of that year also gave birth to some white hair, but the marriage of the two people has been very harmonious.
Unfortunately, because Owen is too old, Tian Xiaofei and his wife have not been able to have a son and a half daughter for more than twenty years, but for Tian Xiaofei, who focuses on academics, this matter is not a big problem.