In 2009, the Jinzhou courier was delivering a doctoral acceptance letter from Fudan University, and the owner of the acceptance letter was a three-wheeled driver!
"Cai Wei! Is Cai Wei at home? Here is your Doctoral Admission Letter from Fudan University. With the voice of the courier, the neighbors heard the sound and talked about it.
"Isn't Cai Wei a stall maker?" When to go to the Ph.D. exam. Courier, did you send it wrong? We live here with a man named Cai Wei, but everyone else is almost 40 years old and has been in school for more than 20 years. ”
Cai Wei
After the courier took another look at the admission notice to confirm that the address was correct, he was also very confused, and he had no choice but to wait for Cai Wei to confirm. At this time, Cai Wei, who was pedaling three wheels, heard a neighbor say that someone had sent him a doctoral admission letter, and immediately rushed home.
The courier looked at the sweaty, ragged middle-aged man in front of him and was also half-convinced, and after checking the information for half a day, he handed over the admission letter to Cai Wei. Before this, the name Cai Wei was just an ordinary symbol in the eyes of the people around him, which was no different from A, Ethylene, and All Sentient Beings.
So what's going on in between? How did a three-wheeled coachman get a doctoral acceptance letter from Fudan University?
The student era that fell off the list
Cai Wei was born in 1972 in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province. His parents were ordinary workers, never went to school, and didn't read much. Therefore, in order to maintain normal daily expenses, Cai Wei's parents did not invest money in cultivating Cai Wei's interests and hobbies.
Even from the day Cai Wei was born, his parents' attitude towards him was to hope that he would spend his life peacefully, and there was no excessive restraint on him, resulting in Cai Wei taking care of himself, and his interests and hobbies all depended on his mood.
Even so, Cai Wei's desire for books has been evident since childhood, Cai Wei likes to read, he often pestered his father to go to the unit to stamp, with the qualification certificate letter to jinzhou library to apply for a library card.
Old time library card
After that, Cai Wei read books larger than his face when he was fine, and Cai Wei appeared in the library almost every day, no matter the wind and rain. The library contains some precious and rare books, which are not lent to the outside world.
This made Cai Wei more interested in him, and under his soft and hard bubble, the librarian allowed him to enter and copy books. In the midst of this accumulation day after day, his reading volume is increasing rapidly.
When he was in elementary school, his interest in chinese was extremely strong, and the texts that others avoided were like puzzles in his opinion, and he was interested in translating and understanding them.
At that time, even his teacher encountered unfamiliar words that he did not understand and did not understand, and his teacher's first reaction was to ask Cai Wei, his own student, as if Cai Wei was a "living dictionary".
Reading youth
Cai Wei said: "Back when I was in high school, I was first interested in classical poetry, and I read it, and then I found Jiang Lihong's "Yifu Continuing Marten", and after reading it, I was particularly interested in it. After that, I found all the language and writing books in the library to read one by one, anyway, after that, the carefree time of looking for books and reading books in the library all day made my knowledge expand, my horizons improved, and I also recognized what I wanted to pursue and what my hobbies were. ”
In just over a year, Cai Wei has read nearly 300 books in the library.
These behaviors and habits have laid the foundation for Cai Wei's future research on ancient books, and at the same time, they seem to have laid an indissoluble relationship with the study of ancient texts.
As Cai Wei grew older, his learning problems were slowly exposed, and although Cai Wei's Chinese scores were among the best, his science results became a stumbling block on his road to success.
The college entrance examination is not only a subject of language, cai wei has a serious bias. His science grades sometimes only take a dozen points! Therefore, in the 1991 college entrance examination, Cai Wei undoubtedly fell off the list.
Cai Wei had planned to re-study for a year and take the college entrance examination again, but his class teacher told him: "You are so serious in subjects, it is useless to repeat your studies, and you are doomed to keep up with the university." When the class teacher said this, wanwan did not expect that the person in front of him would not only go to college in the future, but also get a doctoral diploma or a doctoral student at Fudan University.
But at that time, Cai Wei did not know that he could achieve such achievements in the future, and his heart was hit. Helplessly, after his self-esteem was frustrated, Cai Wei could only leave school with a high school diploma and begin to enter the society.
Mediocre youth
Since he did not enter the university, Cai Wei, like other young people who failed the examination, began to support his family. "I originally wanted to swim in the ocean of words, and the horizontal and vertical lines of words were deeply imprinted in my mind like symbols, and I was willing to treat them."
Cai Wei's parents said, "If you don't get in, you don't get in, it means that we don't have the life to go to college, you go to work in the hose factory near our house, work well." Cai Wei listened to his parents and became a worker working in a hose factory. In the three years that followed, Cai Wei lived a nine-to-five job.
"This headless day is really boring and boring." Cai Wei complained to his fellow workers in the hose factory. However, Cai Wei slowly found that the factory implemented the "three shifts", and Cai Wei could use the shift to continue studying.
factory
This made Cai Wei gradually develop a feeling of satisfaction, and he did not give up his interest in ancient books, as if he had found a new goal in life. So Cai Wei used the shift time to read in the library, during which Cai Wei read the collection of books related to paleography.
"Curator, I'm really interested in these books and really want to read them. In this way, I would like to volunteer in the library and be responsible for sorting out the books in the library. "Curators need someone to sort out and fix these books and I think I can."
Similar words are Cai Wei's words of prayer to the curator, just to be able to read those treasured books. The curator was also touched by Cai Wei's insistence and agreed to Cai Wei's copying of the ancient book.
note
Working in a hose factory has an advantage, the hose factory has a lot of waste materials such as form paper, Cai Wei collects the discarded form paper and binds it into a book to transcribe what he reads in ancient books and what he feels and understands.
On the one hand, the cost is reduced, and on the other hand, the material is saved. Cai Wei used this method to excerpt.
Cai Wei said, "At that time, my family life was not very rich, and I couldn't always buy that kind of book to take notes. Basically, a book takes a lot of notebooks to copy completely.
For example, "Erya" took me more than 20 days, and using my own bound form book can not only be bound by myself, but also easy to save. ”
Cai Wei kept the notebook he had copied slowly, and soon one notebook after another was piled up under his bed and the corner of the wall.
The days when I could continue to study in my spare time lasted only three years. Three years later, the hose factory was poorly managed, resulting in the hose factory's income getting worse and worse, ushering in the end of bankruptcy. With that, Cai Wei was laid off! There was no way for Cai Wei to find another way out.
Cai Wei has no background, no education, and his thin body cannot do hard work, so the young Cai Wei first made steamed buns in the back kitchen of the canteen.
"Cai Wei, hurry up and finish this cage of steamed buns, it's almost noon!" "Cai Wei quickly brushed away his rice bowl and tools." And a series of miscellaneous goods pressed on Cai Wei.
Finally, after working in the back kitchen for a few years, Cai Wei had some savings and began to consider changing his livelihood. After careful consideration, Cai Wei chose a wind-blown but low threshold of hard work - setting up a stall.
stall
"I went to the market at that time, picked for half a day, and bought a tricycle at a good price. Then I went to the wholesale market to buy a batch of goods, usually tobacco, alcohol, sugar and tea, and in the summer, I also bought some ice cream to sell in order to do business. Cai Wei set up a stall in front of a shopping mall in Jinzhou.
Such a day lasted for ten years, during which Cai Wei also did not give up the habit of reading secretarial notes, and without the waste paper of the hose factory, he began to use the discarded cigarette box to make notes.
He carefully unwrapped the cigarette case he had picked up and copied it using blank parts. When he saw this move, when some guests came, he couldn't help but ridicule: "Oh, can you understand it, and write ancient texts." ”
In the face of the ridicule of the guests, Cai Wei always laughed, Cai Wei said: "At the beginning, people ridiculed you, saying that it was false to say that they were not uncomfortable in their hearts, and if they listened to it more, they would get used to it. You can't always turn your face to others, and if others don't understand, they don't understand. After that, Cai Wei continued to immerse himself in his own world.
Wedding
After a few years of such a day, Cai Wei's parents also began to worry about their son's lifelong events, and it was also introduced by the matchmaker that Cai Wei and his wife who was a publisher in the newspaper became acquainted, fell in love with each other, and soon came together.
"He never wanted to make money, his nature is really not a business material, when selling things, he only looks down at the book, and does not bark, so how to do business." 」 In his wife's view, Cai Wei's eczema is not suitable for setting up a stall as a small trader.
"My family can't understand what books I usually read and what words I'm copying." But they will not oppose and interfere with my problems and habits, and they will come with my nature without spending money anyway. Although no one interfered with his hobbies, Cai Weikong had a belly of ink, and the harvest of his brain was not shared, which made him feel a little lonely.
Once Cai Wei just tied the book and the incubator together and put it on the tricycle downstairs, and did not pay attention for a while, the incubator and the book were stolen together, which made Cai Wei wither for several months.
Married for more than ten years, the couple lived in a small two-bedroom apartment, the house is the kind of wall and floor that is not decorated, the house does not even have a few decent furniture, the only thing that can be taken out is the books that Cai Wei has accumulated over the years.
For more than ten years, the money earned by the usual stall is only enough for daily expenses, and the family cannot even pay the heating bill in winter. In such a situation, Cai Wei's wife still supports her husband.
Perhaps, the heavens were also touched by Cai Wei's perseverance, and arranged his "encounter" with the guoxue masters.
Qiu Xigui
"Encounter" with the Giants of Guoxue
Beginning in the 1990s, Cai Wei began to turn his attention to the "Internet", especially a website called "Guoxue Network".
So Cai Wei "hemorrhaged" once, biting his teeth to buy a second-hand laptop.
Began to use the computer on the website to communicate with like-minded netizens, in Cai Wei named "Bao Xiao" in the Guoxue network to register an account.
The reason why this name still has a certain deep meaning is because "Zhixiang Primary School" and "Primary School" is the meaning of ancient Chinese philology, phonology, and training.
Cai Wei initially used the telephone line to surf the Internet, but after each network, he first hurriedly checked whether the forum and mailbox received a reply, and then he then stepped back and unpluged the network cable, because the telephone bill would cost a lot each time.
But even so, Cai Wei still spends a lot of phone bills every time he goes online. So Cai Wei changed his strategy and began to surf the Internet in a nearby Internet café. Although the price is not small, it is more suitable than every time the network cable is hurriedly pulled.
Usually, when Cai Wei is in the Internet café, he is surrounded by a group of young people playing games, and Cai Wei's appearance is incompatible with the young people playing games around him.
During his time in the Internet café, Cai Wei met Qiu Xigui, a professor at Fudan University who studies ancient documents and ancient characters, through the Internet. Cai Wei had read Mr. Qiu Xigui's works as a student and had long admired his name.
So Cai Wei wrote a long letter in 1995, expressing his research and views on ancient texts. Unexpectedly, a dozen days later, he really received a reply from Qiu Lao's predecessor.
Professor Qiu replied in the letter: "You are really good to the traditional 'primary school', regardless of utilitarianism, hard work, which is very admirable." Even after many years, Cai Wei recalled the reply and was still deeply impressed: "The content of this letter can now be memorized." ”
"Because the past ten years have been self-study times that no one understands, Professor Qiu's words have given me an affirmation and given me the motivation to persevere." Cai Wei felt as if he had been shouting in the empty valley for so many years, and now he finally received a precious echo. This letter has been properly preserved by Cai Wei and has become a force that motivates him to move forward.
epistle
On March 15, 1996, Cai Wei received an invitation from Professor Qiu and rushed to Beijing alone to meet Mr. Qiu Xigui for the first time.
"Although this trip to Beijing was not long, the exchanges with Professor Qiu during this period benefited me a lot and gave me the motivation to move forward."
In January 1997, Professor Qiu Xigui of Fudan University published an article entitled "<神乌赋>Preliminary Investigation" in the "Cultural Relics", in which he mentioned the Jian Mu article "Shen Wufu" about the excavation of Yin Wanhan's tomb, and there was a word in the title that "Zuozi" did not mean anything about it.
After reading the article, Cai Wei wrote a letter to Professor Qiu after thinking about and flipping through the books to inform Professor Qiu that "Zuozi" should be read as "嗟子", that is, "嗟嗞", which is a sigh.
Professor Qiu's views opened up and continued to study in depth on his views, and finally Professor Qiu published an article in the third issue of "Cultural Relics" in 1998, which published ""Zuozi" should be read as "嗟子"" and called Cai Wei's views "very reasonable".
Professor Qiu later also proposed to Cai Wei to study for graduate school, but because Cai Wei's English foundation was too poor, the English of the examination could not pass its line, and the examination was too difficult, so Cai Wei rejected Professor Qiu's suggestion to persuade him to go to graduate school.
But after 2007, Cai Wei's dynamics on Guoxue Network became less and less. Seeing that Cai Wei has no dynamics, Qiu Lao is even more worried about Cai Wei's situation, and after many inquiries, he learned that Cai Wei's family ushered in the shocking news, Cai Wei's wife was infected due to years of not paying attention to the body, and the treatment required high medical expenses, but this is not affordable for the Cai Wei family.
Research Results
Originally, the meager income brought by the stall was unable to maintain the high medical expenses, and Cai Wei began to pedal a tricycle to maintain his livelihood: "I can earn 30 yuan a day when I pedal three wheels for more than a day, and the money earned by the three rounds is stronger than that of the stall, there is no way but the time to read is getting less and less." Cai Wei said.
After Learning of Cai Wei's difficult situation, Professor Qiu decided to help Cai Wei. In 2008, Fudan University was about to jointly compile the "Mawangdui Han Tomb Jian Shu Integration" with zhonghua bookstore, Hunan Library and other units.
On the recommendation of Mr. Qiu Xigui, Cai Wei was hired as a temporary worker by Fudan University, which solved Cai Wei's urgent needs and added a capable officer to the compilation work.
Fudan University
When Cai Wei learned of this news, he was still pedaling a tricycle, who could have imagined that a driver pedaling a tricycle in the city could be transformed into a tricycle and a taidou-level professor at Fudan University to compile research.
Cai Wei quickly rode home, and when he got home, he excitedly grabbed his wife's hand and said, "I finally don't have to pedal a tricycle, I can finally do what I love." ”
On the one hand, Cai Wei can use the income from his tenure at Fudan University to treat his wife's illness, and on the other hand, he has realized his dream for many years. All of it is moving in a good direction.
With the help of Professor Qiu, in 2009, the 38-year-old Cai Wei entered Fudan University with a high Chinese, and with it came the opportunity to study for a doctorate at Fudan University.
However, due to the poor foundation of Cai Wei's individual subjects, during his work, Cai Wei made new studies of undergraduate and master's courses while working.
Considering Cai Wei's special situation, Fudan University made an exception to exempt him from the English test. Since June 5, 2009, when Cai Wei was studying for his PhD at Fudan University, Cai Wei followed Professor Qiu to conduct research and study in the field of ancient literature.
It took Cai Wei 6 years to graduate, making him the oldest and longest doctoral student in the history of Fudan University. Through Cai Wei's persistence, he finally got his academic certificate as he wished.
The rest of his life is safe - teaching and educating people
After Cai Wei graduated from Fudan University, due to his age, his first education was relatively low, resulting in a job search after graduation was not smooth, and many resumes were invested in the sea.
Just when Cai Wei was about to give up and prepare to pedal a tricycle for several years, Guizhou Anshun College called to inform him that he had been hired.
Guizhou Anshun College believes that Cai Wei is a talent, and not only arranged a suitable job for Cai Wei in the literature department, but also settled his wife.
Now Cai Wei has lived a happy life of teaching and educating people during the day, mingling with his classmates, doing his own research in an office full of ancient books, and returning home at night to reunite with his wife and children.
Although he has the experience of pedaling a tricycle, setting up a stall, and working part-time, the experience of the first half of his life for Cai Wei is nothing more than telling him the truth of knowledge changing his destiny, so Cai Wei does his best every time he goes to class, hoping to help his students.
Always maintain the awe and exploration of knowledge, no matter where it is, no matter what profession, it can shine. Cai Wei insisted on this idea, persevered in the long and difficult life, reopened the door of fate at the age of 38, and announced to the world with the most proud and proud mood: I have made my dream come true!