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In 1983, Zhang Zhusheng, a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics of Peking University, successfully defended his dissertation and became the first doctor of Peking University.
Previously, when Zhang Zhusheng attended the opening ceremony, he firmly said: "I must make my own contribution to Chinese mathematics catching up with and surpassing the international level."
Zhang Zhusheng has spent his life fulfilling his promise, he has endured the torment of terminal cancer, led the Chinese team to participate in the International Mathematics Olympiad for five consecutive years, and won five world firsts.
Zhang Zhusheng exchanged his life for the highest glory, but who would have thought that he would not be rated with a title until he died, what was going on?
The first doctor of Peking University, cultivating materials that can be manufactured
In 1978, Zhang Zhusheng won the top with excellent results and was admitted to Peking University for graduate school in the Department of Mathematics.
In the test paper of that year, there was a question itself that was wrong and there was no answer at all, but many candidates still used their own methods to solve the problem.
Only Zhang Zhusheng found that there was a problem with the topic itself and boldly pointed out the mistakes, which attracted the attention of a mentor at Peking University and took the initiative to cultivate him.
At the opening ceremony, Zhang Zhusheng was the first place, and naturally spoke on the stage as a representative of the freshmen, and he said impassionedly: "I will definitely contribute to China's mathematics catching up with and surpassing the international level."
During Zhang Zhusheng's graduate school, his mathematical talent became more and more prominent, and his supervisor said proudly: "This child can completely give courses to graduate students, and there is no need to go to graduate school at all."
Even though Zhang Zhusheng knew that his mathematical ability was extraordinary, he still humbly asked for advice, because there was no end to learning.
Zhang Zhusheng's favorite thing every day is to soak in the library, and ordinary people often choose to avoid complex mathematical formulas when they see them, but he is different, and every moment he solves it, he will get a full sense of achievement.
According to the recollections of Zhang Zhusheng, Zhang Zhusheng served as the main lecturer of the class's differential dynamical system discussion class, he was able to explain the problem to everyone in an easy-to-understand way, sometimes for three hours, the words written on the blackboard were erased as soon as they were full, and his shoulders were always white after speaking.
In 1982, when he defended his graduate school, he successfully broke through one of the four major conjectures of the famous mathematician Stevensmail, which is a problem that has plagued mathematicians around the world for a long time.
Zhang Zhusheng, a graduate student, such a young man, actually did it, and all the defense teachers present were shocked.
After the incident, the teachers held several rounds of discussion, and most of them agreed to grant Zhang Zhusheng a doctorate.
Judging from the mathematical achievements achieved by Zhang Zhusheng at that time, he was able to become the first doctor in the history of New China.
However, at that time, there were no doctors in China, and the president of Peking University felt that he should be cautious, so he put the matter on hold for the time being.
In 1983, the president of Peking University specially invited more than 100 experts and scholars in mathematics to defend Zhang Zhusheng's doctoral dissertation.
Zhang Zhusheng acted confidently and calmly in the face of such a big scene, although he was dressed plainly, but he could not cover up the light on his body.
In this way, Zhang Zhusheng became the first doctor in the history of Peking University and obtained a doctoral certificate with the number 001.
After graduation, Zhang Zhusheng was sent to the United States for an academic visit by Peking University, and at Princeton University, he showed foreigners how he solved that world's problems, and the audience gave warm applause.
In 1986, Zhang returned to China to teach at his alma mater, Peking University, and became a professor in the Department of Mathematics.
Not long after, Zhang Zhusheng was another legend on campus, he was approachable and did not put on a superior shelf, but often discussed academics with students, and his fellow teachers and brothers often asked him questions and treated him as a scholar.
Peking University noticed Zhang Zhusheng's teaching ability and wanted him to be responsible for compiling basic teaching materials suitable for students and giving full play to his advantages.
After Zhang Zhusheng got the news, he chose to take it without the slightest hesitation and began to devote himself to the intense writing work, thinking that he must help students.
However, there is one point, everyone knows that the teaching profession attaches great importance to the title, especially if university teachers want to be promoted, they need scientific research results as support, and the preparation of basic teaching materials is cumbersome and consumes a lot of time and energy, and will not be included in the scientific research results in the end.
Friends around him advised Zhang Zhusheng to find a reason to quit this matter, but he was still firmly compiling, and he hoped to pass on the academic torch and cultivate more usable materials in the field of mathematics for China than his own development prospects.
Zhang Zhusheng carried out daily teaching work during the day, and at night according to his teaching lecture notes, he sorted out the manuscript, consuming a lot of ballpoint refills.
In compiling basic textbooks, Zhang Zhusheng spent five years compiling a total of three volumes of "New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis", and also published "Dynamic Principles of Differential Systems" and "Lecture Notes on Differential Topology".
Chen Tianquan, the head of the top ten talents in the mathematics department of Peking University, is now a professor at Tsinghua University, and he has been using Zhang Zhusheng's "New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis" for more than ten years.
In the face of reporters' questions, Professor Chen Tianquan commented: "This textbook compiled by Zhang Zhusheng is very distinctive, mathematical analysis is the most basic course of the Department of Mathematics, it is very difficult to teach well, it can be seen how much effort he has put into it, it is very rare."
Zhang Zhusheng himself is also very fond of this textbook, and he wrote in the afterword of the book that he knew that it was thankless, but he still forced himself to do it, and could only use "Duyun author is stupid, who understands the taste" to show his attitude.
However, shortly after the publication of "New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis" in 1990, Zhang Zhusheng was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and began a 12-year road to fighting cancer.
The torment of cancer did not make Zhang Zhusheng slump, he still continued to contribute his own strength to Chinese mathematics, creating one miracle after another.
The road to growth is bumpy, and life is faced with optimism
In fact, Zhang Zhusheng's growth path is very bumpy, it can be said that he has encountered many misfortunes, but he is still optimistic about life.
Zhang Zhusheng was born in 1940, a native of Guiyang, who has been weak and sick since birth, and when he was two years old, he suddenly contracted meningitis.
Although the parents took the child to the hospital for treatment and the disease was cured, it caused permanent damage to his cerebellum.
But fortunately, this did not affect Zhang Zhusheng's intelligence, and when he was in the fifth grade of primary school, he also made a villain who could climb walls and land by himself, and won the first prize of national children's scientific and technological invention.
The parents were overjoyed the moment they saw their son win the award, and they were proud of their son, and made a delicious meal in the evening to praise Zhang Zhusheng.
Just when Zhang Zhusheng was expecting himself to grow up to become an inventor, God played another cruel joke on him.
When Zhang Zhusheng was 13 years old, he fell while walking, unfortunately fractured his left arm, which was not a big problem, but a medical accident caused serious atrophy of the nerves and muscles in his left arm, and the fingers of his left hand could not move.
So many misfortunes have befallen Zhang Zhusheng, but he has not lost the courage to face life and knows what he wants to pursue.
Since his previous dream of invention could not be realized, Zhang Zhusheng decided to continue to immerse himself in hard learning and gradually discovered the joy of immersing himself in the ocean of mathematics.
Zhang Zhusheng worked more hard than others to be admitted to the mathematics department of Sichuan University, and he was also the pride of the school at that time.
Zhang Zhusheng is a recognized mathematical genius at Sichuan University, and he had already taken the topology exam in his sophomore year, which was a senior course, and he also got a maximum score, which shows that his mathematical ability at that time was enough to teach his classmates.
In daily life, Zhang Zhusheng is also a self-reliant person, his left hand cannot be used, and he relies on one hand for writing and laundry.
After graduating from bachelor's degree, Zhang Zhusheng chose to stay at Sichuan University to teach, a job he did for 14 years.
Zhang Zhusheng is considered to be a leader in both work and knowledge, but he has not even been rated as a lecturer, and his ability is far beyond that of lecturers.
Later, in 1978, Zhang Zhusheng was admitted to the Department of Mathematics of Peking University and formed an indissoluble fate with Peking University.
But who knows that God still refused to let Zhang Zhusheng have smooth sailing, and in 1990 he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer.
Won five firsts, unrated title to death
In 1995, Zhang Zhusheng took the initiative to become the head coach of the Chinese Mathematical Olympiad national team, although this is still an errand that does not count as scientific research achievements, but he expects to lead the Chinese team to win honors for the country.
A professor at Peking University once said: "I used to be a coach once, and I never want to do it a second time, it is really physically and mentally exhausting, and it is difficult for outsiders to understand the hardships."
However, Zhang Zhusheng still accepted the task without hesitation, knowing that at this time he had been suffering from cancer for more than four years, and in the face of this heavy responsibility, he said: "My personal fame and fortune are trivial matters, and I believe that we can definitely win glory for the country."
After Zhang Zhusheng was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 1990, he suffered from severe colitis, and the cancer cells spread to the liver.
A world Olympic champion who was brought out by Zhang Zhusheng said in an interview with reporters: "Teacher Zhang can come up with a few new questions every year, which makes me very impressed. Although the Olympiad has been running for decades, it is also difficult to produce a problem, and it takes at least a week to develop a new topic. ”
"I remember that in 2001, Mr. Zhang came to Nankai University and held a training course for 200 contestants in the preliminary round alone, and he did the work of writing, judging questions, giving lectures and discussing questions from beginning to end for seven days."
"I still remember how Mr. Zhang came over in those seven days, he had bone pain all over his body, swelling from the waist down, mouth ulcers, severe colitis, and he could only rely on some liquid food to support."
In this way, Zhang Zhusheng dragged his illness and took the Chinese team all the way from Canada to Argentina, winning the world No. 1 for five consecutive times.
But Zhang Zhusheng won five world firsts in a row, what did he gain himself? Because he has no scientific research results, he has not been rated as a professional title.
Zhang Zhusheng's cancer is already very serious, and he is the largest patient in the history of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Zhusheng also taught a mathematics teaching seminar in Haidian District for eight years, and in the first six years, he was unwilling to collect a penny.
In the next two years, the other party really felt that he couldn't get over and forcibly shoved the remuneration into Zhang Zhusheng's hands.
The other party promised to give Zhang Zhusheng 10 yuan a month, and after being known by his friend, he also reminded Zhang Zhusheng: "Is there such a low salary for lectures?" You still don't go. ”
Friends are also thinking about Zhang Zhusheng, and professors around him at the same level, with a salary of less than 150 yuan an hour, do not move people.
At that time, many people had money and already lived in luxury villas and drove luxury cars, only Zhang Zhusheng still lived in the same place, with only a bicycle in hand.
In 2001, Zhang Zhusheng's condition continued to deteriorate, and severe colitis caused him to constantly go to the toilet if he ate and drank, seriously affecting his teaching.
In order to give students a good lecture, Zhang Zhusheng ate less one day in advance, and did not eat anything during class the next day, and the doctor repeatedly advised him to stop and rest and recover from his illness, and Peking University also advised him to take a vacation.
However, Zhang Zhusheng rejected everyone's kindness, and he said a little excitedly: "If you don't let me go to class, it will really kill me."
Gradually, Zhang Zhusheng's body and bones became weaker and weaker, suffering from illness, and he could only eat liquid food and drink the nutrient solution prescribed by the hospital to maintain his life.
However, when facing students, Zhang Zhusheng is always dressed neatly and teaches knowledge seriously, and every lesson is about to consume all his energy.
In 2002, Zhang Zhusheng had lost his sense of direction, but he insisted on coming to the examination room to proctor the exam, because it was a student of his differential topology class, he had to be responsible for the students, and several professors kindly carried him into the examination room.
When the bell rang at the end of the exam, Zhang Zhusheng could no longer hold on, and several classmates hurriedly sent the teacher to the hospital.
On February 6, 2002, Zhang Zhusheng left his favorite classroom forever and left the world forever.
Zhang Zhusheng rarely mentioned himself to others during his lifetime, and he showed his confident and optimistic side in front of everyone.
His students cried bitterly when they knew that the teacher had died: "Teacher Zhang is probably the best teacher I have met in my life, I have been to Teacher Zhang's home, it is clean and concise, relatively poor, and does not even have decent furniture."
Zhang Zhusheng and his wife have never had children of their own, and have no children in their lives. From the podium, he once encouraged his students to be optimistic, saying, "You young people can do whatever you want, don't be afraid."
"Maybe all of you have not experienced as much pain as I have experienced alone, but I am still alive and well."
Zhang Zhusheng's life is a life of love for education, although he has not been rated for titles, nor does he like to compete for titles, but he will always be admired.
Today, you can still see Zhang Zhusheng's 001 doctoral certificate in the Peking University Centennial Celebration Exhibition Hall.