Li Ji: I think of those things when I graduated from graduate school

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Peking University Development Institute (formerly known as the China Center for Economic Research, CCER). Today, the Institute has been able to make achievements in teaching, scientific research, think tanks and other fields, and contribute to social progress, which is inseparable from the relay development of teachers, students and alumni, as well as the care and support of all walks of life. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, we have launched a special call for essays on the theme of "I and the Peking University Development Institute" (or CCER and I), and welcome teachers, students, alumni and partners from all walks of life to contribute to the unfading years through your words, and to inspire more people to forge ahead. The author of this article is Li Ji, a 1996 master's alumnus of Peking University Development Institute.

In the spring of 1999, a total of 11 graduate students (10 master's students and 1 doctoral student) of the China Economic Research Center (hereinafter referred to as CCER) will soon graduate.

During that period of time, the teachers focused on the quality of students' graduation theses, and in addition to carefully preparing for graduation theses, students were also busy looking for jobs and preparing to go abroad. I applied for a Ph.D. program at Guanghua School of Management last autumn and have completed various exams. Pending admission results.

During my graduate studies at CCER, my research direction was international trade, and Mr. Haiwen was my supervisor. Unlike others, in the process of defending my graduation thesis, other students successfully passed, but my graduation thesis was "stuck" and failed the first thesis defense. Looking at the elated appearance of other students after passing the thesis defense, I was very depressed and thought: Mr. Mo Feihai's requirements for graduation thesis are too strict?

I called my father, who was thousands of miles away, to tell him that I had failed to defend my dissertation, and that it seemed that the defense would be postponed, and that I would not be returning to my hometown this summer. My father was a doctor, who had been retired for two years and was rehired by the company to see him in the hospital. When I called him, he was taking the pulse of a patient, and he looked kind and patient. Before I finished my words on the phone, my father immediately came to a conclusion: "If you don't cut jade, you have to listen to your mentor!" Well, he hung up the phone quickly, and asked him where the old man's patience went?

Under the guidance of Mr. Hai, I chose a new research topic for my dissertation and quickly re-entered the state of writing. I was busy with my dissertation early, and by "early and late home" I mean that I woke up earlier in the morning than the rest of my classmates and returned to the dormitory later in the evening than the rest of my classmates. I go back and forth between the dormitory, the reference room, the library, the student computer room, and the cafeteria every day, and I look like I have forgotten to sleep and eat. If I had known about this when I was a child, he would have come over and deliberately squeezed me - now that I know that I have been working hard, what did you do when you wrote your last paper?

In this way, day after day, during the summer vacation, the graduating students left CCER one after another, some went abroad to study, some went to work in new workplaces, and I continued to appear in the courtyard of Langrun Garden from time to time. The summer in Beijing is very hot, but the teachers of CCER do not take a vacation, they still work hard, Mr. Lin Yifu is the most typical, he often works all night, and many students who are studying in graduate school are either following Mr. Zhou Qiren to do projects outside, or preparing for overseas exams, or doing research with teachers, anyway, no one will be idle. I was also very busy at this time, and I must be very anxious in the face of my unfinished graduation thesis!

One night, I stayed up late at night in the student computer room of Langrun Garden, and when I pushed open the gate of the courtyard and was about to leave, Master Liu, who lived in the communication room, heard the sound of the door opening outside, and ran out to check on it with a sleepy face. He didn't know the truth, he looked at me carrying my schoolbag and standing at the gate with a tired face, and immediately gave a thumbs up: "Wow! Good guy who works hard! "Master Liu and Aunt Tang have always been simple and enthusiastic, and his sincere face is really hard to refuse, so I have to bow to him to express my gratitude. In fact, at that time, I was thinking: after I pass my dissertation defense, you can come out and praise it!

There is a stone bridge on the west side of Langrun Garden, and after crossing the stone bridge, there is a path that leads to the west gate of the school. This road is relatively remote, and there are usually few pedestrians on the road, so I sometimes walk on this road. "Tuk, tuk, tuk,......,tuk, tuk, tuk,......" The crisp sound of tapping on the trees resounded all around. I looked at the source of the sound, and not far away a woodpecker was lying on a tree pecking hard. I approached it gently until I stopped where I could reach for it, and perhaps it didn't mind my presence at the moment, or maybe it didn't realize that I was standing nearby. I stood there quietly for a while, looking at its concentration as if it were writing my graduation thesis!

When my dissertation was finally written and my final defense was made, I was even more nervous about it. At the end of the dissertation defense, Mr. Hai and several other teachers who participated in the defense put forward some hopes and revisions, so that the revised thesis would be more perfect. Hearing the teachers make such a request, I feel that the stone in my heart can finally land, and the probability of passing the defense will be relatively large. Looking back on the three-year experience of graduate school, and the various exchanges and relationships with the teachers as teaching assistants, projects, and research, one of my biggest feelings is that the teachers at CCER are all rigorous in their studies, and they themselves are role models for students.

After the defense on this day, I once again stood quietly in front of the tree where the woodpecker stayed, and at that moment I had some new feelings - everyone will go through some things in a zigzag way, such as zigzags when going to graduate school, zigzags when looking for a job after graduation, and zigzags when trying to progress after work...... Just like the winding path in front of us, most of the things that everyone experiences are difficult to reach the goal smoothly. And in this twisting and turning experience, the most unforgettable thing is actually the woodpecker, which represents a yearning in our inner world, and it accompanies us all the way.

Mr. Zhang Weiying was transferred to Guanghua School of Management in 1998 as the executive vice president, where he quickly initiated the teaching reform and hired many high-level teachers to teach in Guanghua according to international standards. When I went to Guanghua to study for a doctorate, it happened to coincide with Guanghua's teaching reform, so the course content of the new doctoral class was very different from previous years. Because I had already learned a lot of the course content at CCER, I had a relatively easy time studying the basic courses during my doctoral studies at Guanghua.

When I was in the first year of my Ph.D., I revised my master's thesis and published it in a core journal of economics, and this paper won the "Ahn Zijie International Trade Research Award". When I walked on the podium in the auditorium of the University of International Business and Economics, I found that the guest of honor was Mr. Long Yongtu, then vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. At this moment, I realized that winning an award alone is only one aspect, and more importantly, I have the opportunity to expand my horizons, and Mr. Hai is the one who promotes my progress. Thank you for your strict requirements and guidance, and this award is also awarded to Mr. Hai as a teaching achievement award.

In hindsight, "If the jade is not cut, it will not be successful, and this matter has to be listened to by the mentor!" I think my father's words are quite reasonable. After joining the work, I define this kind of thing as "reinventing and reinventing", and people will experience some "reinventing and reinventing" things to a greater or lesser extent in their lives. For example, if the things arranged by the leader are messed up, or the original things can't be done at all, simply consider "tearing down and starting over", and maybe the things will be done in a different way. So, whenever I think about the events I had when I graduated from graduate school, there is always a force of openness that inspires me.