Zhang Ange's first impression is that his face is thin but never gaunt, and his eyes are full of wisdom. He glanced out of the window at the tree-lined path where there were only a few young students. He turned to tell reporters that when he was so young, he did the hardest job in Yichun Automobile Factory-painting.

1968, Zhang Ange just graduated from junior high school, so he followed the instructions of Chairman Mao's "Four Orientations" and stayed away from his parents with hundreds of middle school students to become a painter in an automobile factory. Painter is the last job people want to do in all kinds of jobs in factories. At that time, his greatest hope was to become a mechanic or a laboratory chemist. Every time I see a chemist sitting in front of an instrument, he feels mysterious and envious. His classmates who got on the bus, nipped, milled, planed and repaired came back from work wearing greasy overalls, and the smell of industrial workers really made him jealous for a while. He said: "Of course, painters also belong to industrial workers, but conceptually they always feel a little distant from the image of the working class. This idea doesn't seem to have brought you much career change now, but it came from the mind of a 17-year-old boy at that time, and it was not surprising in the Cultural Revolution. " He wants to go back to his dream and do what he did. Two years later, the young Zhang Ange got full marks in the technical examination when his apprenticeship expired. In this regard, several masters are unwilling to believe, "How can you get full marks in technical exams?"

Zhang Ange's Excellence is first manifested in his learning ability, which seems to be no different from many good students now. He always ranks first in his class in all kinds of exams. He still clearly remembers that in the year when he graduated from Nanchang Shengli Road Central Primary School, he did not receive the admission notice after the end of the senior high school entrance examination. No one is in No.3 Middle School, No.9 Middle School and No.8 Middle School. Even at this time, he was really calm: "This time I must be the one who laughs last." Sure enough, after other students received the notice and cheered, the admission notice from Nanchang No.2 Middle School came naturally. He also knew that he was one of the only two students admitted to Nanchang No.2 Middle School. Having many similar experiences at school will only make him more confident. Even if he leaves school and goes to a remote factory to do a job that others don't want to do, it won't prevent him from standing out in his studies.

After all, these are all things that happened to a young man during the "ten years of turmoil". Today's young people may show the same learning ability, but their learning purposes are different. What happened later also illustrates this point.

In that prosperous time of "class struggle", countless families suffered great harm. Zhang Ange's parents were sent to the countryside, and his brothers and sisters were far apart. That is, from this day on, he suddenly grew into an adult. He must answer all the questions about life before him. He kept asking about the meaning of existence and looking for the true meaning of life. Where is the answer? The poor man doesn't even have a relative who can guide him in the maze. He picked up the book and knew that a philosopher could hear his inquiry. He said: "After working in the factory, I read a lot of books in my spare time, which has a wide range and a deep influence that cannot be compared by future generations." From Greek classical philosophy to western modern history, from China classical literature to foreign modern literature and art, especially Russian literature, a large number of critical realism works made him "intoxicated and lost his way". From middle school mathematics, science, chemistry and foreign languages to advanced mathematics, mechanics of materials and the basis of machinery manufacturing, his appetite is growing. Even organized a few like-minded youths and set up an amateur theoretical study group. Together, they read many original works by Marx and Engels, including Das Kapital and Dialectics of Nature. "At that time, the learning conditions were unimaginable hard, and getting a good book was quite a treasure. Several friends rushed to circulate it and cherished it, "Zhang Ange said excitedly. "Some books can't be read in public."

Obviously, he didn't study for the purpose of "learning to be an excellent official", because it was popular at that time that "the more knowledge, the more reactionary", and he didn't study for passing a certain exam, otherwise he wouldn't have dabbled in such a wide range. This is a difference that deserves our attention. Some people are just "doing problems", while others are "reading life" In fact, what he is really good at is that he learned how to think and gained a scientific cognitive mind through learning. He said: "Now that I think about it, the change at that time, in a fashionable phrase, was called' thoroughly remould oneself'."

Later, he was not limited to reading, so his eyes naturally became higher and he needed to develop various interests. It was a time when he was still staying. Because my father can play sanxian, he has been exposed to it since he was a child, and he can also play with it a few times, so he became an actor in the "Mao Zedong Thought Literature and Art Propaganda Team" in the factory; He joined the basketball team in the factory. From a photo of the players he kept, we can see his vigorous physique. Compared with him now, he has been replaced by "stocky", and his skill is still maintained today. He often practices calligraphy and watercolor painting in his spare time, and there are many of his designs in the publicity column of the factory. 197 1 year, the technical department of the factory took a fancy to his pen writing, and he was transferred to the technical department to draw pictures, which brought him into contact with the professional field of mechanical manufacturing and design. Self-study is accompanied by happiness. The more "refined" you learn, the greater your happiness. Because of this, he never gives up. Happiness is accompanied by hardships, which can make happiness great, but if he does not turn learning into pursuit after thinking and is not prepared for perseverance, it will be difficult for him to bear the subsequent blow.

1973 National colleges and universities resumed enrollment and adopted the policy of "recommendation by the masses, examination and approval by leaders, cultural examination and merit-based admission". His factory was assigned four indicators, and more than 400 educated youths in the factory launched fierce competition for this. Zhang Ange, who was prepared, was selected by an absolute majority and took the cultural examination. "I remember that the exam subjects were only math and Chinese. I still have the impression of the last question in mathematics, which is to calculate the width of a river with trigonometric function. " He recalled, "I only spent half an hour on the two-hour exam and checked it repeatedly. The first to hand in the paper. " Afterwards, he learned that this time he got full marks in mathematics. What he never expected was that the "Zhang Tiesheng Blank Paper Incident" broke out and the whole enrollment work was reversed. The cultural examination is no longer valid, and blank paper can enter the university. Zhang Ange's desire to study was shattered. Later, he said that his indicators were used by the back door, and he was sad for a while. This incident made him feel that the master trusted him. He said: "In that era when there were frequent movements and class struggles were shouted every day, I was not prominent politically. I won the trust of the workers' masters only by honest labor and diligence, which surprised me and moved me. " He encouraged himself with Gothic words, "If you lose wealth, you lose very little;" The reputation is damaged and the loss is huge; If you lose courage, you lose everything, so you might as well die. Because his chest is full of the motto of "something gains, something loses", his not-so-tall flesh and blood becomes unusually "resistant to beating". "

1974, Zhang Ange, who was bent on learning, finally got another chance. The factory has been built into "72 1 Project" Staff University, and 14 students are recommended to study. Zhang Ange was selected. Zhang Ange learned a lot in this staff college founded by factory intellectuals. 1976 When he graduated, his two designs were applied to the work program, which greatly improved the production efficiency.

The society needs progress, and the harvest season of Zhang Ange is finally coming. 1977, the college entrance examination resumed in the first year, and Zhang Ange was moved, but the factory refused to stamp it. 1978, the national postgraduate entrance examination was held for the first time, and it was stipulated that no unit could block it. Zhang Ange seized the opportunity: "I secretly signed up when I saw the name of Sun, an expert in fracture mechanics, a new discipline in the 1970s." At that time, nearly 200 candidates applied for Southwest Jiaotong University, and 30 students were selected. Among many applicants, he is the only one with a junior high school education. He said with emotion: "Here, I want to thank my tutor, Professor Sun, a famous mechanical expert in China. Afterwards, I learned that on the issue of enrolling me, his point of view is that if he can pass the initial test and retest with the same academic qualifications, he should have strong self-study ability and have confidence in such students. " Zhang Ange cherishes this hard-won opportunity: "I think I have lived up to Professor Sun's expectations. The vast majority of students in the class are freshmen. After one semester, my grades have been among the best in my class. "

198 1 year, Zhang Ange came to East China Jiaotong University. 1984, vice president of civil engineering department. 1986 was admitted to the doctoral program of Southwest Jiaotong University, his alma mater, less than one month after admission. Another piece of good news came. Because of his excellent performance in EPT (English Proficiency Test) in the first year, his application for going abroad as a visiting scholar was approved by the State Education Commission. After fierce ideological struggle, he gave up his doctoral degree, and from 1987 to 1988, he became a visiting scholar at the University of Montreal, Canada, engaged in damage mechanics research.

By this time, his career has reached a new height with his talent and knowledge, mainly by giving full play to his advantages of being good at learning. When the career has reached such a level, it is not only the ability to learn and learn, but also the ability to think and innovate. Zhang Ange has accumulated enough momentum in the field of humanities, and it's time to "accumulate a lot". 1990 Zhang Ange was appointed deputy director of the Academic Affairs Office of Jiaotong University, 199 1 was promoted to vice president at the end of the year,196 was appointed president,199 was appointed president and party secretary of Jiaotong University. During this period, Zhang Ange also visited the University of Michigan at 1993 for half a year.

You can't say that you will succeed as long as you teach yourself. Learning progress lies in talent, learning proficiency lies in methods, learning success lies in perseverance, and learning success to a certain extent will choose you. This is what Zhang Ange's road of self-study left us thinking.

From ordinary staff to university professors

Zhang Ange's foreign language level once surprised Mr. Zhu in the Foreign Languages Department of our school. Teacher Zhu once published a translation article. After reading it, Zhang Ange pointed out several problems in the article. Teacher Zhu was surprised and asked, "You are not an English major. How can you be so proficient? "

The answer to this question is actually related to Zhang Ange's 79-year-old father.

One,

Zhang Ange's father is a very interesting old man. It is said that he made an appointment to go to someone else's house and rode his bike to do the investigation on the first day, so that he could arrive on time the next day. Moreover, the memory of the elderly is selective, and they forget things on weekdays. The company pays wages and benefits. He often has to be reminded before he remembers to get them, but his English is already very good. It is such a person with personality who stepped onto the university platform from an ordinary employee step by step.

Zhang Ange talked about his father with admiration: "My father is just a mechanic who graduated from a bank school. At the age of sixteen, he came to Jiangxi alone from Shanghai to support the construction of the mainland. It was from this time that he embarked on the road of self-study and learned English from a priest. "

Zhang Ange's father, Zhang Zhang Lian, has never been to college, and learning English is entirely out of personal interest. He often goes to church to chat with priests to improve his English. He also went to some non-governmental organizations, met people who came back from studying abroad, and learned while listening. Soon he was able to talk in English and began to publish English works in Miller Review, a very famous foreign publication in Shanghai at that time.

Zhang has reached a fever pitch for English. During the Cultural Revolution, Zhang He and his wife were sent to Huangtugang in Yichun area. As the object of labor reform, his talent was suppressed. 1975 after implementing the intellectual policy, the first thing Zhang did was to go to the regional propaganda department and ask to teach in the school. Maybe his sincerity worked, and he really got it.

Second,

In the early 1960s, household registration was strictly controlled. It is not easy for Zhang to be transferred to the provincial capital to reunite with his wife and children. The unit leader had no choice but to say to Zhang, "Go to the provincial leader."

Where does Zhang know who to look for? He only knows that a minister named Mo in the province is in charge of the transfer, but he doesn't know him. So, just after work, I shouted to the people who came out of the office, "Minister Mo." Zhang Ange said with a smile: "My father's wisdom sometimes really makes us admire him. His idea is simple. Who will promise him in the future, of course, is the minister. "

Minister Mo really turned back. The conversation between two people is said to be simple. Zhang handed the material and said:

"I want to go back to Nanchang to teach."

"Did you go to college?"

"No."

So, business is business, and the minister did not leave the materials and let Zhang Xian go back. Later, these materials were transferred to Jiangxi Normal University. Zhang Ange felt incredible: "I think that at that time, Normal University thought that my father had something. I didn't know that my father was such a bold and confident person. 1978, my father was transferred to the Foreign Languages Department Reference Room of Jiangxi Normal University. "

Zhang Ange said that his father's foreign language level has reached a level. He remembers that when he was a graduate student at Southwest Jiaotong University, he showed his father the paper he had written. His father explained a past participle in detail: "He made me realize that my meaning was completely wrong."

In the reference room where Zhang is located, lecturers and professors often come to consult materials, and they will discuss some issues. Zhang often becomes an unexpected person to answer questions, which makes them convinced. Later, due to the strong recommendation of some teachers in the department, Zhang finally had the opportunity to give a trial lecture and joined the teaching team on his own.

"197 1 year, my father became a lecturer, and after examination, he was promoted without exception. 198 1 promotion to associate professor is also an anomaly. My father's memory seems to be directional. He is very talented in learning foreign languages and his second foreign language, Russian, is also very good. " Zhang Ange felt that his father's life was legendary, especially his accomplishments in foreign languages, which had a good influence on children and made them understand the importance of rigorous scholarship.

Third,

A few years ago, Zheng Shutang, one of the famous foreign language teachers in China, told Zhang Ange such a thing. That year, a college foreign language textbook, New College English, was being compiled. A sample book reviewed by Professor Tsinghua University was given to Zhang. After reading it, he revised many details and sent it back to Tsinghua University. Later, Tsinghua University wrote back that those places were really ignored. Zhang Ange said: "My father is such a rigorous person and has no utilitarian heart. When his knowledge is recognized, he is very satisfied. "

Zhang's indifferent fame and fortune was highlighted in his retirement. 1986, Zhang retired for one or two years. Seeing that he was about to be promoted to full professor, he actually volunteered to retire. After retirement, Zhang went to teach at the College of Literature of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Zhang Ange couldn't help laughing when talking about his father's recent situation: "Not long ago, his old man returned to Shanghai and refused to accept his old age. He is also clamoring to go to work in Shanghai. "

Extraordinary home for self-study

Zhang met a female student on the long-distance bus. Her name is □□□□□, and later she was Zhang Ange's mother. She came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine and was admitted to Zhejiang University. Because of the anti-Japanese war, the old Chinese doctor was worried about his daughter's trip, so he was admitted to Jiangxi Zhongzheng University. This school was later renamed Jiangxi Normal University, where Zhang later took the podium.

Zhang Ange's memory of her mother is a little sad and full of nostalgia: "My mother is an excellent woman, majoring in chemistry, proficient in foreign languages and excellent at work." Mother fell ill at the age of 46 and left her beloved home, but Zhang Ange and his brothers and sisters proved by their own actions how excellent this mother was as the children's first teacher.

"Eldest brother Zhang Weiping is 1968 high school graduates. He didn't read any books, but in the end he became an economist and a cultural figure abroad. Zhang Weimin, the second brother, is a junior high school graduate of Nanchang No.3 Middle School. Later, through my own efforts, I was admitted to the graduate school of applied mathematics in Canada, and now I am engaged in the research of computer technology in Canada. Miss Zhang Xiaojiang also took off her military uniform in 1986 and went to study in the United States. " Speaking of brothers and sisters, Zhang Ange once again recalled his childhood.

When Zhang Ange was still in junior high school, his eldest brother Zhang Weiping was already in high school. At that time, the library was smashed and books were scattered all over the floor. Zhang Weiping led several brothers and sisters and secretly picked up a lot of books to go home: "We three brothers read a lot of world classics during this period, and he later became a literate person, which was related to his obsession with reading."

Zhang Weiping was admitted to the Foreign Languages Department of Jiujiang Normal University after the Cultural Revolution, and was admitted to Nankai University as a graduate student in economics in the year of graduation. His knowledge of economics is also self-taught. When Zhang Weiping took the postgraduate entrance examination, there was an episode: "At that time, their papers were wrong, so the exam was postponed. Nankai University basically chose a person from Beijing Normal University. After the make-up exam, eldest brother actually changed his mind. The students of Beijing Normal University were very dissatisfied and said that they would go to Nankai to see what kind of people knocked him down. "

After graduation, Zhang Weiping taught at Xiamen University, transferred back to Nankai University, his alma mater, worked in the Ministry of Education, and was stationed in Hong Kong as a young economist. From 65438 to 0990, Zhang Weiping chose his personal hobby and went to the United States to be a TV editor. Zhang Ange said: "Big Brother is a very knowledgeable person, very cheerful and optimistic, and has a good literary foundation."

Second brother Zhang Weimin's road to self-study is also remarkable. 1977 When the national college entrance examination was resumed for the first time, the foreign language performance of this junior three graduate was among the best among Nanchang candidates. And little sister Zhang Xiaojiang, by contrast, seems to be much more smooth. 1978 After graduating from the Foreign Languages Department of Normal University, he was recruited as an instructor by the Army Academy. A few years later, not to be outdone, the youngest woman in the family applied for retirement to study in the United States.

Zhang's story is vaguely told by Zhang Ange's calm narrative style, but it is this calm narrative that makes reporters feel the extraordinary of this ordinary family, and through his faint words, people see the legendary color of this family.

Facing the patchwork of mountains and rivers and the sleepy Ganjiang River outside the window, Zhang Ange said a meaningful sentence, when a person is obsessed with learning, his heart will be like spring all the year round.