An unknown mathematical wizard who rose to fame after his death Lu Jiaxi
In 1983, at the University of Toronto, the leaders of the Chinese Mathematical Research Association invited Mendelssohn, an authority on mathematics, to give lectures in China.
Mendelssohn, however, unexpectedly declined the invitation, and asked, "Didn't you tell me to go, didn't that make me get an axe?" Don't you have Dr. Lu Jiaxi?
Why not invite him? Hearing this name, the leaders looked at each other, and doubts were written on everyone's faces. In their eyes, Lu Jiaxi is just a nobody.
A poor middle-aged man, a man who is called a "genius", a "doctor", and an "authority" by the world, is in a state of confusion at this moment. He is Lu Jiaxi, a middle school teacher who used to work in a dilapidated family home in Inner Mongolia.
He is not confused in his old age, but in the eyes of more people, he is just a person with a "brain problem". So, what made Lu Jiaxi fall here? In 11935, Lu Jiaxi was born in a poor citizen family in Shanghai, his father was Lu Baoxiang, and his mother was Li Yuexian.
Despite their hard work, their families are still poor. Lu Jiaxi's three elder sisters all died one after another due to family poverty, and he was the only one left. Despite the love of their parents, it is difficult for children from poor families to choose their fate in the face of life.
At the age of 13, his father died, and he was forced to drop out of school at the age of 15, although his grades were among the best, although he had a soft spot for mathematics, in order to make a living, 16-year-old Lu Jiaxi chose to come to Shenyang alone, and was admitted to the statistical training class run by the Northeast Electrical Industry Administration, so as to win another possibility for life.
After a year and a half of study, he graduated with the first place and was subsequently assigned to work at the Harbin Electric Machinery Factory. In that era, becoming a worker meant serving an iron rice bowl, but in Lu Jiaxi's eyes, this stability that everyone envied was not his sea of stars.
He never gave up on self-study. During his more than five years at the electrical power plant, he completed all the courses of high school and taught himself Russian, English and Japanese, and showed a great talent for languages, and was able to communicate with people in Russian, English and Japanese.
He was waiting, waiting for that chance to light up his life. Soon, he waited. At the age of 22, he was given a copy of "Interesting Mathematical Methods", and for many days, he was deeply immersed in more than a dozen interesting world-famous mathematical problems in the book.
At the same time, a voice sounded in the bottom of my heart: "I want to study mathematics!" At that time, Lu Jiaxi's monthly salary was 64 yuan, which was already a high salary that everyone envied at that time.
But he still resolutely quit his job and reviewed to apply for Jilin Normal University (now Northeast Normal University). "Xiao Lu, are you crazy, is it worth losing such a good job for such a question? ”
The dissuasion of his friends around him did not change his ambitions. He was very stubborn, and said that the scientific career could not rely on the enthusiasm and impulse of the moment, and that he had to go to university.
In 1957, Lu Jiaxi was admitted to the Department of Physics of Jilin Normal University as a self-taught student, and he understood that this was only the beginning of the pursuit of faith. There is no romance under the moon before the flowers, his college career is only cold and lonely, long nights, only pen and paper accompany him.
He began to challenge the world's math problem, the "Kirkman Girl Problem", and for four years, he forgot to sleep and eat, and was obsessed. When the "Kirkman Girls Problem" was finally overcome, the Chinese student, who did not look amazing, burst into tears.
In 1961, Lu Jiaxi graduated from Jilin Normal University with excellent grades and was assigned to Baotou Iron and Steel Institute in Inner Mongolia Grassland Steel City as an assistant professor. He sent the ** out with excitement, but all that awaited him was torment and disappointment.
His research results were shelved, and he was so distressed that he wept, but there was nothing he could do. In 1962, the Baotou Iron and Steel Institute was closed, and he began frequent job transfers.
Every day is so busy that his feet don't touch the ground, but he still continues to study mathematics with tenacious perseverance. However, hopes and disappointments were mixed, and the results were even thrown into the trash in front of the editor, but he still did not give up.
His research was seen as "crazy" and "outlier" by his colleagues, he was ostracized, ridiculed and tortured, and they didn't even let him think and study. He was in pain, but he still insisted on waiting, waiting for the day when his research would be taken seriously.
His marriage was also delayed. Until 1972, he met Zhang Shuqin, who was divorced and had a daughter, and the conversation between the two was very speculative, and they had a good impression of each other and had feelings of love.
Lu Jiaxi's life has changed with his daughter, who not only gains strength in research, but also finds a soulmate in life. However, the shattering of his dreams cut his heart like a knife, but instead of giving up, he chose to move forward in the darkness with his head held high and devote himself to the climb to another peak of mathematics.
He was determined to fight for his life, risking his life to "die", and the long-term high-intensity mental work and staying up late caused him to suffer from neuropathic toothache, and he even pulled out a full mouth of teeth.
However, his tenacity and perseverance eventually paid off when he completed the "Steiner Series" and sent it to the world's leading journals. Although he was initially faced with a difficult situation, he persevered and eventually succeeded.
He made a choice that seemed like no way out, but accidentally changed the trajectory of mathematical research in China. "This is one of the most important achievements in the field of combinatorics in more than 20 years! ”
As soon as the news came out, the whole world was shocked. Professor Mendelssohn of the University of Toronto said excitedly in his reply that Lu Jiaxi's research is world-class. Even the president of the University of Toronto, Dw Strangway, wrote to the principal of Lu Jiaxi's middle school, praising him as a well-known mathematician in combinatorics theory, and hoping that he would be transferred to a university post and play a greater role.
However, in China, Lu Jiaxi is unknown. It was not until 1983, when the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Mathematical Society was held in China, that Lu Jiaxi's name began to be known to the Chinese academic community.
He attended the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Chinese Mathematical Society in Wuhan as a secondary school teacher, but few people know that his early years of self-funded research had hollowed out his life.
He was so busy sorting out the lecture manuscript and thinking about the finished manuscript** that he even had his shoes in tatters in order to save money, and even had to borrow money for the passage to Wuhan. But he didn't care.
Standing on the stage**, surrounded by flowers, honors and applause, he still insisted: "I will not revel in the joy of victory, and will advance to new heights." He is well aware of the backwardness of China's mathematical research, and time waits for no one and cannot be delayed.
On the train to Inner Mongolia, Lu Jiaxi's heart was full of dreams and expectations, and he was eager to climb the peak of mathematical research and realize his countless dreams. However, the exhaustion and stress of his body made it impossible for him to bear the weight of his dreams.
This modern Chinese mathematician, a rare mathematical genius in a century, finally died of exhaustion at the age of 48, leaving only 5 boxes of books and more than 400 yuan in foreign debts, without a penny of savings.
Although his contributions were recognized by the world, few people knew his name until his death. His research, The Cokman Girl Problem, was published in full in Acta Mathematica Sinica in late 1984, two years after his death.
In 1987, he was awarded the first prize of the National Natural Science Award, making him the only middle school teacher in China to receive this award.
Although his wife Zhang Shuqin accepted the award on his behalf, when she received the red certificate, she burst into tears and couldn't say a word. The story of Lu Jiaxi is full of tragedy and tenacity, and his dedication and perseverance have made him a legend in the world of mathematics, and his name and achievements will always be remembered by the world.
Lu Jiaxi's death raises a thought-provoking question - what caused the tragedy of his life? Is it a lack of academic prestige and high-level appreciation, or is it because of his status as a secondary school teacher that his research results are overlooked?
We often ask, "When will China get its own Nobel Prize?" "However, have we forgotten that the largest pearls are sometimes not in the deep sea, but in the tidal flats along the river.
Our nation does not lack talents and geniuses, but what is lacking is the ability to discover their eyes and the mechanism to cultivate, support and protect them. If there is no publication in international journals and no active mention by foreign scholars, perhaps Lu Jiaxi, a native genius, will always suffer from poverty and disease, or even be buried.
We should seriously think about how to avoid the recurrence of this tragedy of "flowers blooming inside the wall and fragrant outside the wall, and mistaking cinnabar for red clay". Although Lu Jiaxi is gone, the problems he left us are worth our efforts to overcome.