Two Chinese mathematicians have won the Fields Medal. Known as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics" (数学诺贝尔奖), it’s awarded once every four years, and only to those under 40.
This is the first time mathematicians from mainland China have won the award.
The two winners are Wang Hong (王虹) and Deng Yu (邓煜). They also happen to be former classmates, having studied mathematics at Peking University (北京大学) in the 2007 cohort.
On the night the news broke, Peking University lit up its Boya Pagoda (博雅塔) with the message:
“Congratulations to Wang Hong and Deng Yu.
Congratulations to Chinese mathematics.”
祝贺王虹邓煜。祝贺中国数学。
The story began trending online, and at first it was all good news for China.
Maths, which is typically not a trending topic, shot to the top of the hot-search lists on social media. It was a propaganda win: celebrating homegrown, world-beating talent, and a moment of national pride.
But as more details about Wang and Deng surfaced, the feel-good celebration turned into a heated debate about the pitfalls of China’s higher education system.
Because it turns out that although the two winners had studied at Peking University (PKU), they each spent the following decade overseas, furthering their studies and building their careers outside of China.
Wang left PKU for France, and later moved on to the United States. Deng lasted only two years at PKU before heading to MIT.
In both cases, the prize-winning work was done abroad.
Some reactions online were critical of the pair, viewing research done abroad with suspicion and asking why they had not stayed in China.
Others questioned: if the award-winning work was all done overseas, how much of their achievement can really be chalked up to so-called “Chinese mathematics”?
While others asked a tougher question still, which is:
“If Deng Yu and Wang Hong had stayed in China, could they have achieved the same level of same success?”
如果邓煜、王虹当年留下来，能有今天的成就吗？
As this was unfolding online, Deng and Wang were measured in their own comments in the media, and gracious about their early training.
Deng said his two years at Peking University had given him an "excellent foundation" (极好的基础). And Wang said it was only after she left for France that she realised how "solid" (扎实) her grounding at PKU had been.
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From a young age, Deng Yu was a maths prodigy. As an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medallist, he was nicknamed “Deng the God” (邓神) by his classmates. He arrived at Peking University as national-team champion, and was waved straight into the maths department through “recommended admission” (保送) without ever sitting the gruelling gaokao exams.
Despite his track record, and the preferential treatment that afforded him, Deng didn't even finish his degree at Peking University. Just two years in, he transferred to MIT.
In contrast, Wang Hong grew up in a small town in Guangxi (广西). Unlike Deng, she never entered a maths competition, let alone won one. She missed out on a place at Peking University at first, and only transferred in part way through her degree.
Her experience there was difficult. She says she felt "invisible" (小透明) in a class full of top performers. She finished near the bottom of her year, and was told multiple times she was "not cut out for maths" (不是学数学的料).
Looking back, Wang said of her experience at PKU:
“When I got into the maths department, for the longest time I thought that just being able to survive would be good enough.”
在我进入北大数学系的时候，我一直以为自己能够活下去就已经很好。
Her experience after she moved to France was totally different. A mentor spotted her talent, and gave her the support and confidence which eventually led her to the Fields Medal.
So in the end, neither Wang nor Deng did their prize-winning work in China. This is precisely the question the historian, Ge Jianxiong (葛剑雄), has been raising for years:
“How come our top talent struggles to thrive at home, but takes off as soon as they go abroad?
为什么我们培养的人才在国内发挥不了作用，但是到国外就很快发展起来了？
The problem according to Ge is structural. At many science and maths departments, competition wins drive who gets selected and rewarded at university. The medal-winners get the attention and the pick of supervisors, and those with no medals, like Wang Hong, are sidelined.
Ge Jianxiong says this is a hidden driver of China’s loss of talent.
The state media of course steered clear of this debate altogether, sticking to the “celebrating homegrown talent” narrative.
But one of the WeChat articles we read this week does end on a hopeful note:
“Imagine a day when middle school isn’t defined by shocking depression rates, soul-crushing test drills, and depressed students being excluded from taking the high school entrance exams.
A day when university students care about more than just high-paying jobs, and young academics can freely debate ideas without constantly worrying about their paper counts.
That is the day China becomes a true science superpower.
哪一天，去中学，不再是令人咂舌的抑郁率和比拼刷题，中考前被逼不参加考试；再去高校，如果听到学生不再讨论毕业找什么工作赚多少钱，青椒能够热烈自由交流学术而不用担心发多少篇论文。那时的中国，才是真正的科技强国。
Not sure that’s likely any time soon.
But it is what we’re discussing this week!
Favourite Five
1. 青椒 qīng jiāo
young academic, early-career academic
现在在非升即走状态下煎熬焦虑的“青椒”，最明白到底什么意思 - Young academics struggling with the pressure and anxiety of the “up-or-out” system understand exactly what it really means. [3]
Note: this is an abbreviation plus a homophone pun: “young teacher” (青年教师) is shortened to “青教”, which sounds like 青椒
2. 小透明 xiǎo tòu míng
little nobody, overlooked person
发现在强手如林的班上，她只是个小透明 - She felt like a nobody in a class full of top performers. [1]
3. 修成正果 xiū chéng zhèng guǒ
to achieve success, to finally make it
但是，高兴聚焦点是在“中国籍”上，却很少触碰一个实质性的问题——为什么都是在国外才最终“修成正果” - But they fixate on the “Chinese nationality” of the two medalists, while steering clear of the key question — why is it that they only ever finally make it once they are abroad? [3]
4. 持之以恒 chí zhī yǐ héng
to persevere, to persist
唯一能对抗这种担心的，除了持之以恒的努力，就是“对将来能做出成果的盲目自信” - Nothing fights off that self-doubt quite like hard work and a bit of blind faith that you’re going to pull it off eventually. [1]
5. 坐冷板凳 zuò lěng bǎn dèng
to be sidelined, to wait patiently on the sidelines
不仅需要极高的天赋，还需要长期坐冷板凳的耐心 - It requires not only exceptional talent but also the patience to grind away without being recognised. [1]
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Consuming the Conversation
Useful Words
6. 功劳 gōng láo
credit, contribution
北大培养，海外获奖：到底是谁的“功劳”？ - Trained in Peking University but won the prize for their overseas work: so who really deserves the credit? [1]
7. 深造 shēn zào
to pursue further studies, to further one’s education
她从北大毕业后远赴法国深造 - After graduating from Peking University, she went to France to pursue further studies. [1]
8. 效力 xiào lì
to serve, to work for
在海外从事科研就是为他国效力 - Doing scientific research overseas means serving a foreign country. [1]
9. 跳级 tiào jí
to skip a grade
她在小学里曾两次跳级，所以一直就比班上同学小两岁 - She skipped two grades in elementary school, so she was always two years younger than her classmates. [1]
10. 扎实 zhā shi
solid, well-grounded
当年在北大接受的数学训练非常扎实 - The mathematical training she received at Peking University provided a solid foundation. [1]
11. 伯乐 bó lè
mentor, someone who recognizes and nurtures talent
直到在法国遇到伯乐，她才开始不再怀疑自己到底适不适合学数学 - It wasn’t until she met her mentor in France that she finally stopped second-guessing whether she was cut out for math. [3]
12. 打气 dǎ qì
to encourage, to cheer someone on
相互鼓舞，不如换个词，“相互打气” - Rather than saying “encourage each other,” a better way to describe it would be “to keep each other’s spirits up”. [3]
