Microsoft Vice President Zhang Yaqin: Beyond the "child prodigy" fate

For any child with an IQ that matches the word prodigy, childhood seems to end far too early. They are prematurely subjected to the expectations and strange eyes of adults, but when they grow up, they are never able to enter the normal social order.

Zhang Yaqin's life seems to transcend the fate of a child prodigy: At the age of 12, he became the youngest college student in China. At the age of 23, he received a doctor's degree in Electrical engineering from George Washington University with honors. At the age of 31, he became the youngest academician in the 100-year history of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

1 The free-wheeling "Prodigy"

In 1978, Zhang Yaqin became a college student at the age of 12 in Taiyuan. That was a very special year. In the memory of Chinese people, in addition to the big event of the resumption of the college entrance examination, the most striking event was the "prodigy", not one, but a class. The junior class at the University of Science and Technology of China had more than 30 students, aged 12 to 15, from all over the country.

One day, a writer wanted to interview these "child prodigies". Seeing Zhang's reticence, he asked him to go for a walk with him. The writer said, "You know what? You have a poor foundation compared to your peers." "I got in on my merit," Zhang argued. Then the writer said: "But you have just begun, whether you can succeed or not depends on how you go in the future." This prompted Zhang to think about his future.

The head teacher of the youth class at the University of Science and Technology recalled to the media, "The whole class of children missed the lesson of interpersonal relations and mental health. They did not develop a good attitude in school and do not have a normal heart. It's not a temporary defect, it's a lifetime defect."

While some of Zhang's classmates struggled with the aura of "child prodigy" and could not find their position in the tense relationship with their tutor, Zhang became the invisible person behind the "child prodigy", playing his favorite games and making mischief.

A child with superior intelligence but no sense of superiority

Zhang Yaqin's master's thesis is about communication. Once he read an article and was so confused that he wrote to Pick Hotz, an academic authority on communications.

Zhang received no reply. But TWO MONTHS LATER, HOTZ CAME TO HKUST TO GIVE A LECTURE. He remembered the letter from Zhang Yaqin and they had a good talk. When he returned to the United States, Hotz asked Zhang if he would come to the United States to study -- with a scholarship. An invitation letter from George Washington University in the United States arrived.

When Zhang Yaqin graduated in 1989 at the age of 23, he submitted the only doctoral thesis in the history of the University of Washington with a perfect score. On the recommendation of his teacher, he came to the famous GTE Research Center to do research work. Over the next five years, he devoted himself to the study of digital video transmission and communication, becoming one of the industry's foremost experts.

Zhang became a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1997 at the age of 31. It is the world's highest academic honor in the field of electrical and electronics research, and he became the youngest scientist to receive it in the society's 100 years. Bill Clinton wrote to him when he was president of the United States, saying he "was an inspiration." "He is truly an asset to the world," both Reminder and Bic Hertz of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of the United States have said.

This glorious experience, in Zhang Yaqin's follow-up, is still full of warm colors. The real truth is that when we place a person in the context of their time, we seem to see more colors.

In interpersonal communication, Zhang Yaqin gets along well with people who control their destinies. As a "child prodigy", he is different from ordinary children and other "child prodigies" in that he is a precocious child.

"A third of a person's character is formed before the age of five, and I think that was the most important period of my life. About a third of it is primary and secondary education, and another third of it is probably some later experience, and after college, it's not very important for the character." Zhang Yaqin said so to the author.

The year he was born, the Cultural Revolution began, and the following year, his father was persecuted. In my memory, there are two pictures of my father: one is that my father inexplicably disappeared from home; The other, when he was 5 years old, found out that his father was dead. "The days when I was peevishly in front of my mother ended very early. Almost all of my childhood was spent at my grandmother's home in a small town south of Shanxi."

Zhang Yaqin's mother and stepfather live in Taiyuan, his grandmother in Yuncheng, his grandmother and aunt in Xi 'an, and his uncle in Beijing. In one of the countless childhood trips that stood out in their memory, his mother sent a letter to a relative to pick him up, but the relative did not receive the letter. "It's a mountain road, and it's raining. I've been walking all day, and I don't know where it is, but I know the general direction, so I'll walk all the way." Years later, in the most difficult times, Zhang Yaqin's mind would always conjure up the picture of walking alone in the rain.

Every time he goes into a city, he stays with his relatives. At that time, Zhang Yaqin had learned to restrain his desire, never be capricious, and tried to show his good side and try to understand the thoughts of adults. "It's a hard feeling to be dependent on someone, but it's good for the character." He later described his childhood as such, in his opinion, people should put themselves in a more suitable position, because they can not be a lifetime of meticulous care, let alone the position of the stars and stars.

The child with no sense of superiority was intellectually superior. It took him two years to finish primary school, a year and a half to finish junior high school, and another year to finish high school. In 1978, he graduated from high school. This year, he was 12 years old.

High intelligence brings honor to Zhang Yaqin. Once, he saw the slogan "set off the craze of learning Zhang Yaqin". He told his mother about the slogan, and her mother lightly said to him: "You have nothing for others to learn, you are just like other children. Since the news of his admission to the University of Science and Technology's youth class was announced, various media wanted to interview the "prodigy" in Taiyuan, but his mother declined to do so.

Last year, the students of the youth class had a reunion after 30 years, but Zhang missed it because of a time conflict. He confessed to this writer that he did not like such occasions. When it comes to what problems need to be avoided in life, Zhang Yaqin said: "History is cause and effect. What happens happens. There are some things I don't want to recall."

It is the soft power of Microsoft

In 1998, after receiving a phone call from Kai-fu Lee, director of Microsoft Research in China, Zhang thought for five minutes and decided to become a member of the research and development center as its chief scientist.

After receiving the news of Zhang Yaqin's appointment, Lee Kaifu expressed his appreciation for Zhang Yaqin: "To tell the truth, his ability is far beyond his position at that time. It is too good to be a dean." Du Jiabin, the former president of Microsoft and Cisco in China, also spoke highly of Zhang Yaqin. "He is the most enthusiastic R&D talent I have ever seen."

Their assessment is not exaggerated. Since the 1990s, Zhang Yaqin has published articles in IEEETransactions, the most authoritative journal in the engineering field. "By now, I have probably published 100 articles in this authoritative journal. The review cycle is two years, and to be published here is an endorsement." Many experts would struggle to get 10 papers published in this journal in their lifetime.

When Zhang Yaqin joined Microsoft, it was a domineering and vulnerable company in China. Its contribution to China's informatization was no less than that of IBM, but compared with IBM, which earned both money and reputation in China, Microsoft earned neither money nor reputation and respect in China. There have been five CEOs in five years, two of whom have since written books critical of Microsoft.

A turning point for Microsoft in China was the establishment of the Microsoft China Research and Development Group, an organization not directly linked to the market and profit. Its aggressive image has been diluted by its continued recruitment of talent.