Li Zhengdao, a child prodigy of 16 years old.

Li Zhengdao, a child prodigy of 16 years old.

-23-year-old child prodigy Dr.

Li Zhengdao, a Chinese American, was born in Shanghai. 1926. He is a physicist and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.

Li Zhengdao grew up in Shanghai. Father Li graduated from Jinling University and mother Zhang graduated from Shanghai Middle School. Influenced by their parents, Li Zhengdao's six brothers and sisters all became scholars.

Li Zhengdao has a strong interest in mathematics and physics since he was a child, and his grades have been among the best from primary school to middle school. 1940, when the Japanese invaders occupied Shanghai, Li Zhengdao was only 14 years old. He and his two brothers had to go to the rear area and study in Jiangxi United Middle School. When I was in senior three, I asked Li Zhengdao to teach these two courses, because there were no teachers in the school. Although he is very talented and has excellent grades, being a teacher is a test for him. What is commendable is that Li Zhengdao bravely shouldered this burden. He prepared lessons carefully and asked questions diligently, and the lecture actually received good results. The experience of being a "little teacher" this time gave him an excellent temper and made him understand a truth: to be a teacher, you must first be a student. Since then, he has studied harder and harder.

1943, 17-year-old Li Zhengdao entered Zhejiang University. The school site moved to Zunyi, Guizhou, and it was very poor. The teaching conditions are so bad that there is not even a quiet learning environment. Li Zhengdao, who studied hard, came up with a way. He went to the teahouse during the day, made a cup of tea, occupied a seat, buried himself in the teahouse and read a book all day. After a long time, he developed a set of skills to seek peace in a difficult situation and concentrate on reading.

1 year later, Li Zhengdao transferred to Southwest Associated University (consisting of Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University) which was moved to Kunming at that time. Conditions are still difficult. A dozen students huddle in a small hut, and every few days, they have to take the sheets and clothes to the cauldron for cooking to eliminate bedbugs. Here, he still adopts the method of Zunyi, Guizhou, and often goes to the teahouse to study.

1946, 20-year-old Li Zhengdao went to the United States to study alone. At that time, he had just finished his sophomore year, but after strict examination by the University of Chicago, he was admitted to the Graduate School of the University of Chicago. Three years later, Li Zhengdao passed the doctoral thesis defense with "special insights and achievements". At that time, Li Zhengdao was only 23 years old and was known as "Dr. Child prodigy".