In 2013, a Chinese-American mathematician became famous overnight because he proved a weakened form of the twin prime conjecture. No mathematician has been able to break through this conjecture before, and Zhang Yitang is the only one. However, during the interview, Zhang Yitang

In 2013, a Chinese-American mathematician became famous overnight because he proved a weakened form of the twin prime conjecture . No mathematician has been able to break through this conjecture before. Zhang Yitang is the only .

However, during the interview, Zhang Yitang made a surprising statement. He said:

Fortunately, I am not in China, otherwise I would not have won this award.

You must know that Zhang Yitang graduated from Peking University . As soon as this sentence came out, it directly attracted countless scoldings.

What is going on? Is the mathematical genius Zhang Yitang wronged?

- The "gossip" after glory

The twin prime numbers are a pair of prime numbers that differ by 2, and the twin prime number conjecture is a famous unsolved problem in number theory.

This conjecture has been around for a long time. In the famous report of at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900, it ranked 8th among the 23 " Hilbert problems ".

Therefore, various mathematics enthusiasts are constantly trying to prove it. Over the years, some people have claimed to have proved the twin prime conjecture. However, the fact is that there has not yet been a proof that can pass the scrutiny of professional mathematicians.

It was not until 2013, after Zhang Yitang's paper was published, that this problem was solved.

In 2013, Zhang Yitang published the paper "Bounded Distances between Prime Numbers" in the "Annals of Mathematics". In the paper, he elaborated on his latest research on this conjecture - he discovered that there are infinitely many prime numbers with differences less than 70 million. Yes, it is possible to prove the weakening situation of the twin prime conjecture.

The chief reviewer of the paper of "Annals of Mathematics" is Ivaniz, who is today's top expert on analytic number theory and . Zhang Yitang's paper was confirmed to have passed the review in just three weeks, setting a record for the fastest review of a paper in the journal's 130-year history.

Zhang Yitang

The reviewer of the "Annual Review of Mathematics" at that time commented on the paper:

This result is first-rate in the field of mathematics. This author successfully proved a landmark theorem in number theory . We studied the paper exhaustively and carefully and found no flaws.

This is the first time that someone has been able to prove that there are infinite pairs of prime numbers whose distance is less than a fixed value, and a problem that has troubled the mathematical community for a century and a half has been solved.

For a while, Zhang Yitang was in the limelight. After the

paper was published, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton sent an invitation, hoping that he would become a visiting scholar in the institute.

In 2014, he was directly hired as a full professor, skipping the steps of assistant professor, associate professor, etc., and was elected as an academician of Academia Sinica. The American Mathematical Society even awarded him the lofty "Kehl's Number Theory Prize".

At the 2014 Seoul International Mathematics Conference, he was also invited to give a one-hour invited report. It is worth mentioning that the invited report at the International Mathematicians Conference is usually 45 minutes. In addition, his report was the finale. of.

Zhang Yitang

Moreover, the mathematics conference is held every four years. Those who can give invited reports at it are the top mathematicians. Only those who have done the most outstanding work in can get invitations.

There were very few Chinese mathematicians attending the conference, only Chen Shengshen, Yau Shing-tung and a few others.

On February 13, 2014, he won the Rolf Schock Award for mathematics.

On September 16 of the same year, Zhang Yitang won the MacArthur Genius Award . This award is one of the highest cross-field awards in the United States.

However, no one could have imagined that just after the front foot won the world-class award, the back foot Zhang Yitang said this in an interview:

Fortunately, I am not in China, otherwise I would not have won this award. As soon as the sentence

came out, it caused an uproar in the country. Along with the praise came overwhelming abuse.

You must know that Zhang Yitang studied at Peking University in his early years. In this top university in the country, he absorbed a lot of mathematical knowledge and came into contact with many well-known scholars in the field of mathematics.

Although this proof was achieved by Zhang Yitang after many years of research in the United States, his current achievements are largely due to his accumulation of knowledge in his early years.

Young man Zhang Yitang

However, he said such words, which undoubtedly chilled the hearts of many compatriots. Moreover, the country is already very sensitive to highly sophisticated intellectuals, especially those who have gone abroad for further studies.

So when Zhang Yitang said such words, netizens directly and mercilessly rebuked him. Facing the angry comments from netizens, Zhang Yitang seemed very calm. He said:

My heart is very calm. I don't care about money and honor, I like to sit down and do what I want to do.

In fact, Zhang Yitang was already 58 years old when he achieved this achievement. He has passed the age where he cares about honor and fame. He just wants to focus on the field he loves, and other people's words have no influence on him.

And in his eyes, those netizens who criticized him did not know the whole story at all.

In fact, Zhang Yitang, who is now fruitful, said that before published his paper in 2013, life was not good. Behind him, there is a lot of unknown bitterness hidden.

二 There is no way out

Zhang Yitang is an outstanding mathematical genius. In just one year, he has won all the honors that others have taken decades to achieve.

Zhang Yitang looks like a beautiful man, but behind his back is full of abjection.

Zhang Yitang

In 1982, Zhang Yitang graduated from Peking University with an undergraduate degree. He then studied under the famous mathematician Professor Pan Chengbiao at the same school to study for a master's degree.

During his college years, Zhang Yitang showed his extraordinary talent. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a mathematical genius.

In 1985, adhering to the principle of honing talents, President Ding Shisun of Peking University recommended him to study in the United States.

Therefore, Zhang Yitang came to Purdue University in the United States as a self-funded public student. Here, he studied for a doctorate under the tutelage of Taiwanese algebra expert Mo Zongjian.

Zhang Yitang studied at Pudu for seven years before getting his doctorate.

But he was unemployed after graduation . His doctoral thesis used the theorem of his mentor Mo Zongjian. After strict review at all levels, the theorem was found to have errors. There were loopholes in the paper, which made it almost impossible for him to graduate.

At the same time, because of this incident, his mentor also had no contact with him. After graduation, Zhang Yitang was unable to get a job in academia because he couldn't get a recommendation letter from his mentor, so he had to work odd jobs. After graduating from

, Zhang Yitang published almost no papers. In order to make a living, he traveled around to work.

He worked as a cashier in a humble fast food restaurant, as a delivery boy in a Chinese restaurant, and even did odd jobs in motels. You can't imagine at all. This is the experience of a rare genius in the mathematics world.

Zhang Yitang

In fact, it is not impossible for him to find a high-paying job, but that means there is no extra time to study mathematics, and it means giving up the mathematics he has been obsessed with for his whole life.

Between ideal and reality, Zhang Yitang resolutely chose ideal. During that time, Zhang Yitang lived in the market, had irregular meals, and sometimes even spent the night in the car.

Can Zhang Yitang return to academia? Did a genius just die?

Fortunately, there is no way out despite the mountains and rivers, and there is another bright spot.

Zhang Yitang received such good news when he was working in a restaurant. His Peking University alumnus Tang Puqi encountered a problem when he was working at Intel Company . In order to solve the problem of the maximum capacity of the network converter, he found Zhang Yitang.

The two worked side by side, and it took only a week to perfectly solve this difficult problem.Many years later, even though Zhang Yitang, who was very talented at the time, was reduced to struggling for life, he still did not give up his love for mathematics.

Tang Puqi was very shocked, and in order to thank Zhang Yitang for his help, he extended a helping hand to Zhang Yitang - helped Zhang Yitang get a temporary lecturer position at the University of New Hampshire in the United States.

This position was a turning point in Zhang Yitang's life. Although it was only a temporary lecturer position, it brought Zhang Yitang one step closer to the academic world.

Zhang Yitang teaches

Zhang Yitang has taught here for more than ten years. In his spare time, he has been studying the problem of twin prime numbers. In order to answer his doubts, he also visited his friends in Colorado. Shortly after

visited, inspiration came to him fiercely. After some sorting, 's paper that broke the long-standing problem in the mathematics world - "The Bounded Interval between Prime Numbers" was born.

On April 17, 2013, Zhang Yitang officially submitted the paper to Princeton's "Annals of Mathematics" magazine. After

received the manuscript, the reviewer saw that it was about twin primes and didn't pay much attention to it. Because this is an "unsolved mystery" that has plagued the mathematical community for a century and a half, they do not have high hopes of uncovering the answer.

Fortunately, Iwanik browsed it carefully. After reading it, he discovered the subtleties of this paper, so he quickly called another reviewer to notify it.

Just like that, after many twists and turns, a landmark conclusion in the mathematical world came out!

In fact, when Zhang Yitang was struggling to make a living, a professor from his alma mater Peking University once offered him an olive branch. If Zhang Yitang is willing, he can introduce Zhang Yitang to return to his alma mater to teach. However, Zhang Yitang rejected this kindness and continued to work in the United States after thanking the professor for his kindness.

Zhang Yitang

Would Zhang Yitang really rather serve dishes in the United States than return to China to become a professor?

三 Chisel out the deep mountains with thousands of hammers

The professor at Peking University is improper and wants to go to the United States to serve the dishes.

If you understand Zhang Yitang this way, you are totally wrong.

After Zhang Yitang won numerous world-class awards, he once said this infuriating words:

Fortunately, I am not in China, otherwise I would not be able to win this award.

At first glance, this sentence may sound like a mockery of China. In fact, this sentence is just Zhang Yitang’s summary of his life experience.

People who don't know Zhang Yitang will look at Zhang Yitang with inertial thinking and think that he is a "traitor". Few people know why Zhang Yitang said this.

He is not the kind of intellectual who has forgotten his country and has no three views. He went to the United States just to study the mathematics he loves, not to get higher treatment than at home.

After Zhang Yitang graduated, he was not taken seriously in the United States without a letter of recommendation. When he was serving plates, no one knew him; when he was delivering takeout, no one cared about him; when he was working as a cashier, no one even offered him an olive branch.

Maybe after seeing this, we will have questions, why did the professor from his alma mater give him the opportunity to return to Peking University to teach, but he continued to stay in the United States and refused the professor's kindness?

Zhang Yitang is learning

In fact, Zhang Yitang has his own difficulties.

My heart is at peace. I don't care about money and honor, I like to sit down and do what I want to do.

This is what he said during an interview. His life is neither for money nor for fame and wealth. His pursuit and ideal have always been in the field of mathematics.

But in China, he has no such opportunity at all. He said that in China, he might not be able to win this award. This sentence is correct, but it is a bit easy to think of.

It’s not that the treatment at home is not as good as abroad, but that the country lacks a pure environment for academic study.

Chinese society is an orderly system. Everyone’s age, path, and activities are all planned in advance.

Like Zhang Yitang, is obsessed with studying people all day long, and they are "idle people" who do nothing in society. Now Zhang Yitang has made achievements in his research, so he will receive awards. But before he succeeds, who can guarantee that he will succeed?

If you devote yourself to scientific research but fail to achieve impressive results, we can probably imagine what the world will think of you.

If a person graduates, has no formal job, cannot make money, has no car or house, and does some "non-trivial" research all day long, how will the people around him treat him?

Zhang Yitang receives the award

When a man reaches middle age, he is still serving dishes in restaurants, working in hotels, and as a salesperson in fast food restaurants. What will his relatives at home think of him?

Even Zhang Yitang himself said:

The worldly pressure is too great and you can’t escape it. If you don’t publish a paper, what will happen to you? I can be calm myself, I don’t want these things, but if your family, relatives and friends don’t agree, we don’t have this problem in the United States.

Maybe you will say that being a professor at Peking University is a very good job. But even as a university professor, there are many unnecessary meetings and research to participate in every day. Such a complicated life is not suitable for Zhang Yitang to engage in research.

Maybe you will say , where to do research is not to do research, as long as it is a clean place, why do you have to go to the United States? is actually very reasonable, but no matter where Zhang Yitang is doing research, as long as he still has the motherland in his heart and has not betrayed the motherland, there is not much to blame.

It is worth mentioning that after Zhang Yitang succeeded, the mentor who had a problem with him actually contacted him and publicly clarified what happened back then. It seemed to be a gesture of goodwill to Zhang Yitang, but Zhang Yitang ignored it. In his heart, his alma mater has always been Peking University.

Zhang Yitang returned to China shortly after proving the twin prime conjecture. At home, he gave lectures at many universities.

Zhang Yitang gave a speech

In October 2016, Zhang Yitang attended the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences lecture. He sent a message to the students to "continuously improve".

On August 26, 2018, Zhang Yitang was invited to Southeast University for an academic visit. He left behind a sentence: "Perseverance will lead to gains."

During the lecture, he unreservedly told the results of his research to numerous students in China. During this period, he answered questions for many students and constantly encouraged students who love mathematics to move forward.

In the final analysis, everyone has his own ambitions, and we cannot influence other people's thoughts. Zhang Yitang's choice on the path of mathematics is also his personal ambition. What we can do is to improve ourselves as much as possible, provide more resources and better conditions for intellectuals, and try to retain as many high-tech talents as possible for the motherland.