During the national college entrance examination in 2024, a video interview of Pang Zhongwang, a college entrance examination candidate, made by the program Face to Face 7 years ago was rediscovered by the media and triggered a heated debate on the Internet. In the film, Pang Zhongwang is still sunny in the face of difficulties and setbacks, and his proactive attitude has been praised by many netizens.
In the 2017 college entrance examination, Pang Zhongwang scored 684 points in science, and was admitted to Tsinghua University with a maximum score of 60 points in the "self-improvement plan". The reason why he was admitted to the "self-improvement plan" of Tsinghua University was because of his special family environment. His father was a schizophrenic, and his mother was disabled in her lower limbs and could not move easily. Facing the burden of family, Pang Zhongwang did not feel sorry for himself, but worked hard to take care of his family while studying hard. Seven years later, how is Pang Zhongwang now? Face to face reporter interviewed Pang Zhongwang again.
Once again, entering the public view, Pang Zhongwang has been a 2021 doctoral student in the Department of Precision Instruments of Tsinghua University, and is engaged in research on information perception in optical networks.
Reporter: Since your life came to Tsinghua University, many changes have taken place. What do you think is the biggest change?
Pang Zhongwang said that before he came to Tsinghua, he felt like a newborn calf was not afraid of tigers
Pang Zhongwang: Previously. I may feel that I am not afraid of tigers. I think I can do anything. But after I came to Tsinghua, there are many talents here. You may not be the best in every aspect, but you must find a direction. You are excellent. I don't think I am a perfect person, but I think I can still be called an excellent person.
Since entering the university, Pang Zhongwang has won the scholarship of Tsinghua University for many times, and was also selected as the "Self improvement Star of Chinese College Students" in 2022. Many caring people once offered to help Pang Zhongwang, but he declined. Under the comprehensive subsidy measures of the school, he has no worries about his study and life.
reporter: One thing hasn't changed is that you are still optimistic and smiling, just like before.
Pang Zhongwang said that he returned to self-confidence after stepping into his favorite scientific research field
Pang Zhongwang: Thank you. In fact, I felt that it was the experience of the whole seven years of college. In fact, at the beginning, I was in a confused state. During that period of time, I blocked a lot of communication and exchange with the outside world. First, I wanted to settle down and find myself more quietly. Second, I felt ashamed of the expectations of the outside world. But later, when I really entered a field of scientific research that I liked, Only then returned to a very confident state.
In the first 18 years of his life, Pang Zhongwang was on the verge of death due to congenital heart disease, borrowed money from house to house for his mother's hospitalization, and collected waste products to make money for repaying debts. However, his desire to change his fate through knowledge made him look like an unhappy family, revealing his positive outlook on happiness in peace and warmth. Seven years ago, with the expectations of his family and the concern of the society, Pang Zhongwang entered Tsinghua University, opening a new stage in his life.
reporter: Is the real campus life the same as you imagined?
Pang Zhongwang: When I just entered the university, I was very nervous because I was afraid that my classmates would look at me with maybe unusual eyes.
reporter: Do you care if others know your past or know your story?
Pang Zhongwang: When I first entered the university, I really cared about the eyes of others, but that kind of eyes did not mean that I cared about others to look down on me, but that after seeing my experience, others felt that I needed to grow faster and better in school than they did. In fact, I am afraid that I will fall short of the expectations.
This invisible burden once troubled Pang Zhongwang, but Tsinghua's classmates and teachers cured his fear.
Pang Zhongwang: A roommate of my undergraduate course actually knew my story, but I didn't know that he knew my story until my junior year.
reporter: In the past three years, we haven't had such exchanges.
Pang Zhongwang: Yes, he never mentioned my past on his own initiative. In fact, I was very grateful. Many teachers will ask me to have a psychological conversation. For example, as Mr. Shi Zongkai said, the most important task in Tsinghua is to find and develop yourself.
reporter: What is the impact of this sentence on you?
Pang Zhongwang said to focus more on what he really likes
Pang Zhongwang: My future will no longer be constrained by the fact that many people praise me, but will focus more on what I really like, what I am really good at, and what I really want to grow up like 。
Pang Zhongwang studied in the Department of Precision Instruments, Tsinghua University. For him, the college entrance examination is just a phased summary, while college means a larger world and more self realization.
Pang Zhongwang: When I first entered the university, I was very ignorant, and even had the feeling of drifting with the tide.
reporter: Will there be confusion?
Pang Zhongwang: yes. Because I may not have rich experience when I was young, I may not find what I really like very quickly, so that for a long time, I was mostly in that kind of situation. For example, I saw this student doing such a thing, and I felt it was very good. I also wanted to do it, and that student did such a thing again, I think it's also very good. I want to do it.
reporter: No sense of direction?
Pang Zhongwang: At first, there was none. But I think this experience is actually helpful to me, because in this experience, I have both failures and successes. I know that I am not good at this, and I know that I am good at that. Even if I fail, I will not be discouraged. I will not feel that my ability is limited, because I know where my ability is.
The picture is Pang Zhongwang's life photo
One and a half years after joining the school, Pang Zhongwang kept trying new fields. He once served as the League secretary, life committee member and publicity committee member of the class. The psychological gap has also been resolved in attempts. In this process, his mother Pang Zhiqin's influence on him remains unchanged.
Pang Zhongwang: From childhood to adulthood, I felt that my mother taught me a lot. She said that you should solve whatever you face. My mother taught me to be a very optimistic person when I was young. My mother often said that people should look ahead because my mother laughed every day. Why should I go to suffer?
The picture shows Pang Zhongwang and his mother Pang Zhiqin
Pang Zhiqin, Pang Zhongwang's mother, suffered from illness at birth. Congenital spina bifida led to her stunted lower limbs and her legs were amputated. Her parents didn't let her go to school for safety reasons. After giving birth to the child, the illiterate Pang Zhiqin named him Pang Zhongwang.
Pang Zhiqin: This child is my greatest hope. I have never read books in my life. I envy reading. I want him to read and try to read good books.
Pang Zhongwang: In fact, when talking about my mother, I think she is a very strong person. She is really a very strong person. I think if she was born in the same era as me, she would not be trapped in the cage of disease. I remember she once told me that when she was young, the doctor said that she would not live to be 20, but she thought she could double. I really hope that one day I can have the courage to say that I want to double when facing a comment from others.
Pang Zhiqin has never been to Tsinghua University to see Pang Zhongwang because of his inconvenience and unwillingness to bother others. More regrettably, in 2020, Pang Zhiqin was hospitalized due to illness. Accompanied by her family, she completed her 48 year life.
Pang Zhongwang: In the past, I could not understand with special empathy what kind of pain my mother was suffering from, because she never told me or let me see the places where she was sick. But when she was lying on the hospital bed, I saw the wounds with deep visible bones for the first time, which really made me very distressed. In fact, the day before my mother died, she felt that she had felt it. At that time, she called my grandma and I to her side and kept saying that she could not trust me.
When his mother was in hospital, Pang Zhongwang was interviewing for the qualification to directly study for a doctor's degree. Before his death, Pang Zhiqin heard the good news that his son had passed the interview.
Pang Zhongwang: At that time, the doctor inserted a tube into her because her stomach was distended and she was not allowed to drink water. My mother actually loved drinking water, but she was not allowed to drink water at that time. I just dipped some cotton swabs in her mouth, and the doctor refused to drink it because I had no choice. But I said later that if I had known such an end, I should have said we would have had enough.
reporter: In fact, what kind of blessing do you want to give your child?
Pang Zhiqin wished his son well
Pang Zhiqin: The best wishes are that he will take his own road, do a good job in his study, make contributions to the country and help more people in the future.
Pang Zhongwang: After my mother passed away, in fact, many of the times I dreamt that I pushed her to the market when I was a child. In fact, I seldom show my feelings in words in front of my mother. Many times I may be more willing to do something with my actions. I think she gave me such a name. The action I can do is to live up to her name in the future.
In 2021, Pang Zhongwang will continue to study for a doctorate in the Department of Precision Instruments of Tsinghua University after graduating from the undergraduate program.
reporter: For you, will this pressure be different from the previous one?
Pang Zhongwang: I may prefer to think about and solve problems myself, as well as my tutor, who has always encouraged me. I still remember one Saturday night when I was in my first grade. When I was taking a bath, I suddenly thought of a question when the hot water poured on my head.
reporter: Inspiration burst out.
Pang Zhongwang: That night, I first made a phone call with a senior brother in our laboratory for half an hour, and then ran to the laboratory. The two people could say that they were discussing, but in fact they quarreled. They quarreled until midnight. But finally, what we thought at that time helped us solve a problem of high-precision positioning in our system, I also published my first SCI (Science Citation Index).
An accidental deduction and calculation made Pang Zhongwang build a new set of experimental ideas and processing procedures, which also made him obtain his first invention patent and academic paper in his scientific research career.
reporter: Is that paper important to you?
Pang Zhongwang: I think it is very important. It is my first paper, because before that, I might think that I have the ability to do scientific research and whether I can really solve some problems in actual scientific research. But that paper gave me an answer, and it told me that you can.
Pang Zhongwang's patent certificate for invention
During his doctoral period, Pang Zhongwang published SCI papers as the first/joint author in the journals Photonics Research and Journal of Lightwave Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and won three national invention patents. His research on optical network information perception is oriented to the national major scientific and technological needs.
Pang Zhongwang: We hope to explore more possibilities of optical fiber communication network. For example, in rainy season, we can see the news that some pavement and subgrade collapses. We are wondering whether it is possible to monitor and warn such information in advance through such a communication cable.
In addition to scientific research, Pang Zhongwang will also participate in different types of social practice activities. He joined the Spring Bud Volunteer Program and went to Zaozhuang Mountain Area in Shandong Province to participate in volunteer activities. There, he served as the head teacher of grade one, imparting knowledge to children and sharing his own stories with them.
Pang Zhongwang: In fact, many of those children are children without parents around.
reporter: Left behind children.
Pang Zhongwang: At that time, there was a little girl who would often cry and come to hold your leg and cry there. She didn't say anything when you asked her.
reporter: Will you see your own shadow from them?
Pang Zhongwang: In fact, when I was a child, I would deliberately do something to attract the attention of my family, eager to get the care and love of others. Her situation may be very similar to that of me when I was a child. I also hope that she can not only get more people's love, but also continue to strengthen her appearance and heart, and bravely go out of her own world.
According to the plan, Pang Zhongwang will graduate from the doctoral program two years later. The highlight of the college entrance examination has passed. Pang Zhongwang has spent seven years to prove to the world that he is still a person who can shine.
reporter: What achievements do you really think you can be proud of now?
Pang Zhongwang said, "But we need to work hard, not gain"
Pang Zhongwang: I am still in a state of cultivation rather than harvest. If I look back on my current life experience, I can only talk proudly about college entrance examination and scientific research. But I think that in the longer term, what I may be proud to say will not be these two things. It may be my career. What I think deserves my pride may still be waiting for me in the future.
Producer Liu Bin
Journalist Gu Bing
Planner Mengke
Directed by Ding Fang
Camera | Liu Hongbo, Yang Fan, Gao Zhong
