《斯人已逝（之四：雲生）》Departed Souls (4: Yunsheng)

斯人已逝（之四：雲生）

Departed Souls (4: Yunsheng)

 

雲生是我的高中同班同學，他是一位罕見的數學天才。他的英年早逝讓所有認識他的人扼腕痛惜。

Yunsheng was my high school classmate, a rare mathematical genius. His untimely death at a young age left everyone who knew him in deep sorrow.

當年我父母工作的那個國有大型企業掛靠在那座南方三線城市Y城的邊上。此地自古以來就有文化傳統，曆代文化名人中有不少出自這一地區。Y城二中是省重點中學，它的高中名聲顯赫，有一批特級教師。每個年級約300名學生來自一市八縣的應屆初中畢業生。我們那一屆考生有兩萬多人。我們廠中學和Y城六中的初中部是二中最好的生源地。雲生就是來自六中。

The state-owned large enterprise where my parents worked was affiliated with the Y town, a southern mid-sized city. This area has a rich cultural tradition, and many cultural celebrities in ancient China hailed from this region. The No. 2 High School of Y town was a key provincial high school with a prestigious reputation, boasting a group of top-notch teachers. Each grade had ~300 students from Y town and its affiliated eight counties. Our cohort was selected via tough examinations from over 20,000 candidates. The junior high section of our factory school and  of No. 6 Middle School of Y town were the main sources of talent for No. 2 High School. Yunsheng was from No. 6 High School.

高中時的雲生個頭不高，比較瘦小，與他後來的照片相比，簡直就像個沒有發育成熟的孩子。他的父親是個裁縫，母親是紡織廠的工人。有一次我母親去他父親的裁縫鋪改一件我的白襯衣，提到為孩子準備二中的歌詠比賽，這才對上號 — 原來我們都在自己的父母麵前多次提到對方。我們之間的相互是競爭是激烈的，但都欽佩對方。

Yunsheng was not tall, a bit slender, and when compared to the photos two decades later, he looked like an immature child. His father was a tailor, and his mother worked in a textile factory. One day, my mother went to his father's tailor shop to alter one of my white shirts. During the conversation, she mentioned that she was preparing for a singing activity at No. 2 High School for her son. It turned out that we had mentioned each other multiple times in front of our parents. Despite the intense competition among the outstanding students of our cohort, we admired each other.

雲生的數學天賦，在入校沒多久就被人認識到了。他的數學成績幾乎全是滿分，這個不太稀奇。但有些事不是一般人能做到的。我們的數學老師原先是科大數學係的講師，因為需要回家鄉照顧長期患病的父母，就“降格“調到我們高中來任教。這位胡老師喜歡出難題。有一天課上內容少，於是在最後15分鍾他出了一道二次方程的難題，我們在下麵冥思苦想。離下課還有五分鍾的時候，胡老師把解法大致說了一下。此時雲生舉手，對老師說“我有另外兩種解法，都比您的簡單……”。

Yunsheng's mathematical talent was recognized by everyone shortly after enrollment. His math scores were almost perfect every time in exams, which wasn't too surprising. However, some things were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Our math teacher was originally a lecturer in the mathematics department of the University of Science and Technology of China. Due to the need to take care of his long-term ill parents in Y town, he accepted a "demotion" to teach at our high school. This teacher, Mr. Hu, liked to give challenging problems. One day, with little extra time left in the class, he presented a challenging quadratic equation problem in the last 15 minutes. We pondered below. Five minutes before the end of the class, Mr. Hu briefly explained the solution. At this point, Yunsheng raised his hand and said to the teacher, 'I have two other solutions, both simpler than yours...'

雲生是那種在學習是非常較真的人，為了一個解法、一個概念，不惜去跟老師爭論的學生。其他事情上也是全力以赴，不服輸。我們有時候課後要打籃球。我這一米八的大個子居然在一米七的雲生身上占不到大便宜。他靈巧、占位好、不怕“死磕”，是個讓人頭疼的對手。而在日常生活和穿著上，他卻相當隨意和不修邊幅。有一次家長會後，他媽跟班主任聊天，請他告訴雲生，夏天要每天洗澡。原來他整天在家除了吃飯睡覺，就是做題，不注意個人衛生，家裏人說他也不聽。這話不知道怎麽傳到了同學耳朵裏，很有喜感。顯然，雲生不僅是有天賦的，也是入迷、很用功的…… 我本人這些年看過不少在學術、音樂、體育等方麵的人才。凡是做得特別好的，天賦固然很關鍵，但用功是絕對不可少的。僅憑聰明而成事者，我一個也沒有見過。

Yunsheng was the kind of person who took studying very seriously. He was willing to argue with the teacher for a solution or a concept. In other matters, he was equally dedicated and unwilling to lose. Sometimes, after class, we played basketball. Surprisingly, my 1.8-meter tall figure couldn't easily dominate the 1.7-meter Yunsheng. He was agile, positioned well, unafraid of 'hard fights,' and a headache for opponents. In daily life and appearance, he was quite casual and untidy. One time, after a parent-teacher meeting, his mother talked to the class teacher, asking him to tell Yunsheng to take a bath every day in the summer. It turned out he spent all day at home either eating, sleeping, or doing math problems, neglecting personal hygiene, and his family complained that he wouldn't listen. Somehow, this information reached the ears of classmates, creating some amusement. Clearly, Yunsheng not only had talent but also was fascinated and hardworking... In my years, I've seen many talented individuals in academia, music, sports, and other fields. Talent is crucial, but hard work is absolutely essential. I have not seen anyone succeed solely based on intelligence.

在我們那個省重點高中，學生間的競爭很厲害。期中、期末考試排名公開，那年頭沒有什麽對學生麵子的考慮。各種學科競賽每月都有。很快我就發現，盡管在別的科目競賽上我可以跟雲生比一比，有時還能贏他，但數學競賽是沒有什麽機會的。級別越高越是如此。高二有一次，雲生、我和另外兩位同學參加了華東區數學邀請賽，雲生拿了一等獎，一名低一年級的同學得了二等獎。我沒戲，這個級別的競賽我out了，這是我數學天賦的天花板。後來雲生作為學校唯一的代表參加了那年的全國數學競賽，再次斬獲一等獎。學校專門為他開了慶功會。很遺憾我們那個時候中國還沒有參加IMO，要不然我認為雲生是有實力進國家隊的。

Competition among students was intense at our key provincial high school. Midterm and final exam rankings were publicly displayed, with various subject competitions held every month. Soon, I discovered that, although I could compete with Yunsheng in other subject competitions, and sometimes I win against him, there was no chance in the math competitions.  The higher level, more so.  In the second year of high school, Yunsheng, I, and two other students from our school participated in the East China Mathematics Invitational. Yunsheng won first prize, and a junior from a lower grade won second prize. I had no chance; it was the ceiling of my mathematical talent. Later, Yunsheng, as the school's sole representative, participated in that year's national mathematics competition and once again won first prize. The school organized a celebration for him. Unfortunately, at that time, China had not yet participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO); otherwise, I believe Yunsheng have had the ability to join the national team.

高考一過，各個班最優秀的幾個學生，就被全國名校來的招生老師給“瓜分”了。有的招生老師甚至找到家裏去談。雲生被一所著名高校的數學係給搶走了，據說北大的招生老師很遺憾。下麵這張照片顯示倫敦金融區，與雲生有關，後麵談。照片的雲層中我隱約嵌入了一張照片（為照顧隱私，有意弄得很模糊），這是我們即將奔赴各地上大學時，我們的班主任老師特意找來他的五位得意門生的合影。前排中是老師，前左（觀察者角度）那位女同學現為某一線城市科技園區的行政領導，前右是我，後左現在是房地產富豪，後中是水電專家，後右是雲生。

After the college entrance exam, the top students in each class were divided among recruitment officers from prestigious national universities. Some recruitment officers even went to the students' homes to negotiate. Yunsheng was taken by the mathematics department of a famous university, and it was said that Peking University's recruitment officer regretted he failed to get Yunsheng. The picture below is of the London financial district, related to Yunsheng, and I will discuss it later. In the photo, I faintly embedded another picture (blurred for privacy), a group photo of the five outstanding students from our class that our class teacher specially arranged before we went to different universities. In the front and center is the teacher, the left (from the observer's perspective) female classmate is now an administrative leader in a technology park in a first-tier city, I am on the right, the left rear is now a real estate tycoon, the center rear is a hydropower expert, and the right rear is Yunsheng.

上大學以後我們的聯係不多。平時偶爾有通信，寒暑假見過兩次麵。雲生家在老城區，距我們廠的家屬區有相當的距離。雲生的大學四年雖然沒有什麽轟轟烈烈的大事，但作為學生是很成功的。他不僅是最優秀的本科生，而且開始跟教授合作發表論文。好幾位教授都希望他畢業後成為他們的研究生。他也願意在本校繼續學習。他選擇了一位中年數學家做他的導師，方向是代數幾何（Algebraic Geometry，現代純數學的一個重要分支，其基本研究對象是在任意維數的空間中，由若幹個代數方程的公共零點所構成的集合的幾何特性。）

After going to college, our contact was limited. Occasionally, we exchanged letters, and we met a couple of times during winter and summer vacations. His family lived in the old city area, quite far from the family area of our factory. Although Yunsheng's four years of university were not spectacular, he was very successful as a student. He was not only the top undergraduate student but also started collaborating on research papers with professors. Several professors hoped he would become their graduate student after graduation, and he was willing to continue studying at the same university. He chose a middle-aged mathematician as his advisor, and his focus was algebraic geometry (a crucial branch of modern pure mathematics that studies the geometric properties of sets defined by several algebraic equations in any number of dimensions).

然而，錄取卻遇到了麻煩。他的三門專業課全部是滿分，英語過線，但政治不及格。按照規定不能錄取。老師急了，去找校長、黨委書記，學校怕犯錯誤，不敢定。但領導還算是珍惜人才，就打電話到北京教育部請示，看能不能特批。教育部的領導提出了一個解決辦法：先讓雲生作為研究生入學，但在校幾年中，須隨報考研究生的學生一同再考政治，直到過線。否則不得授予學位。

However, his admission encountered a problem. His three major courses were all full marks, he passed the English exam, but he failed the political science exam. According to the regulations, he couldn't be admitted. The teacher was anxious and went to see the school principal and the party secretary. The school, afraid of making a mistake, hesitated. However, the leadership valued talent and called the Ministry of Education in Beijing to seek special approval. The Ministry of Education proposed a solution: let Yunsheng enter as a graduate student, but during his years at the school, he must take the political science exam with other graduate school applicants until he passes. Otherwise, he would not be awarded a degree.

雲生成為研究生後，我們們的聯係基本上就中斷了。他恐怕是越來越忙，而我去了北京，在單位的筒子樓裏，度過了幾年無聊、焦慮的蹉跎歲月。1990年代上半葉的一天，我招待了一位從南方來北京出差的高中老同學，他是雲生的發小，兩人聯係很多。他告訴我雲生在前一年已經去英國讀博士去了。原來在雲生讀碩士的時候，他們係與英國一所著名大學數學係進行學術交流。來訪者中有兩位學界的大教授。其中一人跟雲生交流後，對他的天賦和水平大為震驚，說你來讀我的博士吧，做純數學，你應該跟對方向。大教授回到英國，為雲生弄到了一筆獎學金。於是，雲生就去了英國這所著名的學府。

After becoming a graduate student, our contact basically stopped. He was probably getting busier, while I went to Beijing and spent several years in the monotonous and anxious years in the unit's dormitory. In the early 1990s, one day, I hosted a high school classmate who came to Beijing for a business trip. He was Yunsheng's childhood friend, and they had a close relationship. He told me that Yunsheng had gone to the UK for a Ph.D. the previous year. When Yunsheng was doing his master's, their department had academic exchanges with the mathematics department of a prestigious British university. In the visitors, two professors were well-known in their direction, and one of them, after exchanging ideas with Yunsheng, was greatly shocked by his talent and proficiency. He told Yunsheng to come to the UK to be his Ph.D.  He told Yunsheng if he does pure mathematics, you should align yourself with correct directions. The professor returned to the UK and secured a scholarship for Yunsheng. So, Yunsheng went to this renowned institution for a Ph.D. degree.

大約在2004年左右，我們年級一位學計算機、後來下海做電腦生意的同學申請了一個專門的網址作為“老同學交流論壇”，這個論壇一下子就把我們這一屆近200名同學聯係到了一起。不知何故，雲生沒有加入進來。但是很快有同學介紹說，雲生在1990年代末拿到博士學位以後就結婚了。妻子就是家鄉Y城的，原先在市裏麵的什麽局當辦事員，他倆是通過別人介紹認識的。當時雲生已經三十出頭，家裏為他著急，他自己可能也想成家。他回家見了一下這位比他小8歲的姑娘，接著有幾個月的email交流，然後他就回國結婚了。參加婚禮的同學在同學論壇上貼上了幾張照片。婚禮場麵挺隆重。而他的新婚妻子呢，簡單一句話描述就是：是個美人兒。

Around 2004, one of our classmates who studied computer science and later ventured into the computer business created a dedicated website as a 'forum for old classmates.' This forum instantly connected nearly 200 classmates from our cohort. For some reason, Yunsheng did not join. However, a classmate soon introduced that Yunsheng had gotten married in the late 1990s. His wife was from Y town, working in some bureau in the city as a staff member. They were introduced through mutual acquaintances. At that time, Yunsheng was in his early thirties, feeling the urgency to get married. After a 2-week visit to home town to meet this girl in person and exchanging emails for several months, he returned to China again and got married. Classmates who attended the wedding posted some photos on the forum. The wedding ceremony was quite grand. As for his new wife, she could be described in simple terms: an extremely beautiful lady.

那個時候，雲生的專業和學術水平早已不是我能理解和評價的了。然而出於好奇，我去查詢了一下他的工作和發表。網上顯示在2000之前，他的身份是博士後，與David Masser 、Gerd Faltings這些數學大師在基金申請和發表上有一些合作。顯然雲生當時是走在純數學前沿的。然而後來在同學論壇上，有人說雲生已經改行做應用數學。他加入了倫敦金融城的一家投資銀行。而且這位同學說雲生的概率統計和計算機編程都好，所以一進入銀行就大顯身手。他建立了一個新的風險投資模型。銀行依此投資放貸，成效卓著。他說雲生因此獲得了高額的獎金，“發了”。我後來跟一位做應用數學的朋友聊到雲生的轉行，他說很好理解啊。純數學這條路太難走了，就算你有極高的天賦和超常的努力，大概率你一生很難有重大發現，最終多半是在學校裏教書。

At that time, Yunsheng's professional and academic level was certainly beyond my comprehension and evaluation. However, out of curiosity, I checked his work and publications online. It showed that before 2000, his status was a postdoctoral researcher, and he had some collaboration with mathematical masters like David Masser and Gerd Faltings in fund applications and publications. Obviously, Yunsheng was at the forefront of pure mathematics at that time. However, later, someone on the class forum said that Yunsheng had switched to applied mathematics and joined an investment bank in the London financial district. This classmate stated that Yunsheng was excellent in probability and statistics as well as computer programming, so he showcased his talents upon entering the bank. He created a new risk investment model, and the bank invested and lent based on this model, achieving remarkable results. He said Yunsheng received a substantial bonus, and "he is well-heeled." Later, when I talked to a friend who studied applied mathematics about Yunsheng's career change, he said it was totally understandable. The path of pure mathematics was too difficult. Even if you had extraordinary talent and put in extraordinary effort, it was highly probable that you would never make a significant discovery in your lifetime, and most likely, you would end up teaching at a school.

大約是2007年的一天，我這個老博士後在實驗室忙碌了十幾個小時。回家打開同學論壇一看，我驚呆了：雲生因患肝癌日前在倫敦去世，享年39歲。發現的時候已經是晚期，已不能手術，幾個月人就走了。那兩年本來我就不順，雲生的噩耗讓我痛苦了很多天……

One day around 2007, I, as an old postdoc, was busy in the lab all day. When I got home and opened the class forum, I was shocked: Yunsheng had passed away in London due to liver cancer at the age of 39. When it was diagnosed, it was already in the late stage, and surgery was not possible. He passed away within a few months. Those two years were already tough for me, and Yunsheng's tragic news caused me much pain for many days...

又過了十年。我2018年在國內的時候，見了不少的老同學。那時正值春節，老同學瑩從外地趕來陪她父母過年。她聽說我回來了，就約我到茶館去聊聊。她是當年二班的學霸，高考也考上了雲生的那所大學。瑩過去跟我不在一個班，不熟。我們那個時候男女界限分明，根本沒說過話。然而幾十年過去了，現在見麵如老友重逢，輕鬆自然。

Ten more years passed. In 2018, when I was in China, I met many old classmates. It was during the Chinese New Year, and Ying came from out of town to accompany his parents. When she heard that I was back, she invited me to a teahouse to chat. She was a top student of Class Two back then, and she also went to the same famous university as Yunsheng. Ying and I were not in the same class in the past, and we were not familiar. At that time, the boundaries between boys and girls were clear, and we had never spoken to each other. However, decades later, meeting each other felt like a reunion of old friends, and it was easygoing and comfortable.

閑聊中我提到雲生英年早逝太可惜，瑩突然淚流滿麵。她說：“有些事情我從來沒有跟任何人講過，現在跟你說說吧。”瑩的母親與雲生的母親過去都是紡織廠的工人，兩家住得也很近，兩人算得上是青梅竹馬。雲生從小優秀，瑩一直心裏麵喜歡他。後來他們去了同一所大學，瑩是有所期待的。然而，除了偶爾的一同放假回家和回校，兩人交集很少。四年間瑩想了一些辦法跟雲生接近，多次暗示，可是雲生就像木疙瘩一樣沒有反應。

During the chat, I mentioned that Yunsheng's untimely death was regrettable, and Ying suddenly burst into tears. She said, 'There's something I've never told anyone; I'll tell you now.' Ying's mother and Yunsheng's mother were colleagues in the textile factory, and the two families lived very close to each other, essentially childhood friends. Yunsheng was outstanding from a young age, and Ying had always liked him. Later, they went to the same university, and Ying had expectations in love. However, except for occasional trips home and back to school, their interactions were infrequent. During the four years, Ying tried some ways to get closer to Yunsheng, dropping hints multiple times, but Yunsheng, like a piece of wood, showed no response.

我把已經到嘴邊的話又咽了回去。我本想對瑩說，我認為雲生不是木訥，而是對你沒感覺（瑩當年是個戴眼鏡、書生氣的女孩子）。作為男人，我深知我們中的不少人是有符咒的，他們找戀愛、婚配的對象首先看臉、看身材。明知這樣非理性、不公平、甚至危險，但他們無法擺脫。看看雲生太太的美貌，我猜想雲生也許是其中之一。

I swallowed the words I was about to say. I wanted to tell Ying that I thought Yunsheng wasn't taciturn; he just didn't have feelings for you (Ying was a girl with glasses and a scholarly demeanor back then). As a man, I know that many of us are “helpless”; they choose their spouse based on appearance and figure. Even though they know it's irrational, unfair, and even dangerous, they can't escape it. Looking at Yunsheng's beautiful wife, I guessed that he might be one of them.

瑩在四年級做畢業論文的時候，同實驗室的碩士生師兄狂追她。她隱約感覺這個人的性格不好，同時心中又惦念著雲生，很矛盾。於是她約雲生出去聊聊，她試探性地告訴雲生有人在追求她，聽聽他的建議。而雲生的反應讓她“傷心至極”（這是她的原話，我沒有問雲生究竟說了什麽）。於是，瑩與她的師兄建立了戀愛關係。盡管幾年間磕磕絆絆，那男人也暴露出一些問題，但瑩還是未能下決心擺脫。她畢業以後他們結了婚，有了一個女兒。而她丈夫的狹隘和控製欲也發展到了病態的程度。

In the fourth year, when Ying was doing experiments for her graduation thesis, a graduate student in the laboratory went after her intensely. She vaguely felt that this person's character was not good, and at the same time, she still couldn’t remove Yunsheng out of her heart. She contacted Yunsheng and told him that someone was pursuing her, asking for his advice. Yunsheng's reaction left her 'extremely heartbroken' (these were her exact words, and I didn't ask what Yunsheng had said). As a result, Ying established a romantic relationship with her the guy. Although there were ups and downs over the years, and the man revealed some problems, Ying wasn’t resolved enough to leave. After she graduated, they got married and had a daughter. However, her husband's narrow-mindedness and control grew to a pathological level.

在2000年代初期，瑩有一次要去倫敦開學術會議。那時候雲生結婚已三、四年，而瑩也在不幸婚姻的漩渦中掙紮，她聯係到雲生，告訴他會議結束後想在倫敦玩兩天，如方便可以見個麵。雲生回那你就住我家裏吧，我剛買了一套公寓。

In the early 2000s, Ying went to London for an academic conference. At that time, Yunsheng had been married for three or four years, and Ying was struggling in an unfortunate vortex. She contacted Yunsheng and told him that after the conference, she wanted to spend two days in London, and if convenient, they could meet. Yunsheng replied that she could stay at his home, as he had just bought an apartment.

雖然隻是短短的兩天，瑩深感尷尬，後悔住到雲生家裏住。夫妻兩人處處顯示出不和睦、不協調，即使當著客人的麵。雲生告訴學瑩，他太太在婚後不久就要求他轉行做應用數學的，她說做純數學太清苦，生活看不到希望。雲生告訴瑩，現在自己的收入已是博士後時的十幾倍不止，買了好地段的公寓。可她又開始不滿意，說房子太小了……瑩也把自己婚姻的不幸簡單告訴了雲生。在送瑩回國時，在機場安檢口，雲生對瑩說：“你多保重，對過去的一些事情，我很後悔。”這是雲生對瑩說的最後一句話。

Even though it was only for a short two days, Ying felt extremely awkward and regretted staying at Yunsheng's house. The couple showed discord and lack of coordination everywhere, even in front of guests. Yunsheng told Ying that it was his wife who had asked him to switch to applied mathematics shortly after getting married. She said that doing pure mathematics was too tough, and life seemed hopeless. Yunsheng told Ying that his current income is more than ten times that of his postdoctoral days, and they just bought an apartment in a good location. However, she soon became dissatisfied again, complaining that it was not big enough. Ying also briefly shared the unhappiness in her marriage with Yunsheng. When sending Ying back to China, at the airport security checkpoint, Yunsheng said to Ying, "Take care of yourself, and I regret some things from the past." This was Yunsheng's last sentence to Ying.

這次（2018年初）瑩跟我聊天的時候，她已經離婚十幾年，之後她沒有再婚，她打算一輩子獨身了。她的事業很成功，是國內有關專業的知名學者。她告訴我，她女兒正在倫敦一所大學讀碩士，夏天結束。她屆時要到英國去一趟，跟女兒一同回國。

The last time (early 2018) I saw Ying, she had been divorced for more than ten years and was still single. Her career was very successful, and she was a well-known scholar in her field in China. She told me that her daughter was studying for a master's degree at a university in London and would be returning after the summer. She planned to visit the UK and come back with her daughter.

雲生病重時，他並沒有聯係瑩。她也是從同學論壇上得知雲生的死訊的。她哭了整整一天。她不知道雲生的墓在哪裏，也不想去打聽了。她說夏天去英國時，她想到雲生曾經學習、生活過的那所大學去走一走，到數學係樓前的草坪上坐一會兒，算是去跟雲生道個別 ……

When Yunsheng fell seriously ill, he didn't tell Ying. She learned about Yunshng's death from the classmate forum. She cried for the whole day. She didn't know where Yunsheng's grave was, and she didn't want to inquire. She said that when she went to England in the coming summer, she would visit the university where Yunsheng had studied and lived, take a walk, sit on the lawn in front of the mathematics department building for a while, as a way to bid farewell to Yunsheng....

【Edited from ChatGPT translation.】