Zhou Youguang, a modern wonder: He lived to be 112 years old and created Chinese Pinyin. Did he really chat with Einstein?

January 15, 2017, he is a national treasure-level master; he is an old man who has experienced more than a century of ups and downs; he is the "father of Chinese Pinyin"; he and Zhang Yun, the four sisters of the Zhang family Deeply married; he died on the day after his 112th birthday. On his 111th birthday, he once said that 111 years old is 1 year old. He died peacefully and peacefully, and was reunited with his wife and two children in heaven. On January 14, Zhou Youguang died in Peking Union Medical College Hospital at 3:30 a.m. the day after his 112th birthday.

Zhou Youguang is typing

Mr. Zhou Youguang’s home is located in a community in Huaibang Hutong, Chaonei Street. It was quiet yesterday afternoon. It seemed that nothing had changed, except for the entire afternoon yesterday. Relatives, friends, leaders of work units, editors of publishing houses, all dressed in black came upstairs to visit in droves. The landline phone at home was ringing non-stop, and the nanny Xiao Xu was busy greeting relatives and friends, answering the phone, dealing with the family and declining the concerns from all parties, "I'm too busy, just know the news."

Still curious about the world

At the beginning of 2016, the media reported that Mr. Zhou was in poor health. Professor Zhang Mali, the daughter of Mr. Zhou Youguang's fifth sister, Zhang Yun, and his niece, whom she treats as her own daughter, revealed at yesterday's symposium on Mr. Zhou Youguang's 112th birthday in Shanghai that Mr. Zhou suddenly fell ill recently, very seriously, and two The little nanny was very anxious. She could only drink nutrient solution and stopped talking. When someone came, she asked the aunt to get a hearing aid and made gestures but refused to speak. My cousin went to see me and didn't say anything. ?

Zhou Xiaoping, the son of Mr. Zhou Youguang, wrote before his death: ?Dad has made all preparations for the future, including his hope to donate his body for scientific research. ?Media person Ma Guochuan revealed: ?The old man has not been in good health recently. This time he walked very naturally and calmly. We were worried about his physical condition before, but the old man is 112 years old and can persist. It’s not easy now either. ?

In Zhang Mali’s eyes, his uncle was still full of curiosity about the world before he became seriously ill. ?He told me, Ma Li, that my life has come to an end, but I didn't see the end in his eyes, I saw hope. Zhang Mali said, "My uncle is very naive. He has higher hopes than me. He reads many newspapers every day: The New York Times, Asahi Shimbun, Reference News? Is it possible for someone who has come to an end to read so many newspapers?" ? What worries me the most is that the eyes in the photos he sent were empty and blank. They had never looked like that before. Such a talkative person is silent now. Zhang Mali said, "I went to see him last year and we were talking before dinner. I said, uncle, do you regret it since you came back from abroad?" He said no, I accomplished something after all. What he said was Chinese Pinyin. He said if I didn't come back, there would be no hope at all. He said, I will definitely accomplish this. ?Recently I saw his photo from WeChat. His eyes were empty and his heart was gone. I was very sad. ?Zhang Mali said that he originally planned to visit the old man during the Spring Festival, ?but the world is lonely, and the long-lived old man couldn't wait any longer and had gone to heaven to meet Mr. Yunhe. ?

Mr. Zhou Youguang’s study

The furnishings at home have not changed

Ma Guochuan, the chief writer of the financial magazine, has gone to Zhou’s hometown many times to interview and visit him. Yesterday morning, he also attended the "Mr. Zhou Youguang's 112th Birthday Symposium" in Shanghai. On the high-speed train back to Beijing, Ma Guochuan recalled the story of his interaction with Zhou Youguang to the Beijing Evening News reporter. ?He is a wise old man, and his career, love and family life are all perfect examples. One sentence impressed me very deeply. He told me that I had seriously thought about this world. He never gave up this kind of thinking until the end. He was a person who had thought about it all his life. He had seriously thought about this life and the world. ?Ma Guochuan said that Mr. Zhou has a very good personality. He tells him jokes every time. ?He is so innocent and cute. Before I even laughed, he covered his mouth and started laughing first.

He is very humorous and knows how to tell jokes. He told a story about a meeting in Ningxia. He was the only one wearing a straw hat. As a result, a group of wild geese flew over his head. Everyone was covered in bird shit. He was the only one covered by the straw hat. Every time he I laughed out loud when I told this joke, very happy and full of childlike innocence. ?

Life? Reading? New Knowledge Li Xin, former editor-in-chief of Sanlian Bookstore, introduced that Mr. Zhou Youguang is an old author of Sanlian Bookstore, and both Sanlian Bookstores in Beijing and Hong Kong have published many of his works. In Li Xin's impression, the old man's home was extremely simple, with a small study room surrounded by bookshelves. There is a small desk by the window, opposite are two single sofas, with a small coffee table in between. The old man asked us to sit on the sofa and he sat behind the desk facing us. I remembered that the old man once wrote in his memory article that when his wife Zhang Yunhe and Mr. Zhang Yunhe were still alive, they would sit on this pair of sofas and drink tea and coffee every day for decades, raising glasses to the same level and respecting each other as guests. Now that the wife has left, the furnishings in the house remain unchanged.

Li Xin wrote in the article "Three Visits to the Elder Zhou Youguang" that the old man's face was red and he was in good spirits. Chat with us, follow your whims, and have a wide range of conversations. I found that except for his poor hearing, his sharp thinking and reaction were just like those of young and middle-aged scholars. It was really amazing. For nearly two hours, the old man kept talking, mainly about the past. ?

At home in March 2016

The four yuan haircut fee must be repaid

Wang Yi, editor of People’s Literature Publishing House, has known Mr. Zhou for many years , he goes to take photos of Mr. Zhou almost every year. This year he planned to go after the ordering meeting. His office building can see the building of Mr. Zhou’s hometown. ?We also go to see him regularly. At Mr. Zhou’s age, it’s not like you can go see him anytime you want. When he wakes up, call his nanny. As long as his nanny says he’s in good health, we’ll go there. Sometimes we even have time to bring our cameras. , I took pictures with my mobile phone. Every year I go to see him around his birthday. This year I wanted to wait until after his birthday before going, but I didn’t expect it. Wang Yi told reporters.