Qian Weichang, a mechanical expert in China, got only 5 points in the college entrance examination. Even so, he was admitted to Tsinghua with both Chinese and history. However, the day after he reported for duty in Tsinghua, he wanted to "abandon literature and reason" and asked to transfer to the Department of Physics. What is even more surprising is that he not only entered the physics department, but also became an excellent graduate!

This series of extraordinary actions all originated from his childlike innocence.

Qian Weichang was born in a scholarly family, his grandfather and father were rural teachers, and his fourth uncle was Qian Mu, a master of Chinese studies. He is very interested in literature and has accumulated a solid foundation of Chinese studies.

Due to years of war and the death of his father, his schooling process was intermittent. I only learned a little math before the college entrance examination, and English and physics are the foundation.

It is such a serious student that he got full marks in Chinese and history in the college entrance examination. His composition "Sleepwalking in Tsinghua Campus" was well received by professors and published in Tsinghua Weekly.

And his grades in science are terrible: only 20 in chemistry and mathematics, 5 in physics and 0 in English.

Qian Weichang's exceptional admission benefited from the eclectic talent college entrance examination system at that time, and both geeks and talents could go to universities, even top universities.

1931September 17, Qian Weichang came to Tsinghua University to report for duty. On the second day of school, the September 18th Incident, which shocked China and foreign countries, broke out, the Northeast fell and the nation was in danger. Patriotism and sense of responsibility made him furious: "There is no airplane cannon, we can build it ourselves. I want to learn how to build an airplane cannon. "

Qian Weichang made an amazing decision-giving up arts and sciences and choosing to study physics.

At that time, the physics department of Tsinghua University enrolled no more than 10 students every year, so it was too difficult to get into the physics department with Qian Weichang's grades. Not surprisingly, he was rejected by then physics professor Wu.

Qian Weichang, frustrated at his first attempt, did not compromise. He decided to soften the ground and harden the foam. Every morning at 6 o'clock, he comes to Wu's office. As soon as Wu arrived, he went up to "grind" and made Wu laugh and cry. At the same time, Qian Weichang also found the original intention of Professor Ye and Qi, then the dean of Tsinghua University Institute of Science, to transfer departments. Fortunately, Ye Sunqi appreciated his decision very much and thought that national disaster was imminent. He not only agreed to Qian Weichang's application, but also encouraged Qian Weichang to learn physics well.

In this way, with the perseverance of Qian Weichang and the help of Ye, Wu finally let go. However, he also put forward additional conditions for Qian Weichang. After grade one, you must get 70 points or above in mathematics, physics and chemistry. If he can't reach it, he will transfer to another department and go back to where he came from.

Qian Weichang excitedly agreed and began to study his weakest subject against time.

At that time, Tsinghua University used English textbooks for science courses, and Qian Weichang had a poor English foundation, so he had to look them up in the dictionary one by one. At the same time, the learning methods of liberal arts and science are different. At first, Qian Weichang memorized the liberal arts. He memorized all the periodic tables and formulas, but the effect was little. I failed the test for seven weeks in a row.

Later, with the help of Wu, Qian Weichang began to improve his study methods. He asked if he didn't understand, and he wouldn't stop until he understood. Once, in order to understand a knowledge point of calculus, he began to learn from middle school mathematics until all the knowledge points were integrated.

Through continuous exploration, Qian Weichang finally found the correct learning method and made continuous progress in his grades. A year later, he met Wu's requirements and successfully entered the second grade.

1935, Qian Weichang cooperated with his classmate Gu to complete the paper "Determination of Atmospheric Electricity in Beijing", which was read out at the annual meeting of national physics. This "pioneering work" of Qian Weichang's scientific work has provided the first batch of data for China's self-measurement of atmospheric electricity, which has aroused widespread concern in the physical field.

In the same year, Qian Weichang graduated with honors from the Physics Department of Tsinghua University, and went on to study for graduate students in Tsinghua University.

Since then, Qian Weichang has conducted in-depth research in the field of science, and eventually became one of the founders of modern mechanics and applied mathematics in China, making immortal contributions to China's machinery industry, civil architecture, aerospace and military industry.

He never understood science and became a master of mechanics. He insisted on the belief that "I don't have a major, and the needs of the motherland are my major" and actively devoted himself to the scientific research and construction of the motherland. Qian Weichang used his 98-year life to explain what a "unparalleled national scholar" is!