不對的。你說不需要學知識、學數學，這是不 符合社會發展軌律的！你不可能想像，將來技 術要發展、國家工業要發展，卻沒有好的基礎 知識？這是不可能的。我不是外面說什麼就是 什麼，而是有自己的判斷，你必須要有一種眼 光，對社會有自己的看法。所以，就算在鄉下 勞動的時期我也從沒放棄學習。」 進入北大後，錢濤拜在著名數學家程民德門 下，專攻多元調和分析，1984年再獲北大數學 博士，與程民德、鄧東皋老師一起取得豐碩研 究成果：他的九篇論文分別發表於《中國科學》、 《數學學報》等中國頂尖學術雜誌上，他更獲首 屆國家科學進步獎，隨後進入中國科學院系統 科學研究所任職。很快，錢濤出色的研究引起 國外學術機構關注：1986年，澳洲科學院聘 錢濤為博士後研究員，赴澳洲進行理論數學方 面的研究，並於1992年起於新英格蘭大學任 教。2000年，錢濤加入澳大，繼續教學和研 究工作。 「對喜歡數學的人來講，這 個世界就是數學的。」 「不同的人看世界的方式也是不同的。比如說 音樂家像莫札特，他從花園散步回來就能寫成 一首樂曲，因為他看世界是音樂的；還有畫 家，他看世界是圖像的；對喜歡數學的人來 講，這個世界就是數學的。」在錢濤眼中，生 活處處都是數學，請他舉個例子，他信手拈來 ——「比如說，你過海關排隊，有時候短的 隊伍未必一定快，因為你不僅要看長短，也要 all accepted to universities. Less than six months into his new life at Shanxi University, Qian Tao dropped a bomb by expressing to his department his intention to apply to be a master’s student at Peking University. The management of Shanxi University thought this young man was too conceited — how could a secondary school graduate, who had stayed in the countryside for nearly ten years, even begin to entertain the idea of skipping undergraduate studies and going straight to the most prestigious university for postgraduate studies? Finally, Shanxi University grudgingly arranged Algebra, invigilated by two teachers. To everyone’s amazement, Qian Tao effortlessly scored 98 points on a 100-point scale, and he was the talk of the by the Department of Mathematics at Peking University as a postgraduate student. “You Must Have Vision and Think For Yourself” had a profound impact on him. “Of course entering Peking University was exercise my will and helping me to develop the habit of self-education, which continued to serve me well in my later studies and work,” explains Qian Tao. “I will never stop and think that I’ve already arrived, and I always stay hungry for knowledge, and passionate about new stuff, and this is because of my experiences in those years.” Being persistent is much easier said than done, especially in that turbulent keep going and never give up when the future seemed completely dark? “My source of motivation was really just my independent thinking about the future trends of society,” remarks Qian Tao. “I used to read works by great philosophers like Hegel, Russell and Kant, and I just felt it the Cultural Revolution wasn’t right. They told me that maths, or knowledge as a whole, was not necessary? That was against the laws governing the development of society! I mean, how can you imagine a country developing technology and industry without its people possessing foundational knowledge? That’s just impossible! I don’t blindly believe what I’m told. You must have vision. You must look at the world with your own eyes, and think for yourself. And that’s why I never gave up studying even in those years.” At Peking University, Qian Tao studied under the renowned mathematician Cheng Minde, specialising in harmonic analysis in Euclidean spaces. By the time he received his PhD degree from Peking University in 1984, he had already achieved some impressive results together with his teachers Cheng Minde and Deng Donggao. His nine papers were published in top academic journals in China including Science China and Acta Mathematica Sinica Award. Later he went to work at the Institute of Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It didn’t take long before his outstanding research caught the attention of academic institutes overseas. In 1986, he was 與當年一起插隊的舊友重臨濶別30年的山西省汾陽市 池家庄，在這裡錢濤渡過了近十載的知青歲月。 Back to Chijiazhuang, Shanxi province, with friends after 30 years. This is where Qian Tao spent a decade during the Cultural Revolution. 27
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