How did the acknowledgements section of a doctoral dissertation gain infinite resonance?

"I walked a long way, struggled against many difficulties, to finally present this dissertation to you." Recently, the "Acknowledgements" section of a doctoral dissertation from the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences triggered heated discussions. In the section, the writer looked back on his journey of emerging from a small mountain village and struggling with his fate, which moved many netizens. According to media reports, the writer of the dissertation, Huang Guoping, graduated from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017, and now works at a renowned internet company.

From Juguang village in the Daba mountains to Dayin town, from Yilong county to Mianyang city, from Southwest University in Chongqing to the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences......through the simple and unadorned writing by Huang, people "witnessed" the painful experiences of this youth who "came out of the mountains", as he lost his relatives, endured poverty, carried a bruised sense of pride, and could not help but be moved. Fortunately, despite sufferings throughout the journey, "the numerous times when pressures of reality made me feel like I could not go on anymore", Huang finally pulled through. This is ultimately a happy ending.

In general, the acknowledgments section of doctoral dissertations would be reserved for expressing gratitude to one's school, teachers, and family members. What was this "Acknowledgements" thankful for? It did not thank poverty--as poverty itself is not worthy of gratitude, but the attitude of "maintaining a strong will despite being impoverished”. It did not thank hardships--as hardships themselves are not worthy of praise, but the mentality of "making unremitting efforts to perfect oneself". It did not thank fate--as fate itself was not the deciding factor, but the positive attitude of "adversity makes one stronger; just as polishing makes jade finer".

This made me think of the girl who “thanked poverty”, Wang Xinyi, from Hengshui city of Hebei province. At the time, when Wang was admitted into Peking University, an article written by her became a topic of heated discussions. In the article, she wrote: "What poverty brought was far more than pain, struggle, and uncertainty. Though it narrowed my horizon, hurt my pride, and indirectly took away the lives of my closest relatives, I still want to say thank you to poverty." “Thank you poverty” and the more recent “Acknowledgements” both were the genuine voices of impoverished students, as they underwent suffering throughout the journey, but remained persistent in their unswerving faith and unremitting efforts to overcome poverty and change their lives. These directly stroke the hearts of people, and filled them with a strength to push ahead.

On a social aspect, the success stories of impoverished students both validated the motivating philosophy that constantly striving to become better can change one’s fate, but also reflected the hardships experienced by these students. Behind this phenomenon is a question for the current era, of what we can do to truly transform impoverished regions and families. Aside from admiration, people pay close attention to impoverished students because they hope to further solve the issue of "imbalance and insufficiency in development", and help more impoverished students overcome poverty and hardships from an institutional aspect. Social equality should allow each individual, in spite of family background or region, share the same opportunities to dream, to strive, and to have brilliant lives.

At the end of the "Acknowledgements", Huang wrote: "My ideals are not mighty, I only hope that after spending half the years of my life, I could still return as a youth. I hope to still have an opportunity to get to know this world, and live up to life’s sufferings. In the end, if I could do something to make the lives of others better, then life would be more than enough." As Huang said, an individual cannot change their family backgrounds, but they can change their life through unremitting efforts. Looking back after having succeeded, you will realize the process of struggle to change your life is also a valuable experience.

Writer: Li Sihui, media commentator