The Story of Einstein

■Einstein’s Story of Playing Truant

In the spring of 1895, Einstein was 16 years old. According to German law at the time, boys who left Germany before the age of 17 did not have to return to serve in the military. Due to his deep hatred of militarism and the fact that he could no longer bear to be alone in the military-like Luipold High School, Einstein decided to leave Germany without consulting his parents and reunite with his parents in Italy.

But what if you drop out of school and cannot get a diploma in the future? Einstein, who had always been honest and simple, came up with an idea that he thought was a good one in desperation. He asked his math teacher to give him a certificate saying that he had excellent math scores and had already reached the university level. He also got a sick leave certificate from a familiar doctor, saying that he had a nervous breakdown and needed to go home to rest. Einstein thought that with these two proofs, he could escape from this disgusting place.

Unexpectedly, before he applied, the dean of students called him in and ordered him to drop out of school on the grounds that he had ruined the class spirit and failed to abide by school discipline. Einstein blushed. No matter what the reason was, as long as he could leave this middle school, he was willing to do so and didn't care about anything else. He just suddenly felt guilty for having come up with a cunning idea that he never implemented. Later, Einstein felt guilty every time he mentioned it. Perhaps this kind of thing is too far away from his frank and sincere personality.

■Refused to serve as the second president of Israel

On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was born, but soon war broke out between Israel and surrounding Arab countries. Einstein, who had settled in the United States for more than ten years, immediately declared to the media: "Now, the Israelis can no longer retreat, we should fight. Only by relying on themselves can the Jews survive in a world that is hostile to them." "On November 9, 1952, Einstein's old friend Weizmann, the first president of Israel, passed away. The day before, the Israeli ambassador to the United States conveyed a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Ben Gurion to Einstein, formally proposing Einstein as the presidential candidate of the Republic of Israel. That evening, a reporter called Einstein's residence and asked Einstein: "I heard that you are being asked to serve as President of the Republic of Israel, Mr. Professor. Will you accept it?" "No. I "The president doesn't have many concrete things. His position is symbolic. Professor, you are the greatest Jew. No, you are the greatest person in the world." It couldn't be a better symbol of the greatness of the Jewish nation." "No, I can't do it." Just as Einstein put down the phone, the phone rang again. This time it was the Israeli ambassador in Washington. The ambassador said: "Mr. Professor, I am following the instructions of Ben Gurion, Prime Minister of the Republic of Israel. I would like to ask, if you are nominated as a presidential candidate, are you willing to accept it?" "Mr. Ambassador, regarding nature, I To understand, I know almost nothing about people. How can a person like me be president? Please explain it to the press and help me out." The ambassador further persuaded: "Mr. Professor, the late President Wei. "Weizman is also a professor. You are qualified." "Weizmann is not the same as me. He is qualified, but I am not." "Mr. Professor, every Israeli citizen and every Jew in the world is waiting for you." !” Einstein was indeed moved by the kindness of his compatriots, but he was thinking more about how to politely reject the ambassador and the Israeli government without disappointing them or embarrassing them. Soon, Einstein issued a statement in the newspaper, officially declining to serve as the president of Israel. In Einstein's view, "Being president is not an easy task." At the same time, he once again quoted his own words: "Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but equations are for eternity. ”

■How did Einstein approach China?

As early as 1919, Einstein’s theory of relativity began to be introduced to China, especially through the British philosopher Russell’s lecture in China in 1920, which left a deep impression on the Chinese academic community.

Einstein himself had cast his eyes on the ancient and unfamiliar China again and again. In the winter of 1922, he was invited to give lectures in Japan. On his way back and forth, he passed through Shanghai twice, staying for three days in a row, and saw with his own eyes what China was like. China in suffering, and express my deep sympathy. He recorded "tragic images" and his feelings in his travel diary: "In appearance, what attracts attention to the Chinese is their diligence and their humble requirements for lifestyle and child welfare. They are much better than The Indians are more optimistic and naive, but most of them are burdened: men and women are pounding stones for five cents a day. They seem to be too dull to understand the horror of their fate." "Einstein saw it. This working, groaning, and tenacious nation, his social sympathy was reawakened. He believed that this was the poorest nation on earth. They were cruelly abused, and their treatment was worse than before. Worse than an ox or a horse." (Collected Works of Einstein compiled by Xu Liangying and others, Commercial Press, 1979 edition, pp. 20, 21) More than ten years later (1936), Einstein studied at Princeton University in the United States with Zhou Peiyuan, who had studied there the previous year. The first time we had an individual conversation, he said: "The Chinese people are suffering people." His sympathy is sincere and comes from the heart. It is not just words, but actions.

When the September 18th Incident occurred in 1931, Japan’s ambition to invade China from the Northeast as a breakthrough point was clearly revealed. However, the international community at that time showed helplessness and incompetence. On November 17 of that year, Ai Yin Stan publicly condemned Japan's aggression against the three northeastern provinces and called on all countries to unite to impose economic sanctions on Japan, but unfortunately there was no response. In October 1932, Chen Duxiu, the "commander-in-chief of the May 4th Movement" (in Mao Zedong's words) and the founder of the Communist Party of China (who had been expelled from the party) was arrested in Shanghai. He, Russell, Dewey and others had international reputation. intellectuals jointly called Chiang Kai-shek demanding his release. In March 1937, after the "Seven Gentlemen" such as Shen Junru, Zhang Naiqi, Wang Zaoshi, and Shi Liang, who advocated anti-Japanese resistance, were imprisoned, he joined forces with famous intellectuals such as Dewey and Meng Lu to call for rescue and put moral pressure on the Kuomintang authorities. . In June 1938, in order to help China's Anti-Japanese War, he and President Roosevelt's eldest son jointly launched the "Committee to Aid China" and carried out fundraising activities to aid China in 2,000 cities and towns in the United States.

Einstein is a true citizen of the world. His love has no national boundaries. His feelings for China have no utilitarian color and are completely based on human compassion and strong humanitarian feelings. His thoughts have increasingly had a profound and long-lasting impact on China. Shortly after the September 18th Incident, Xu Liangying, a young boy in the second grade of junior high school, became his enthusiastic admirer and hoped to be a scientist like him when he grew up. In 1934, Einstein's collection of essays "My World View" was published in Europe. A few years later (on the eve of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937), a Chinese translation was available. It was translated by Ye Yunli, a physics professor studying in France, based on the French translation. Due to the national crisis, This book did not arouse much response, but the young Xu Liangying was lucky enough to buy a copy before going to college in 1938, and read it carefully. He was deeply inspired and began to seriously think about the meaning of life, the relationship between people and the country, etc. , many of Einstein's words of wisdom were unforgettable to him throughout his life, and Einstein's image always occupied an important position in his future life. After Einstein's death in 1955, both Xu Liangying and Zhou Peiyuan published long condolence articles. Unfortunately, in the eight years from 1968 to 1976, Einstein became "the largest bourgeois reactionary academic authority in the field of natural sciences in this century" in China. The "Gang of Four" launched an absurd criticism of Einstein. Stein movement, fortunately most scientists ignored it and actually boycotted it. In 1979, Beijing also held a grand meeting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's birth.