Stephen Hawking: China’s Love for the Late Physicist

By Tessa Wong

As the world mourns Prof Stephen Hawking, there has been a particular outpouring of emotion in China,where the visionary physicist was revered by scientists, students, the state and even boy band stars.

[2] “He will roam across the universe and its galaxies, and in the end will again become its brightest star,” said one commenter on the Chinese microblogging network Weibo.

[3] Many people in China grew up reading Prof Hawking’s seminal book A Brief History of Time—the circulation of the Chinese-language edition is reportedly second only to that of the English.

[4] His 2006 visit to China was covered with breathless excitement, with state media comparing his appeal to that of Tom Cruise.

[5] And when he joined Weibo in 2016—saying hello to “my friends in China”—he was met with a rapturous response, amassing millions of followers within hours.

全世界都在悼念斯蒂芬·霍金教授，尤其在中國，人們對他的去世紛紛表達緬懷之情，無論科學家、學生，還是政府，甚至還有男孩演唱組合的明星，都對這位具有遠見卓識的物理學家無比崇敬。

[2]一位中國網友在微博上留言說：“他將遨游宇宙和星系，最終將再次成為那顆最亮的星。”

[3]很多中國人是讀著他的開創性著作《時間簡史》長大的——據報道，該書中文版的發行量僅次于英文原版。

[4] 2006年，他來中國訪問，人們極度興奮，官方媒體稱其受歡迎程度可與湯姆·克魯斯媲美。

[5] 2016年，他注冊成為微博用戶，并發送向“我的中國朋友”問好的帖子，反響熱烈，粉絲瞬漲百萬。

[6] Prof Hawking was, of course,beloved around the world, but the adulation and respect he has always commanded in China is perhaps in another universe altogether.

[7] Scholars and academics have traditionally been held in high regard in Chinese culture, which also prizes a hardstriving and disciplined work ethic. Having overcome great odds in his life, he was seen as having these qualities in spades.

[8] “I like Chinese culture, Chinese food and above all Chinese women. They are beautiful,” he told his audience at an appearance during his last trip, while also praising the Chinese for being “very clever”, “hardworking” and having “achieved a lot in science and technology”.

[9] More recently, he delighted younger Chinese when he interacted online with another Weibo star. Wang Junkai, the lead singer of popular boy band TFBoys, had in November asked Hawking a question about interstellar migration, and Prof Hawking praised him for asking an “excellent question”.

After news of his death emerged Wang posted on social media: “You will forever belong to the universe and the stars. I will etch your teachings on my heart.”

[10] He also genuinely believed in China, particularly its younger generations,and their power to change the world.

[6]誠然，霍金教授深受全球人民喜愛，但中國人對他一直以來的愛戴和尊崇或許格外不同。

[7]中國文化歷來敬重學者和科研人員，也贊揚奮斗進取、嚴謹自律的職業精神。霍金克服了人生的各種重大挫折，無疑具有以上特質。

[8]最后一次訪華的見面會上，他告訴大家：“我喜愛中國文化，愛吃中國菜，尤其欣賞中國女性，她們很美。” 他還稱贊中國人“非常聰明”“很勤奮”，在“科技領域取得了很多成就”。

[9]不久前，他與一位明星微博互動，受到了中國年輕一代的喜愛。那是在11月份，人氣偶像組合“加油男孩”（TFBoys）的隊長王俊凱在微博上向霍金詢問了關于星際移民的問題，霍金教授稱贊他問了一個“極好的問題”。

得知霍金去世的消息后，王俊凱在社交媒體上說：“（緬懷霍金先生，）您永遠屬于宇宙星辰，您的教誨我也會銘記在心。”

[10]他也真心相信中國，特別是中國年輕一代，以及他們改變世界的力量。

In his Weibo response to Wang, he praised China’s millennials for being curious and thinking about the future.“My hope is that as you pursue science and other ideas, this curiosity and confidence will continue,” he wrote.

[11] And in one of his last posts on Weibo, he thanked his millions of followers. “It has been an illuminating experience being able to communicate with all of you here.

“I look forward to seeing what the talent and inquisitiveness of the Chinese people achieves in the realms of science and space.”

[12] His obvious affection for China has perhaps intensified the sense of loss among young Chinese.

Among the moving tributes written by a netizen and highlighted by state media was this: “Born in the ordinary dust, returned to the stars above.

“I encountered this person when I was in secondary school. He told me of mankind’s indestructible and legendary perseverance. He also unveiled to me the mysterious secrets of the universe’s black holes. I listened to his prophecies,I accepted science’s revelations.

“This person has disappeared from our blue Earth, he has gone to explore the universe he so yearned to see. Have a smooth journey, Stephen Hawking.”

在給王俊凱的回復中，他贊揚了中國千禧一代對未來的思考和好奇心。他還寫道：“我希望，當你們探索科學及其他領域時，延續這樣的好奇心和自信心。”

[11]在微博的最后幾個帖子中，他對百萬粉絲表達了謝意。其中一個寫道：“能夠在這里和大家交流讓我很受啟發。”

“我期待中國人運用智慧和求知欲在科學和宇宙領域取得成就。”

[12]他對中國的鐘愛或許更讓中國年輕人對他的去世心懷悵惘。

在眾多感人的悼詞中，官方媒體特別提到了一位網友的一段話：“生于茫茫凡塵，歸于浩瀚星空。

“我在初中的時候知道了他。是他告訴了我人類的堅不可摧和不屈不撓；是他向我揭開了宇宙黑洞的神秘面紗。我聽從他的預言，接受科學的真相。

“他的軀體從我們的藍色地球消失了，去往他一直渴望了解的宇宙。斯蒂芬·霍金先生，祝您旅途愉快。”