Introduction:
Xu Haiyan, a former prodigy, was gifted since she was a child, and was admitted to Peking University with her own efforts, and has made outstanding achievements in the field of academia and translation.
However, a diving accident caused her to die young, and this story gives us endless food for thought.
This article will tell in detail about her upbringing, career and love, and her undersea adventures, so that we can better understand the legend and tragedy of this genius woman.
The birth of a child prodigy
Xu Haiyan's story begins in her hometown of Yongchuan, Chongqing, a city known for its rich cultural heritage and scholarly families.
In 1978, Xu Haiyan was born in a typical intellectual family, and her parents were both teachers, which provided her with rich learning resources and a good educational environment for her growth.
Since childhood, Xu Haiyan has shown extraordinary talent, and by the age of two, she was able to follow her parents in class and absorb the knowledge in class.
She has an excellent memory and can quickly memorize a variety of Chinese characters, and has learned more than 2,000 characters before she is in primary school.
The bookcase at home has become her paradise, and the world in books has also opened new doors for her, and she often holds a book and immerses herself in the sea of words, and she is intoxicated by the various stories and knowledge in the books.
When she entered primary school, Xu Haiyan showed amazing academic talent, and her teachers found that she was able to handle not only the first-grade curriculum with ease, but also the problems of the upper grades.
Her performance made her teachers look at her differently, allowing her to take higher-level courses, and in class, while other students were still learning the basics, Xu Haiyan was already studying the sixth-grade textbook.
This special way of learning made her quickly stand out among her classmates and become a "prodigy" in everyone's hearts.
Outside of academics, Xu has a special interest in succulents. She not only writes popular science articles about succulents, but also makes her own plant specimens and explains the medicinal value and toxicity of plants to her classmates.
Her explanations were lively and interesting, and her classmates were attracted to her, and even asked her questions from time to time, and Xu Haiyan became famous in the community and was called "Little Teacher" by everyone.
Not only did Xu Haiyan excel academically, but her performance in skipping a grade was even more impressive, and in the fourth grade, she was allowed to skip a grade, a decision that caused quite a stir at the time.
Her study path has been smooth until her senior year of high school, when Xu Haiyan felt unprecedented pressure.
Although she had already obtained a place to be admitted to Peking University, she resolutely gave up and chose to pass the college entrance examination to enter Peking University.
In 1995, Xu Haiyan was admitted to the School of Life Sciences of Peking University with excellent results, where she continued her academic journey.
She excelled in her studies and was appreciated by her teachers and classmates, and was given the opportunity to study abroad at Columbia University.
At Columbia, she also excelled, successfully completing her studies and earning her Ph.D.
While succeeding on the academic road, Xu Haiyan's love also quietly came, and in a chance encounter at Columbia University, she met Minke, a young man who also loves science.
The two quickly came together because of their common interests and hobbies, and entered the marriage hall with the blessing of alumni.
After graduating, Xu chose to pursue further studies and spent a year as a postdoc at Rockefeller University, before moving to Singapore to reunite with her husband, who has become a university professor.
When she first arrived in Singapore, Xu Haiyan was busy with family affairs, especially the arrival of her children, which made her feel unprecedented challenges.
She often said that it was more difficult to see children than to do scientific research, however, the tedious family affairs did not dampen her thirst for knowledge.
She started publishing sci-fi articles on social platforms as "Denovo", a move that opened new doors for her.
In 2007, she volunteered at the International Science Fiction Convention in Chengdu, where she won the hearts of many science fiction writers with her excellent English and science fiction knowledge, and gradually made a name for herself in the science fiction circle.
The wonderful performance at the science fiction conference made Xu Haiyan a "god" in the science fiction industry. She began to receive requests for articles from various magazines and media, and gradually established her own science fiction column.
She has excellent writing skills and has translated many foreign science fiction novels, including William Gibson's "Neuromancer".
The successful translation of this work has further established her name in the science fiction circle.
Fall in love with diving
At the same time, Xu Haiyan is also actively involved in diving, and she was introduced to the sport at the invitation of a friend, and was quickly attracted to its mysterious underwater world. She devoted a lot of time and energy to obtaining a diving certificate, becoming the first Chinese female diver of the Global Underwater Exploration Association.
She has explored the seas around the world, documenting what she has seen and experienced in a column to share with readers.
However, it was this activity that she loved that eventually led to her unexpected death.
On September 6, 2017, Xu Haiyan and her friend Sun Hao went to the Panjiakou Underwater Great Wall in Tangshan, Hebei Province for diving.
The Panjiakou Underwater Great Wall has attracted many diving enthusiasts with its unique history and fascinating underwater landscape, however, this diving activity has become the end of her life.
The Panjiakou Underwater Great Wall is about 40 meters deep, which should not pose much of a threat to the experienced Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao.
On that day, the weather was clear, and the sunlight reflected on the walls of the underwater Great Wall through the clear water of the lake was particularly magnificent.
Xu Haiyan and her friend Sun Hao dived together, the two wore diving suits, brought equipment, walked to the shore, Xu Haiyan tidied up the diving goggles, waved goodbye to her companions on the shore, and jumped into the water with Sun Hao.
The beauty of the underwater Great Wall is in full view, and Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao shuttle between the city walls, admiring the posture of this ancient structure in the water.
From time to time, they used gestures to point to the well-preserved city walls and the algae on them, and Xu Haiyan gently touched the masonry on the city wall with her hand, feeling the weight of history.
The silence and beauty of the water made her forget the time, and it wasn't until the warning light of the oxygen cylinder flashed that she realized it was time to go ashore, and she motioned for Sun Hao to return with them, but just as they were about to ascend, an accident happened.
The two of them suddenly felt a sharp pain, and then their hands were tightly curled in front of their chests, unable to move, Xu Haiyan tried to get rid of this pain with force, but the more they struggled, the weaker they became, and finally, their bodies slowly sank and sank to the bottom of the lake.
After the accident, the police and rescue teams launched a 13-day search and rescue operation in the affected area.
In the end, the bodies of Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao were recovered, and the news attracted widespread attention in the society, and people discussed the cause of the tragedy.
Speculation about the cause of death
Preliminary investigations have revealed that there are many remnants of cages in the waters of Panjiakou, which were once used by locals to raise fish.
Although many of the cages have been removed, some remain in the water, and some believe that Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao may have become entangled in the cages, causing the accident.
However, further investigation found that there were no traces of cage entanglement on the bodies of the two men, and this speculation was ruled out.
Another possible cause is electric shock, when some local fishermen switched to using electric fishing boats for illegal fishing after banning the use of cage fish.
Although the state prohibits electric fishing, there are still fishermen who take the risk of using this method in some remote areas, and the police found in their investigation that there are indeed electric fish boats in the local area, a finding that increases the likelihood of electrocution death.
Based on divers' experience, underwater divers need to perform decompression stops when returning to shallow waters to avoid diving sickness.
During this process, divers usually release GUE beacons to alert nearby boats that there are divers underwater, however, local fishermen may not understand the meaning of the beacon, and if they use electric fishing boats during decompression stops for Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao, electric shock accidents can occur.
Although the electric shock theory is supported by many diving enthusiasts, this theory is still not fully confirmed due to the lack of direct evidence.
What exactly led to the unexpected deaths of Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao remains a mystery to this day.
Xu Haiyan's death was a huge blow to her family, and her husband Minke and children could not accept this cruel truth.
Ms. Xu's friends and colleagues were also deeply saddened and posted on social media to mourn the talented woman.
Friends in the diving community spontaneously organized a large-scale mourning event, and everyone gathered at the Panjiakou Underwater Great Wall to hold a simple and solemn underwater commemorative ceremony for Xu Haiyan and Sun Hao.
In the eyes of many people, it is extremely unnecessary for Xu Haiyan to leave her life for diving, and finally die because of it.
However, everyone has their own cherished things, and perhaps in Xu Haiyan's view, the beauty and mystery deep under the water are worth her life pursuing, even if it costs a high price, her spirit of pursuing her dreams has become a force to inspire future generations.
Epilogue:
Xu Haiyan's life is full of legends and tragedies, and her love of diving has cost her life.
While her choice may be difficult to understand, her spirit of pursuing her dreams deserves our respect.
Through this story, we can not only feel the fragility and preciousness of life, but also find the courage and motivation to pursue our dreams in her story.
I hope that Xu Haiyan's experience will arouse more people's attention to diving safety, and inspire us to pursue our passions and dreams bravely.
Reference: A Mermaid Who Mistakenly Entered the World - Reminiscences of Xu Haiyan Peking University Alumni Network (pku.org.cn)
Students reminisce about the deceased diver Xu Haiyan: a child prodigy, a champion in science, and a filial only daughter_News Channel_China Youth Network (youth.cn)