ＰｈＤ Ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔ Ｅｍｂｏｄｉｅｓ ａ Ｆｉｇｈｔｉｎｇ Ｓｐｉｒｉｔ

At first glance， the big difference between 27-year-old Wang Zheng and his fellow doctoral students in Zhejiang University is that he does not have arms.

Wang Zheng had a happy boyhood until the afternoon of April 30， 1991 when the 10-year-old boy sneaked into the transformer station in the factory where her mother was an employee. The station was not locked due to negligence. Knowing nothing about the danger of high-voltage electricity， the naughty boy climbed up the stairs to pick up a useless lamp and by accident his hands touched the killer power line.

When seeing the boy with his arms burnt black， his mother fainted. The mother and the son were immediately taken to hospital and the boy was sent overnight to a hospital in Shanghai. Surgery saved Wang Zheng’s life， but not his arms.

Life became a torture to the boy. Unable to balance himself and without arms to grab anything to support himself， he frequently fell to the ground and the falls hurt. For a while the boy thought his life was over. With his parents’ encouragement， however， Wang began to re-learn the basic things he had learned years ago.

Wang Zheng tried to wash face and brush teeth with his toes manipulating a towel and a toothbrush. He tried to eat with his toes using a spoon. These basic things of everyday life were challenging for an armless boy. At first he often wetted his clothes before he managed to wash his face; he smeared toothpaste on his face before he managed to put a toothbrush into his mouth.

In order to enable his feet to reach more flexibly and teach his toes to act accurately and nimbly as his lost fingers， he stretched his legs for hours a day for months until his legs were effectively flexible. Finally he learned to take care of his daily needs with his feet and teeth.

His parents treated him as a normal boy and sent him back to the same class where he had studied before the accident.

Before the accident， Wang Zheng was just a nameless boy in his class. Now the encouraging teachers frequently asked him to answer questions and read his essays in class. His classmates never laughed at him writing with his teeth holding a pen. Wang’s confidence in academic excellence became great， which helped him live and flourish. One day， he was appointed a team leader for a school outing in the suburbs. Excited， Wang assigned tasks to his team members and did field studies more than 10 times before the outing. From then on， Wang no longer regarded himself as a physically challenged person. He told himself he could excel.

Wang has excelled. In 2001 he made a great score in the national college entrance examination. At first， Zhejiang University hesitated whether to enroll him， for Wang was not up to normal health standard.Wang’s parents lobbied hard and Wang Zheng was finally matriculated.

In no time his fellow students found the amazing things Wang could do. In the first days， his roommates were amazed to find that Wang was able to surf Internet， check emails， visit forums and post writings online and that he typed magically with his toes. They were also amazed to see how Wang made and received calls on his mobile phone. Wang’s calligraphic works won a few big prizes at the city and provincial level. Wang jogged on the university’s track field every morning and evening. Some fellow students commented that the running youth was the most attractive scene on the campus.

Wang excelled in his academic studies and his academic excellence won him top scholarships in four undergraduate years. His presence encouraged his fellow students to work hard for their own future.At a college-level celebration ceremony， Wang was invited to make a speech. At the end of the speech， his classmates amazed him by chanting in unison that “Wang， we are proud of you!” The unexpected public applause caught Wang by surprise and tears came to his eyes.

Thanks to his academic brilliance， Wang finished his graduate studies a year ahead of schedule and became a doctoral student majoring in economics in the autumn of 2006. He began to shine academically. His papers were published in authoritative journals and his research results were recognized by economists. He was nominated as the first candidate for receiving the Zhu Kezhen Scholarship， the highest scholarship of the university in honor of the previous president of Zhejiang University. This scholarship offers more than cash. It is an honor that each recipient will find his or her name recorded in the annals of the university.

To win this honor， each candidate needs to take an interview. When Wang Zheng walked into the interview room， judges thought he was just another sunshine youth among the brilliant young. But when he sat down and used his mouth and teeth to dexterously get out his written material and ball pen and put them on the table， they were astonished. They were so anxious to see how this doctoral student would perform in this important interview that they agreed to talk to him first. They found him articulate and knowledgeable， his insights and his understanding of the subject excellent. Wang Zheng became the first doctoral student specialized in economics winning the top scholarship in Zhejiang University.

In March 2008， Wang Zheng was invited to make a speech at University of Nottingham in UK and attend a seminar on economics. His story amazed the students and faculty at the university.#8194;□