Lucky Flashlight

By Qiao Zhi

Lucky Flashlight

By Qiao Zhi

An 18-year-old man once dreamed of being enrolled in the Academy of Arts & Design,Tsinghua University. He came to Beijing and attended a training course for the test.

One day, the teacher asked him to draw six kinds of flashlights on the blackboard. He was stunned. He came from Ningxia, a poor and closed-off region where he only saw traditional iron flashlights. How could he draw six different flashlights? The young man drew an iron flashlight and said in a low voice, “I only knew this kind of flashlight.”

“For a student studying product design, your view is too narrow. You can’t make it.” The teacher waved a hand and said.

He was so embarrassed that he almost cried.

The young man returned to his seat and stared blankly after class. Some students comforted him and told him not to be frustrated. He said, “I am not frustrated. I am just thinking where I can find all kinds of flashlights.”

He went to almost every shopping mall in Beijing and drew the flashlights he saw. Others thought he was too stubborn.

When the day his professional test came, the subject happened to be “Draw Six Flashlights.” The young man was so excited that he drew six flashlights in five minutes. Then he asked for more papers and drew 36 kinds of flashlights in total.

The supervisor was surprised and asked all the teachers to come. They exclaimed, “Genius!” Undoubtedly, the young man successfully enrolled into the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University and later became the founder of LKK Design Company. He is the famous designer Jia Wei.

Jia Wei recalled the past and said that, “A lot of people think that flashlights bring me luck. I’ve always believed that sometimes we need a little bit of stubbornness. When you’re aware of your shortcomings, you should try to overcome them. Only by doing this can your experiences grow. Otherwise, it is only an embarrassing and worthless past.” ◆

(From Bozhou Evening Daily, April 18, 2017)

一個18歲的小伙子夢想著考入清華美院，于是來到北京，報名參加了考前培訓班。

一天，老師讓他到黑板上畫6種手電筒。小伙子愣住了，他來自寧夏一個貧瘠封閉的地區，只見過最原始的鐵筒手電，如何能畫得出來6種呢？在畫完鐵筒手電后，小伙子低聲說：“我只見過這么一種手電筒。”

“學產品設計的視野這么狹窄，你考不上的。”老師擺擺手說。他羞愧得差點流出眼淚。

下課后，小伙子默默地坐在座位上發呆。幾名同學安慰他，勸他別難過。他說：“我沒有難過，我是在想，去哪里可以看到品種更全的手電筒。”

此后，小伙子跑遍北京的商場，觀察手電筒并畫下來。同學們都覺得他太執拗了。

一段時間后，專業課考試來了，考題恰好就是“畫6個手電筒”。小伙子激動不已，不到5分鐘就畫了6個手電筒。接著，他又向老師要了一些紙，意猶未盡地畫起來，畫了36個手電筒。

被震驚的監考老師把專業老師都叫來，大家驚呼道：這是天才。順理成章地，小伙子以優異的成績考入清華美院，后來成為洛可可設計公司的創始人。他就是設計師賈偉。

賈偉感慨地說：“很多人都說手電筒帶給了我幸運，但是我覺得，有時候我們需要一點執著和較勁的精神。當你意識到自己的缺陷時，就要盡力去彌補，只有這樣，你所經歷的事才算是成長中的閱歷。否則，那只是令我們難堪且一文不值的經歷。”◆

（摘自《亳州晚報》2017年4月18日）

幸運手電筒

文/喬治