(ECNS) -- A front-page profile of Chinese mathematician Wang Hong, published by Guangxi Daily following her Fields Medal win, has sparked a rare rush to buy the print edition, with copies reselling for as much as 65 yuan (about $9.60).
Wang, born in 1991 in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, became the first Chinese national and the third woman to receive the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia on July 23. She shared the honor with fellow Chinese mathematician Deng Yu, marking the first time Chinese nationals have won the award since it was established in 1936.
Guangxi Daily published a feature titled "Wang's Conjecture" on July 25. The headline is a play on words: "Wang" is both the mathematician's surname and a Chinese character meaning "king" or "monarch," while "conjecture" refers both to her research on the Kakeya conjecture and to the uncertainties and choices that shaped her life.
The article quickly went viral on Chinese social media, drawing praise for its restrained yet evocative storytelling. It traces Wang's journey from her hometown in Pingle County to Peking University, followed by graduate studies in France and the United States, and ultimately to her current position as a permanent professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES).
Demand for the print edition surged after the feature gained widespread attention online. On second-hand platforms, sellers offered copies for between 20 yuan and 65 yuan, compared with the newspaper's original price of 1.35 yuan. Some readers even travelled to the newspaper's office in Nanning to buy copies in person.
Guangxi Daily said on Wednesday that it had arranged an emergency reprint, with online purchases limited to three copies per person.
Commentators and social media users noted that the public enthusiasm reflected more than interest in the award itself. Many young readers said they identified with Wang's unconventional path. She switched from earth sciences to mathematics while studying at Peking University and once considered pursuing architecture in Paris before ultimately returning to mathematics.
"She is not a symbol placed on a pedestal, but an ordinary person who, like me, has experienced confusion," one recent graduate was quoted as saying.
Beyond this sense of identification, many young people have also drawn strength from Wang's story. She enjoys table tennis, fencing and spending time in nature, and is also fond of anime. Rather than being defined solely by awards, academic titles and research papers, she is portrayed as a person with genuine interests and a passion for life.
"People tend to imagine the paths of successful individuals as straight lines: they are born with extraordinary talent, excel in every exam and never hesitate," one Chinese media outlet observed. "But Wang offers a different narrative."
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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