PhD dreams of pedicab paleographer

By Wen Ya

A 38-year-old pedicab driver from Liaoning Province has been included on a shortlist of people hoping to study for doctorates at Fudan University, the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily reported yesterday.

Cai Wei, who has peddled his cab since 1994 when he lost his job at a factory in Jinzhou, made the list after an interview with an expert panel Thursday. He is hoping to study under Qiu Xigui, a paleography master at the university’s Center for Excavated Texts & Ancient Chinese Archives.
Although Cai failed to win a place at university after graduating from high school in 1991, he has been passionate about paleography since he was a teenager.

“My family doesn’t understand what I’m reading, so they don’t even ask,” he said.

“But sometimes I feel lonely, because I have no one around me that I can talk to about it.”
If Cai is accepted, he will still have to complete his bachelor’s and master’s degree courses, but the faculty will adjust his timetable to suit his situation, Gu Yunshen, vice-dean of the university’s graduate school, said.

“When considering who to accept as doctorate students, we look for people who have passion and research capabilities, not just academic ability. Our professors can enroll anyone they choose as they are the most qualified to judge who is best suited,” he said.

Cai attracted the attention of the academic world when one of his articles was accepted and published by academic magazine Cultural Relic in 1997. Qiu contacted Cai and urged him to sit an entrance examination.

“It would be such a pity if Cai has to give up because he doesn’t have a formal study background,” Qiu said.

“Many professors of paleography haven’t achieved the level Cai has. He knows more than me in some areas.”

Although Cai was ineligible to sit the doctorate exam under national rules on education, in September Fudan University invited him to help researchers compile ancient texts, as a means of assessing his ability.

Impressed with his performance, three renowned scholars, including Qiu, last month sent a letter of recommendation to the Ministry of Education. Soon after Cai was told he could sit the exam, which he duly passed.