"Remote Sensing Master" Li Xiaowen: One pound of Erguotou every day. Do you know this academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who wears cloth shoes?

With messy hair, cloth clothes and cloth shoes, he looks like a "worldly master". In April 2014, a photo of Li Xiaowen giving a report was posted online. For a time, he was nicknamed by netizens as the "sweeping monk" in "Dragon" and became popular on the Internet. This unkempt and unattractive old man is actually an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is affectionately called the "Academician of Cloth Shoes" by students. He is also a "leading figure" in the field of remote sensing.

"A pure heart and clear ambition can be discussed in the world with two glasses of wine; a chivalrous spirit can lead a long life, and a pair of cloth shoes can lead a lifetime." These two sentences are perfect to describe Li Xiaowen's life.

This modern "Linghu Chong" hero, the "sweeping monk" among academicians, lived a simple, pure and simple life. He truly interpreted the character, spontaneity and true character of traditional intellectuals.

"I never wanted to get high scores"

Li Xiaowen was born in Sichuan in 1947 into a family of highly intellectuals. His father was an engineer and his mother was an accountant. Since his parents both had jobs and had no time to take care of him in their daily life, when Li Xiaowen was 4 years old, his mother sent him to school. In the 1940s, I went to school at the age of 4, which was much younger than the children in my class. Although he is at an ignorant age, he has been naughty and mischievous since he was a child, and he quickly became involved with other classmates who had similar interests.

Li Xiaowen admitted frankly that during school days, he had always had no motivation for going to school. He never wanted to get high scores in the exams or compete for rankings. He has been independent from the world since he was a child, and his parents don't value grades so much, so he is even more free and uninhibited. I remember one time, as soon as the teacher finished writing the questions on the blackboard, he handed in the papers and went out to play. Since he was so casual and carefree since he was a child, it's no wonder he's still a "naughty boy" when he gets older.

In 1963, Li Xiaowen was admitted to Chengdu University of Telecommunications Engineering. While in college, Li Xiaowen still maintained his past personality, being straightforward and bold, with a sense of chivalry and integrity. Once, he saw an article in the library. The author obviously reversed the concept of right and wrong. He was so angry that he wrote an article criticizing the views in the article with a stroke of his pen. Unexpectedly, in that turbulent era, this article was used as evidence against myself. He was sent to a rural labor camp.

Not seeking fame or fortune, he is a master of remote sensing

Li Xiaowen, who has a free and easy nature, still lets himself fly in the vast world even though he is in the countryside. After work, he would hang out in the local factory, squatting on the ground and watching the master repair the tractor for most of the day. Slowly, he became familiar with the master and began to learn to repair machines. Li Xiaowen was talented and flexible, and he could learn it as soon as he could. Soon, he was recruited by the factory and became a worker.

Life is spent in factories day after day, accompanied by various agricultural machines all day long. Over time, repairing machines becomes a repetitive mechanical work. This troubled Li Xiaowen, who was extremely curious and devoted to freedom and exploration. However, the changing times favored him. In 1977, the country resumed the college entrance examination. Li Xiaowen seized this opportunity and was admitted to the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to study for a master's degree.

During his master's degree, Li Xiaowen was still a maverick. His classmates were all engaged in scientific research and academics. He studied and lived based on his own interests. He liked to go into the library and read novels as much as he wanted. There were many books here that he had never seen before. It was the first time for him to see so many novels and he was very excited. The library is open and there are no restrictions on borrowing books. He always carries a travel bag to borrow books, one bag at a time, and reads bags after bags.

Even though he spent a lot of time reading novels, Li Xiaowen did not ignore the field of remote sensing that he was very interested in and kept thinking about it.

Later he went to the United States to study and obtained a PhD in geography from the University of California. After returning to China, he became a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, studying under Yang Shiren, a senior figure in the Chinese remote sensing community. In the 1980s, China's remote sensing technology was in its infancy and almost blank. The concept of "remote sensing" was just introduced from the West by the older generation of scholars. Li Xiaowen's intelligence, curiosity about science, and unbridled imagination made him a person appreciated by teachers in the college. His curiosity drove him step by step into the depths of the field of remote sensing.

He has always devoted his enthusiasm to the exploration and research of optical remote sensing and thermal infrared remote sensing of ground objects. He innovatively proposed a set of geometric optical models and was selected into the "Milestone Series" of the International Society of Optical Engineering. Due to his huge contribution to the field of remote sensing, he was known as the "remote sensing dean" and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2001.

Modern version of "Linghu Chong"

Li Xiaowen once said that he liked Linghu Chong in Jin Yong's novel "The Swordsman" the most. No matter how big the world is, I am free and uninhibited. Scientifically rigorous and meticulous, in life he is a modern version of "Linghu Chong", free and easy. Wearing a waistcoat, a shirt, a pair of cloth shoes, and a small cloth bag is Li Xiaowen's usual dress. There is paper, pen and mobile phone in the cloth pocket, and there is also a pair of cloth shoes in the office.

Wearing cloth clothes and shoes, in addition to dressing simply, he also has a hobby: he loves wine. It reminds me of Linghu Chong in "The Swordsman", who travels the world with a wine gourd and the Dugu Nine Swords.

The habit of drinking was developed during the labor camp in the countryside. When he was young, he drank one pound of Erguotou every day. He still maintained this habit until he reached middle age. He said he didn't have much desire, and having Erguotou by his side was enough. In his opinion, drinking is a kind of pleasure. Drinking a bottle of Erguotou as much as you want is the most enjoyable thing. When he was 60 years old, he gave up drinking due to health reasons. Students still teased him: "Take another sip", but he laughed and said nothing.

Privately, Li Xiaowen loves to bet with students. He taught students "no matter what kind of education they have". As long as they were willing to study with him, he was willing to teach them. He is humble when getting along with students. As long as students have ideas, no matter how naive, he will let them try it. Once, a student accidentally discovered during an experiment that the sun can rise in the northeast and set in the northwest. Li Xiaowen felt that this was contrary to common sense. But he still made a bet with the students and asked them to give it a try. The two people looked up the information separately, and in the end, the student defeated the teacher.

It was such a scientific academician who believed that a qualified teacher "let students be their own gravediggers", encouraged students to have the courage to try, and was a simple and free-spirited person. He passed away in January 2015. "Academician Bu Xie" "Gone.

Epilogue

When the reputation of the academician of cloth shoes came to him, he only hoped that the craze would subside and he could quietly be a commoner for the rest of his life. He lives his life calmly and calmly, not seeking fame or wealth, spending time and energy on the things he cares about most in his heart, and will not change his behavioral standards because of external judgments, living a free and easy life.

Amateur Li Xiaowen is gone. He is a low-key intellectual, unassuming throughout his life, and his inherent spontaneity makes him transcend the world and become a respected scholar and master.