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)

一个18岁的小伙子梦想着考入清华美院，于是来到北京，报名参加了考前培训班。

一天，老师让他到黑板上画6种手电筒。小伙子愣住了，他来自宁夏一个贫瘠封闭的地区，只见过最原始的铁筒手电，如何能画得出来6种呢？在画完铁筒手电后，小伙子低声说：“我只见过这么一种手电筒。”

“学产品设计的视野这么狭窄，你考不上的。”老师摆摆手说。他羞愧得差点流出眼泪。

下课后，小伙子默默地坐在座位上发呆。几名同学安慰他，劝他别难过。他说：“我没有难过，我是在想，去哪里可以看到品种更全的手电筒。”

此后，小伙子跑遍北京的商场，观察手电筒并画下来。同学们都觉得他太执拗了。

一段时间后，专业课考试来了，考题恰好就是“画6个手电筒”。小伙子激动不已，不到5分钟就画了6个手电筒。接着，他又向老师要了一些纸，意犹未尽地画起来，画了36个手电筒。

被震惊的监考老师把专业老师都叫来，大家惊呼道：这是天才。顺理成章地，小伙子以优异的成绩考入清华美院，后来成为洛可可设计公司的创始人。他就是设计师贾伟。

贾伟感慨地说：“很多人都说手电筒带给了我幸运，但是我觉得，有时候我们需要一点执着和较劲的精神。当你意识到自己的缺陷时，就要尽力去弥补，只有这样，你所经历的事才算是成长中的阅历。否则，那只是令我们难堪且一文不值的经历。”◆

（摘自《亳州晚报》2017年4月18日）

幸运手电筒

文/乔治