In January 1997, Mr. Qiu published an article "A Preliminary Study of "Shenwu Fu"" in "Cultural Relics". The article mentioned the slip "Shenwu Fu" unearthed from the Yinwan Han Tomb, in which "Zaozi" doesn't know its meaning. Cai Wei wrote to inform him that "Zuo Zi" should be read as "域子", which is "域", which is an interjection. Later, Mr. Qiu published ""Zuozi" should be read as "域子"" in the third issue of "Cultural Relics" in 1998, saying that Cai Wei's words "are very reasonable."
After 2003, Cai Wei published some articles on the Chinese Studies Online. "He doesn't write much and is very cautious. What's rare is that he can combine unearthed documents with handed down documents." Mr. Qiu Said that some of Cai Wei's ideas are very insightful, "For example, there is a sentence in "Laozi" on the bamboo slips of Guodian Chu Tomb, 'Mo Zhi Qi Gen'. 'Gen' is usually regarded as 'Heng', which is not easy to understand from the meaning of the word. Cai Wei Wei pointed out that "ji" is often written as "亘" in Chu bamboo slips, which has an ultimate meaning."
"I once suggested that Cai Wei take the postgraduate examination, but he said that his English foundation was too poor and he was afraid. It was because he failed the exam. After about 2006, I felt that Cai Wei was a little quiet. Later, I heard that he went to work as a three-wheeler to make a living, and he had much less time to study. I thought at that time, if Cai Wei was in a bad environment, that would be it. It’s such a pity to give up. To be honest, many people working on ancient writing are nominally professors, but in fact they are not at his level. In some places, I am not at his level either,” Mr. Qiu told reporters.
“The knowledge of ancient writing cannot be achieved without sitting on the bench for more than ten or twenty years.” Liu Zhao, director of Fudan University’s Unearthed Documents and Ancient Writing Research Center, said that Cai Wei has not received professional academic training. , I didn’t have the chance to read many of the newly unearthed documents, but I taught myself a lot of ancient classics, many of which were memorized by heart. "Cai Wei is focused on nothing. He is very familiar with the characters, syntax and usage habits of ancient people. He is even more familiar with it than many professional researchers. It is easier for him to integrate into the ancient language environment than ordinary people, and he is better able to understand the behaviors and ideas of ancient people. I feel the same way, and over time, I have the ability to understand ancient books by analogy."
On the Chinese Studies website, his online name is "Baoxiao"
On the one hand, Qiu was moved by his ability. Mr. Cai Wei’s sincere love for ancient classics and ancient philology.
Cai Wei's online name on the Chinese Studies Network is "Baoxiao", which means "aspirational primary school". "Primary School" is the collective name for philology, phonology and exegesis in ancient China. Later Zhang Taiyan changed its name to "Language and Character Studies". "Primary school" as a specialized knowledge can be traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties, but most people today may be unfamiliar with it. Mr. Qiu told reporters: "China has thousands of years of civilization. Most of our understanding of the past comes from ancient books. However, some ancient books have been handed down, some have been lost, and some have been tampered with by later generations. To understand all of history, We still need to continue to discover and revise, such as the Mawangdui silk books, Guodian Chu slips, and Shangbo Chu slips unearthed in recent years. There are many things in them that we didn't know before. We need to understand these documents and figure out what the real ancient times were like. Where are the roots of our thoughts, habits, and lives? The study of ancient texts is the foundation."
Cai Wei did not think deeply about this meaning. He was born in an ordinary family, his parents were both workers, and his love for ancient classics was born out of him. Innate interest. He has loved calligraphy since he was a child, and was fascinated by Tang poetry and Song poetry when he was a student. When he was a sophomore in high school, he happened to see an essay by Mr. Qiu in "Literature and History" and was attracted by traditional "elementary school" ever since.
Cai Wei showed reporters the two classics he copied, "Dialect" and "Erya". The yellowed paper pages and faded pen handwriting show that the time on the title page is 1993, two years after Cai Wei graduated from high school. In high school, he was seriously partial to subjects. Except for Chinese, his grades in other subjects were abysmal. In the end, he failed to enter college and instead worked as a worker in a hose factory. "In Jinzhou, these books are only available in libraries. The photocopying fee is too expensive for me, so I can only copy them." Cai Wei said.
In 1994, the hose factory was not performing well. Cai Wei was laid off and set up a stall in front of a shopping mall. Cai Wei has no ambitions for material life. He only earns enough money to survive and spends his spare time reading.
"My family doesn't understand what I'm studying, so they don't interfere, and they don't spend money anyway." Cai Wei said that his parents and wife are ordinary people, and they don't ask him to become a successful person. "I just feel lonely occasionally, and there is no one around to communicate with you." "
In 2007, when his wife was ill, Cai Wei started riding a three-wheeler in order to earn more money. "I can earn more than 30 yuan a day, which is better than running a stall, but I spend more time reading. Come less and less,” he wrote to Dong Shan, a young scholar at Peking University. Dong Shan told her teacher, Professor Liu Zhao, about this matter. It happened that Fudan University's Unearthed Documents and Ancient Inscriptions Research Center was going to jointly compile the "Mawangdui Han Tomb Slips and Silk Collection" with Zhonghua Book Company and Hunan Provincial Museum. After discussing with Mr. Qiu, the center decided Cai Wei was hired temporarily.
In September last year, Cai Wei came to Shanghai. This year, at the recommendation of Mr. Qiu, the 38-year-old got another chance to take the Ph.D.