Teaching math to a class of humanities-inclined students has always been a tough job. Mr. Fu encouraged us to study the subject hard by quite a different way. He used to say, "Never tell me you don’t have facility of learning math; for calculus is just the entry-level math, what you’re doing now is arithmatic, kids’ stuff, nothing to do with the so-called facility", "I don’t have any sleeping problem because simply an advanced algebra textbook will do as my sleeping pill. I dislike math, but I’m mastering it." etc.. Strange approach, and it works.

Mr. Fu had been best known as an outstanding novelist of short stories.  With the pen-name 子于, he contributed many masterpieces and gained himself the same stature in literature circle as his contemporary 朱西寧 did, who was good at long story writing instead. You may doubt how come a math teacher, having routinely served 30 years in a middle school, became an amatuer but blue-ribbon writer?  Chances are teaching job provided him a stable life; nevertheless, he didn’t want to waste his talent in
writing, and he persisted with it.  Any inspiration?

I miss him, though I had never been a good student in his class, and he would not remember me either.  May him rest in peace!

June, 2011