Stephen Hawking: China's love for the late physicist
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As the world mourns Prof Stephen Hawking, who has died aged 76, there has been a particular outpouring of emotion in China, where the visionary physicist was revered by scientists, students, the state and even boy band stars.
"He will roam across the universe and its galaxies, and in the end will again become its brightest star," said one commenter on the Chinese microblogging network Weibo.
Another said: "He belongs to the stars, and has returned home now."
Many people in China grew up reading Prof Hawking's seminal book A Brief History of Time - the circulation of the Chinese-language edition is reportedly second only to that of the English.
Hawking is very popular on Weibo
His 2006 visit to China was covered with breathless excitement, with state media comparing his appeal to that of Tom Cruise.
And when he joined Weibo in 2016 - saying hello to "my friends in China" - he was met with a rapturous response, amassing millions of followers within hours.
Prof Hawking was, of course, beloved around the world, but the adulation and respect he has always commanded in China is perhaps in another universe altogether.
Scholars and academics have traditionally been held in high regard in Chinese culture, which also prizes a hard-striving and disciplined work ethic. Having overcome great odds in his life, he was seen as having these qualities in spades.
"We all admire his creativity and his spirit of research, despite the extreme difficulty of his physical situation," Tsinghua University professor Shing-tung Yau said.
Prof Yau, who helped to arrange Prof Hawking's visits to China, added: "He was very friendly and was willing to explain physics to laymen. His smile attracted the attention of everybody... the Chinese are grateful for his generosity in spending time in China."
A cartoon on Weibo depicts Hawking's famous wheelchair with the caption: "Travel well, you who is in a parallel world".
Prof Hawking also came along at a time when modern China began accelerating its scientific and space ambitions.
Thus, a role model ideal for the Chinese state to champion emerged.
"Hawking has near-superstar status in China, and the Chinese government preaches that scientific prowess is crucial to the country's future power," reads one report carried by state media in 2006.
It also helped that he was generally not critical of China - at first - and was happy to play to the crowd.
"I like Chinese culture, Chinese food and above all Chinese women. They are beautiful," he told his audience at an appearance during his last trip, while also praising the Chinese for being "very clever", "hardworking" and having "achieved a lot in science and technology".
The professor joked while in China that he found Chinese women "very beautiful"
Source: BBC
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