A lost dog
Zhang's father gave him a name, hoping that his son would live a life that was not like other people and that his son would be great. As it turned out, he wasn't like the others, but it also seems that he is a little bit "out of control."
Before finishing his Master's thesis defense, Zhang asked his parents to buy him an apartment in Beijing with a full payment. He threatened that if they did not act as he ordered, he would not go for his Master's defense causing him to fail to get the degree.
"My parents want me to stay in Beijing. Yet, if I do not have my own house here, I would be like those Beijing drifters," said Zhang in a TV interview. "If I am like them, why then do my parents want me to get a Doctoral degree?"
Zhang says that he owes what he is like today to his parents. He also thinks that since his parents want him to stay in Beijing, "they should take the responsibility of providing me with a good living environment."
In order to get their child to finish his defense willingly, Zhang's parents rented a house in Beijing. They ended up having to lie to him, saying that this was the house that they just bought him.
Many Internet users criticized Zhang saying that he is stupid and what he required would drive his parents crazy, but for Zhang, it seems to be on the contrary. "It is my parents that drive themselves crazy, not me," said Zhang.
"My parents gave birth to me and imposed their dream on me, hoping that one day I would achieve what they wanted to gain in the past," added Zhang. "They planned my life for me, trying to make me think that what they were leading me to do was what I wanted to do."
"I want to be a successful man who holds a Beijing registered permanent residence, can buy a house in Beijing, and has a good job," said Zhang when asked to define what kind of life is successful. "My son has been exposed to many aspects of society which we can't control," said Zhang Xinyang's father.
Sometimes Zhang's parents feel regret over driving their child to be a so-called prodigy, especially when he quarrels with them. But now it is too late to stop it. Though Zhang has complained that his father was too eager for a quick success, he chooses to understand him.
