Jiaxu(Steven) Zheng

Explorer, Idea generator, Policy maker, Student

As a student with great passion and rich experience in both English and Chinese language studies, I have achieved significant accomplishments in both fields. In Chinese language studies, my grandfather, a former Chinese character scholar, developed the groundbreaking "Two Scripts Theory". This theory addresses flaws in traditional Chinese character education that mistakenly parallelize concepts of different levels, such as conflating pictographs (xiàngxíngzì), indicative characters (zhǐshìzì), associative compounds (huìyìzì) with pictophonetic characters (xíngshēngzì), while artificially separating the historical evolution of Chinese characters from their original and extended meanings. His published textbooks, now widely adopted by primary and secondary schools across China, have pioneered innovative approaches to Chinese character learning. As one of tens of millions of beneficiaries of this theory, I gained literacy skills three years ahead of my peers, forming the foundation of my linguistic achievements. Over the past three years, through deep research into the "Two Scripts Theory", I established a Chinese Learning Club at school to teach international students about Chinese characters and their history. Additionally, I actively promote Chinese character culture through social media platforms, committed to helping more people benefit from my grandfather's theories, and provide them with a unique lens into Chinese culture. In English language development, I have founded English Debate Societies and English Corners both at school and in local communities over the past three years. In November last year, I led a team to compete in the ASDAN World Scholar's Cup Haikou Regional Round, where I personally won six gold and two silver medals, earning selection into the Top 6 All-Star Debates from 100 competitors. Our team qualified fourth overall for the 2025 Global Round in August. I have also frequently hosted English salons organized by the Hainan Western Returned Scholars Association. In April 2025, I achieved an overall band score of 7 in my first IELTS examination.

Just like I mentioned in my biography, I have great passion in both English and Chinese. My ultimate goal is to build a bridge between the world and Chinese culture, I'm aim to let more people understand to power and uniqueness of chinese characters and enable them to probe into China, this ancient country.

We live in an era of overwhelming pressure to mean something. From career goals to social media personas, we’re told we must find our purpose—as if life is a puzzle with one correct solution. But what if the secret to true freedom isn’t discovering meaning, but realizing there was never any to begin with? Nihilism, often misunderstood as bleak resignation, simply states: Life has no inherent meaning. The universe doesn’t care. Time erases everything. On a cosmic scale, our struggles, triumphs, and even our species will leave no permanent mark. This idea terrifies many—but it shouldn’t. Consider: - The "Cosmic Homework" Myth: We anguish over "figuring out our purpose," as if meaning were a hidden treasure. Nihilism reveals this as an illusion. There’s no grand plan. No test to pass. - The Relief of Nothingness: Like realizing a looming deadline was fake, nihilism dissolves artificial pressure. If nothing matters absolutely, your "failures" lose their power over you. Here’s where existentialism turns the void into a blank canvas. Philosophers like Sartre and Camus agreed life has no preset meaning—but declared this empowering. If the universe is silent, we get to speak. The Unexpected Gift Nihilism isn’t the end—it’s the ultimate fresh start. When you accept nothing must matter, everything Your relationships, passions, and struggles gain new weight because you chose them, not some invisible scorekeeper. So the next time you feel lost, remember: You’re not failing. You’re free. The blank page isn’t empty—it’s full of possibility. Now, what will you write on it?

TED Talk is the place where I gain inspirational ideas, a channnel of learning English for me at the very first day I started to learn English. Now I finally come up with my own ted event TEDxJinlong Road Youth, I'm eager to build an accessible stage for my peers, those who don't have much resources available, to show their capacity. I sincerely appreciate the opportunities TEDx offers to the youth communities all over the world, and I'm really impressived by the power of Ideas Worth Spreading.

Singing, dance, rap, and play basketball.