Marie Curie

Author: Tao Xiaokang / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is a beautiful city. The Vistula River, which originates from the Carpathian Mountains, flows gently through the city like a blue silk ribbon. Legend has it that in ancient times, a young man named Walter and a girl named Sawa came to this place and established their home by the Vistula River. However, there was a demon in the river who often caused trouble and disrupted people's peaceful lives. To protect their hard-won home, Walter and Sawa fought a fierce battle against the demon. Eventually, they moved God, who sent a goddess—the Mermaid—to help them defeat the demon. From then on, the people by the Vistula River lived a happy and peaceful life. Gradually, the place evolved from a small fishing village into a bustling city. To honor the city's founders, Walter and Sawa, it was named "Warsaw." To express gratitude for the goddess's help, a bronze statue of the Mermaid was erected by the Vistula River. For centuries, the image of the Mermaid has been a symbol of Warsaw and a source of pride for the Polish people.
On November 7, 1867, in a room on the second floor of a ordinary women's boarding school at 16 Fredra Street in Warsaw, a baby girl was born into the world. This newborn was a girl. As the fifth child in the family, her father, W?adys?aw Sk?odowski, welcomed his little daughter with both joy and calmness. The postpartum exhaustion had left his wife, Bronis?awa Sk?odowska, weak and tired. She looked lovingly at the infant in her arms and said to her husband, who stood by the bedside, "Look, she looks so much like you, especially those eyes—more beautiful than her older siblings!" As she spoke, she coughed twice.
Sk?odowski glanced at his wife and noticed her slightly flushed cheeks. She spoke with some unease, saying, "You're too tired. Rest well, and for now, leave aside all other responsibilities except for feeding the child." He knew she had been suffering from tuberculosis and had been taking medication. To avoid worsening her condition, he had already resolved to have her resign from her position at the school. They named their newborn daughter Maria.
Maria had three older sisters and one older brother. Her eldest sister was Zofia, her brother and grandfather shared the name Josef, her second sister was Bronis?awa, and her third sister was Helena. The eldest sister was only five years older than little Maria.
Her father, W?adys?aw Sk?odowski, was born into a declining small noble family in Poland. His family's ancestral home was located in Sk?odzie, about 100 kilometers north of Poland, where they had been farmers for generations. Their harvests would greatly decrease during wars and disasters, but thanks to their ancestors' skillful management and hard work, by the 18th century, they still owned hundreds of hectares of land, living a relatively prosperous rural life. However, by the time of Maria's grandfather, Josef, things had changed. Dissatisfied with the declining and unstable income of their family, Josef left the land they had farmed for generations and moved to the city to pursue education. After experiencing the turmoil of revolutions and wars, he finally settled in Lublin, a significant city in Poland, and became the principal of a boys' high school, becoming the first intellectual in his family. He later married and raised seven children, one of whom was W?adys?aw Sk?odowski, Maria's father. He was very much like his grandfather, Josef, and loved reading. After furthering his studies at St. Petersburg University, he returned to Warsaw and became a professor of mathematics and physics at a university preparatory school.
Maria's mother, Bronis?awa Sk?odowska, also came from a small noble family in Poland with some farmland. Her maternal grandfather, Felix Bongorski, was a romantic man. In addition to managing his family's farmland, he also worked for more powerful noble families to supplement his income. He fell in love with a noble girl from a higher social standing but with little wealth and, despite his in-laws' objections, married her. Of their six children, Maria's mother was the most beautiful and intelligent. She loved music and had a wonderful singing voice, as well as a skillful piano playing ability. After graduating from a boarding school for girls in Warsaw, she stayed at her alma mater and became a teacher. Due to her outstanding teaching performance and deep passion for education, she later became the principal of the school.
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