Research Journey Essay Design

Goal: Publish a second essay on the personal site based on a previously published WeChat interview article, while keeping the site’s essay system consistent, bilingual, and transparent about the original source.

Product Decision

• The article will be published as an Essay, not as a separate media or interviews section.
• The text will be lightly edited rather than deeply rewritten.
• The article will retain the original conceptual structure, especially the 01 / 02 / 03 flow.
• The essay will explicitly note that it is adapted from a previously published media interview / WeChat article and will link to the original source.

Content Direction

• Use a cleaner title suitable for the personal site while preserving the original spirit.
• Keep the three main sections:
  • imitation learning and decision-making
  • curiosity, realism, and innovation in research
  • the importance of advisors in doctoral growth
• Preserve the final reflective “life outside research” thread as a short closing section.

UX Rules

• The essay should appear in homepage highlights and the essays index.
• The original source should be shown in a dedicated source block near the end of the essay page.
• The source block should be optional so the same layout can support future interview-based essays.

Scope

This round includes:

• optional source attribution block in the essay layout
• one new bilingual essay adapted from the linked WeChat article
• homepage and essays index surfacing through the existing featured essay flow

This round does not include:

• a separate interviews/media section
• embedded media from the WeChat page itself
• importing the original page’s images or videos