Li Yanzhi has the ability to memorize 220,000 words and recite every word in an English-Chinese dictionary, and repeat the process. (Photo : www.dailymail.co.uk)
Li Yanzhi has the uncanny ability to memorize 220,000 words and recite every word in an English-Chinese dictionary, and repeat the process, according to China Daily.
The 51-year-old business English lecturer in the School of Finance and Economics at Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, told China Daily that she started to recite all the content of an English-Chinese dictionary on Aug. 6, 2013, and completed the task 19 days later.
She said she has performed the feat 28 times.
"I tried to remember every word in the dictionary in order to make it easier for me to teach my classes," Li was quoted as saying.
According to China Daily, Li has been rising from bed at 3 a.m. to spend six hours to memorize the words in the dictionary. She has been doing it for two years. She said she had read 465 English language magazines from the school's library.
The report said that Li lives a hard life, raising an autistic son all by herself as her husband divorced her 20 years ago.
To augment her income, Li does translation work during her spare time and earned enough money to purchase a new apartment, the report said.
According to the report, Li has an unusual capacity for learning. She is familiar with 10 foreign languages: English, French, Russian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Urdu. She is also fluent in English and Polish.
The report said that Li has developed 11 memory methods to memorize English words and has taught them to her students.
Zhang Xinjie, a student of Li's, said that as a living dictionary, Li cannot only recite but she can also explain the meaning of any English word without consulting a dictionary.
Her colleagues also admire Li for her hard work both in teaching and life, and her supervisor wished Li would publish more academic papers to help her become a professor.
Li said that she dreams of joining the Chinese television talent show "The Brain" to further test her ability.
