Academician Qian Sanqiang, nuclear physicist (1913-1992) Academician Ho Zehui, nuclear physicist (1914-2011)
32 years ago today, Mr. Qian Sanqiang passed away in Beijing. The Academy of Sociology specially forwarded an old article written many years ago, and this small article has been reprinted and rewritten countless times on the Internet. Of course, it is not how good Qun Xuejun's writing is, but because the two scholars written here interpret the true meaning of the word "noble" in this era of local tyrants.
It is said that Qian Sanqiang and He Zehui are "nobles", not only because of their respective illustrious family backgrounds, nor just because of their respective great famous mountain careers, but also because they do not care about all external things: material treatment, living conditions, worldly prestige, etc., and the huge contrast between them and the former is almost incredible.
To some extent, it is this "incredible" that shows how far the current Chinese are from the true noble spirit.
01
At the junction of Zhongguancun North 1st Street and Zhongguancun North 1st Street in Beijing, there is a community that was built in the 50s of the last century. Today, it is dilapidated, with dimly lit corridors plastered with small advertisements for unclogging sewers, and all kinds of debris everywhere in the courtyard. Open the search engine, and you will hardly find any other information related to this house called "Keyuan Community" except for the sale and purchase of second-hand houses.
Today's tenants and second-hand agents will not know that thirty or forty years ago, this old, dilapidated and decaying community once gathered "China's most advanced brains": including 9 of the 59 academicians of the first batch of Academia Sinica, 32 of the first 233 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and 8 of the 23 "two bombs and one satellite" fathers.
Among them are Academician Qian Sanqiang, the "Father of China's Atomic Bomb", and his wife, Academician He Zehui, "Marie Curie of China", who lived here from 1955 until the end of their lives. To this day, the rooms of Qian Sanqiang and Mr. He Zehui are still the same as they were when they first moved in in the fifties: whitewashed walls, hardly any other decoration except for wooden floors.
Now, standing here, facing today's housing prices in Zhongguancun, you will have a feeling of being separated from this world - the rising Chinese rich are everywhere. The Chinese who have become rich all want to be nobles, and even think that they are nobles. BMW incense cars have become the so-called status symbols of the aristocracy. Urban white-collar workers who are not so rich find another way, go to bars, watch dramas, talk about Haruki Murakami, and consider themselves spiritual aristocrats.
But no one thinks deeply: what is a real aristocracy? Where is the spirit of the aristocracy? How far are the nouveau riche from the aristocracy?
After the long history of the twentieth century, if there is still a group of people in China who can be called "aristocracy", then the owners and couples of this extremely simple study are out-and-out and extremely rare Chinese aristocrats.
Mr. Qian Sanqiang's study has always been furnished in the 50s
02
It is said that Qian Sanqiang and He Zehui are "nobles", not only because of their respective illustrious family backgrounds, nor just because of their respective great famous mountain careers, but also because they do not care about all external things: material treatment, living conditions, worldly prestige, etc., and the huge contrast between them and the former is almost incredible.
To some extent, it is this "incredible" that shows how far the current Chinese are from the true noble spirit.
Mr. Qian Sanqiang's Wuxing Qian family, and Mr. Qian Mu, Qian Weichang, and Mr. Qian Zhongshu's Wuxi Qian family, Qian Xuesen, and Qian Yongjian's Hangzhou Qian family, and called the three major descendants of Qian Biao, the king of Wuyue, in the south of the Yangtze River. Mr. Qian Sanqiang himself, together with Qian Xuesen and Qian Weichang, is known as the "three coins" of modern Chinese physics.
Qian Sanqiang's father, Qian Xuantong, is a "May Fourth" literary giant, his uncle Qian Sui, is an important foreign minister in the late Qing Dynasty, and his aunt Shan Shili traveled to Japan, Russia, Europe and other countries with her husband Qian Sui, which lasted more than ten years, and is the first intellectual woman in modern China to "go to the world".
As for Mr. He Zehui, he was born in a famous family that can be called a hairpin family - Shanxi Lingshi Liangdu He family. In the three hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, this family has produced fifteen jinshi and twenty-nine lifters, and the people of Shanxi have spoken, "Why not open a department".
After modern times, how rich is the He family? We all know that there is a Master-of-Nets Garden in Suzhou, a world cultural heritage, world-famous, but the world may not know, in 1950, it was He Zehui's sisters who dedicated the Master-of-Nets Garden to the country, and before that, the Master-of-Nets Garden was the private residence of the He family!
He Zehui's maternal grandfather, Wang Songwei, was Mr. Cai Yuanpei's teacher; Her grandmother, Xie Dada, was the most famous female educator in Suzhou in the late Qing Dynasty and the founder of Zhenhua Girls' School. This pair of "old Wang Xie" family has six academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: in addition to Qian Sanqiang and He Zehui, there are also He Zehui's brother-in-law Ge Tingsui, cousins Wang Shouwu, Wang Shoujue, and cousin-in-law Lu Xueshan.
A family has produced six academicians in a generation, which is probably unique in the past hundred years.
And also
He Zehui's uncle Wang Jilie is the first translator of modern Chinese physics;
The second uncle Wang Jitong is the inventor of "Wang's Algebra";
The second aunt, Wang Jiyi, is the first female doctor of chemistry in China;
her sister He Yizhen is China's first female doctor of physics;
His cousin, Wang Shoujing, is a Ph.D. from Columbia University and the head of the Department of Physics at Peking University.
cousin Wang Shuzhen is a doctor from Hopkins University, and Lin Qiaozhi is known as "North Lin South King";
Brother-in-law Ni Baochun is the founder of plastic surgery in China;
My cousin, Wang Mingzhen, is a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and the first female professor at Tsinghua University;
His cousin, Wang Shourong, is the founder of China's precision instrument discipline
……
What is a cultural family? This is called a cultural family!
Childhood He Zehui (right) with siblings This was a typical upper-class Chinese family at that time
03
However, the "aristocratic spirit" I want to talk about is not there.
The story begins with this photo.
This is a graduation photo of the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University in 1936, and the gentle girl with long braids in the front row is 22-year-old He Zehui, who is one of the earliest girls in the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University. On the far left of the back row is 23-year-old Qian Sanqiang, who at that time was called "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" by his classmates.
After graduating from university, thinking of the increasing pace of Japan's invasion of China, He Zehui and several male students went to the Nanjing Military Industry Bureau to find a job, hoping to serve the country with their own profession. The boys were left behind, but He Zehui was turned away. The reason is that after the completion of the study period, the boys rush to the battlefield to fight the invaders, and as for the girls, the Military Industry Administration cannot arrange them.
He Zehui was helpless, and in a fit of anger, she chose to go abroad for further study. Before going abroad, she learned from her classmate Wang Daheng (the father of two bombs and one satellite, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering) who worked in the Nanjing Military Industry Bureau that the head of the Department of Technical Physics at the Technical University of Berlin in Germany had worked as a consultant in the Nanjing Military Industry Bureau. So, after she arrived in Germany, she went directly to the head of the department. The head of the Department of Technical Physics met with her and said that this was unlikely, because our Department of Technical Physics was a secret department, and it was impossible to recruit foreigners, especially women, to study ballistics.
He Zehui argued on the basis of reason, saying, "You can come to China to be our adviser to the Military Industry Administration" and help us fight the Japanese devils. I came here to study this major in order to fight Japanese devils, why don't you accept me?
In this way, this petite Chinese girl who grew up in the rich and gentle countryside of Suzhou Gardens used unparalleled courage to conquer the first power in the modern military industry. This is the first time that the Department of Technical Physics at the Technical University of Berlin has accepted foreign students, and it is also the first time that female students have been admitted to the Department of Ballistics.
What is aristocracy? This kind of fortitude and perseverance is called aristocracy!
He Zehui (right) and her sister He Yizhen (China's first female doctor in physics)
04
At this time, Qian Sanqiang studied nuclear physics at the University of Paris with Marie Curie (Marie Curie's daughter). In 1943, He Zehui wrote the first letter to Qian Sanqiang, whom he had not seen for seven years. Because of the war, the letter could not be sealed, and was limited to 25 French words, Ho Zehui wrote: "Are you still in Paris, if possible, write on my behalf to my parents at home to report your safety." Since Germany and France were at war, Qian Sanqiang pressed too much of his heart and replied simply: "I'm fine, don't worry." ”
Two years later, 31-year-old He Zehui received a marriage proposal letter from Paris, in which Qian Sanqiang said: "After a long correspondence, I propose to you to get married, if you can agree, please reply, I will wait for you to return to China together." Her reply was simple: "Thank you for your love, I will always be loyal to you, and we will return home together when we meet." ”
Half a year later, He Zehui came to Paris alone with a suitcase. At their wedding, Joliot-Curie (Marie Curie's son-in-law) said:
The nostalgic Bière and Marie Mr. and Mrs. Curie, who used to work closely together in a laboratory, later became partners with Irena again. As it turned out, the results of our combination were very good. Dear Mr. Qian, Dear Miss He, our 'infectious disease' has been passed on to you today. I wish you a happy family, and I wish you close cooperation and fruitful results in scientific endeavor that will inspire the world.
Throughout their lives, Qian Sanqiang and He Zehui were close to each other and worked hard for each other, and this "Chinese Curie couple" fulfilled the loyalty oath they made to each other.
What is aristocracy? This kind of mutual loyalty is called aristocracy!
Qian Sanqiang, He Zehui in Paris
05
In July 1965, Qian Sanqiang received a one-page newspaper clipping article "What is Behind Science in China?" in the June 1965 issue of the French "Science and Life" mailed by Bahangde, the former secretary and inspector of the French Nutrition School. 》。 The text reads:
Scientific research in China is led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The leader of the Beijing Institute of Atomic Energy is Dr. Qian Sanqiang, a physicist who studied at the Sorbonne Department of the University of Paris. He is truly the father of China's atomic bomb.
On June 17, 1967, China's first hydrogen bomb was successfully exploded. The next day, the scientific editor of the French AFP, Selge Bell published an article and wrote:
Qian Sanqiang is considered the father of China's nuclear bomb.
On the same day, the British "Sunday Times" published an article saying:
No other country has made such rapid progress. France exploded its first atomic bomb four years before China, but still did not test a hydrogen bomb...... Outsiders know very little about the people who participated in this plan, but this plan is likely to be led by Qian Sanqiang.
The next day, these news and telegrams were reprinted in the "Reference Materials" compiled and distributed by the Xinhua News Agency. Since then, the statement that "Qian Sanqiang is the father of China's atomic bomb" has been widely recognized and disseminated.
Qian Sanqiang himself has always been strongly opposed to the "father of China's atomic bomb". Qian Sanqiang's attitude towards this is: "The success of China's atomic bomb development is by no means the credit of a few people, let alone the credit of Qian Sanqiang alone, but the crystallization of collective wisdom." Foreigners tend to value the value of the individual, and like to use titles such as 'father' and 'crown'. ”
What is Aristocrat? This kind of humility is called aristocracy.
Qian Sanqiang commemorative stamp
06
After the death of Mr. Qian Sanqiang in 1992, He Zehui refused to move to the academician building with better conditions, so he kept the old house they moved in in 1955, and the furnishings in the house did not change at all.
She's used to work and likes to go to the office. The unit wanted to send a car, but she didn't want to live or die, she was only willing to take the bus until she was 92 years old. The 90-year-old lady, "Chinese Marie Curie", wears liberation shoes every day, takes the bus to work, and often buys a few steamed buns in the canteen of the unit to take back to eat, which in itself is a cultural landscape that Zhongguancun will never have again.
At the age of 92, He Zehui broke his foot, and after recovering, the unit insisted on sending a car to pick him up, He Zehui accepted, but asked not to take a car, but to take the unit's bus, one to save money, and the other to chat with colleagues.
Li Tibei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote in an article celebrating He Zehui's 95th birthday in 2009:
For Mr. Ho, scientific research is about exploring nature as it is, and that's it. The position and origin, pomp and momentum, and gorgeous packaging have no effect on Mr. He; From time to time, like the little child who couldn't see the emperor's new clothes, she would coldly come out with an inopportune and penetrating truth.
Whether from the material or spiritual level, He Zehui's family can be called a suffocating aristocratic family. However, you can't see a shadow of arrogance in He Zehui. Not only is there no arrogance, but it is simple to the dust. But spiritually, He Zehui has always retained the pride and dignity of the aristocracy - since 2005, Premier Wen has visited Academician He Zehui every year, and she has followed the news broadcast and become a "celebrity", but few people know, probably only this old lady dares to take out a small Mazha and greet the prime minister and say: You are sitting here!
What is aristocrats, this kind of pride and self-esteem, is called aristocracy!
Source: WeChat public account "" Qunxue Academy
Author: Qun Xuejun
Editor: Jing Chen
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