Qian Weichang: Patriotic scientist, enthusiastic educator
English.news.cn 2010-08-07 20:40:43 FeedbackPrintRSS
SHANGHAI, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientist Qian Weichang, who was a pioneer in physics, mechanics and applied mathematics, was cremated here on Saturday.
He died in Shanghai at the age of 98 on July 30.
Qian -- former president of Shanghai University and other colleges -- was a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He was one of the three famous "Qians" in China's science and technology field, along with Qian Xuesen, the father of China's space program, and Qian Sanqiang, who oversaw the development of China's nuclear program.
Qian Sanqiang died in 1992 and Qian Xuesen in 2009.
"It (the deaths of the three) marks the end of an era," a netizen named Liu Xianbin wrote in his blog.
"Salute those who devoted their life time to transform China from poverty and inferiority by advancing scientific and technical strength. Salute the three 'Qians,'" he wrote.
"From Qian's experiences of various ups and downs of life, we could understand deeply the definition of pure patriotism," said Zhou Zhewei, deputy president of Shanghai University and a student of Qian Weichang.
In reminiscence, Rao Zihe, president of Tianjin-based Nankai University, said "Qian put forward the advanced concept of open education in China last century, which has not yet been fully realized in universities nowadays."
"We should carry on Qian's behests," Rao said.
"MY MAJOR IS WHAT MY COUNTRY NEEDS THE MOST"
Born in October 1912, Qian was initially not good at science, but later chose to study physics as he believed science and technology were key to revitalizing China in the 1930s.
According to an interview of Qian by the China Central Television (CCTV) in 2005, he enrolled in Beijing-based Tsinghua University in 1931, with perfect entrance examination scores in Chinese and history.
However, he only scored a total of 25 points out of 400 for the four subjects of English, mathematics, physics and chemistry.
"(I) got five points in physics, and (because) I had never learned English before, I got a zero," Qian said in the interview.
Everyone expected him to take history, but Qian decided to study physics in September 1931 at the start of the Japanese occupation that would last 14 years.
"I was angry, and I was young, ... So I said 'I don't want to learn this (history), I want to learn how to make tanks and planes,'" Qian said, "My major is what my country needs the most."
He eventually became one of the best students in the physics department before graduating with B.S. in 1935, and obtained a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the University of Toronto in 1942.
In 1946, Qian returned to China after spending years as a research associate in the jet propulsion laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and served as a professor at Tsinghua University.
As Qian later recalled, his monthly salary at that time could only afford one thermos flask.
Over the decades, Qian's research scope covered the intrinsic theory of plates and shells, mechanics of armour penetration, the flattering of airplanes, the development of high-energy batteries, and Chinese computer codes among others.
"Some people say I don't have a focus of work, that I study something today, and might study something different tomorrow. I say I do the best I can in whatever fields the country needs me to study," Qian said.
"I PREFER OTHERS CALL ME 'HEADMASTER QIAN'"
As famous scientist and educator, Qian Weichang had various political, administrative and professional titles. But "Headmaster Qian" was his favorite title.
"The president of a university is not an official post. Devoting yourself to the cause is the most important," he once said.
A native of Wuxi, eastern Jiangsu Province, Qian was professor, dean and vice president at Tsinghua University from 1946 to 1982.
He served as president of Shanghai University of Technology from 1983 to 1994, and president of Shanghai University (formerly Shanghai University of Technology) from 1994 to 2010.
Qian, the oldest university president in China, however, had been a "volunteer president" for the entire 27-year presidency as he got neither a penny nor an apartment from the university.
Since his presidency at Shanghai University, Qian had devoted himself to the reconstructing of the university and to the accomplishment of various reforms in higher education.
He took a variety of steps to establish a series of new effective systems in education including a credit system, elective system, and short school terms.
He also advocated open education by breaching barriers between universities and the society, boundaries between different disciplines, and "walls" between education and scientific research.
Dressing in a scarlet president's gown and supported by others, 93-year old Qian showed up at the Shanghai University's graduation ceremony in July 2005. This was the last time for him to be present at such occasion.
"You should be the first to worry about the affairs of the people and the last to enjoy yourselves," he spoke with a mumble to the graduates.
Qian attributed his success mainly to the hard work, citing repeatedly that he did not "believe in genius."
Recalling his earlier studies at Tsinghua University in the 1930s, Qian said he used to get up at five o'clock each morning to recite his physics textbooks.
But he admitted that he was not the most hardworking student at the university back then.
"I used to study together with Hua Luogeng, who would have finished his recitation before I got there," Qian said, citing the late Chinese mathematician who was noted for his pioneering research in mathematics.
