At 12:43 on October 31, 2009, on this Halloween day that should have been a celebration, we heard the heartbreaking news: the scientific superstar Qian Xuesen passed away in Beijing, closing his eyes forever. A star has fallen!
I believe this news will soon hit the front pages of major websites and special editions of newspapers. Why does the departure of this elderly man cause such a massive sensation? Qian Xuesen—a man whose stories we have cited in primary school essays—what exactly did he bring to us?
Scientific Contributions
During the period when Qian Xuesen completed his studies in the United States with excellent grades, New China had just been founded and was extremely deficient in science and technology. Qian Xuesen resolutely gave up his “bright future” in the United States and determinedly returned to a China that was almost starting from scratch. He heroically said, “My surname is Qian [which means money], but I do not love money.”
However, the road home was not smooth. Dan A. Kimball, the Under Secretary of the Navy, said: “He knows all the core secrets of the American missile engineering. One Qian Xuesen is worth five Marine divisions. I would rather shoot this guy than let him return to Red China.” Through the clever diplomatic maneuvers of Chinese leaders, Qian Xuesen finally returned to his motherland!
After his return, Mao Zedong held up five fingers and said to Qian Xuesen: “I have been looking forward to seeing you for a long time! ... I heard the Americans consider you worth five divisions! In my view, to us, you are much more powerful than five divisions! I am currently studying your Engineering Cybernetics to guide our country’s economic construction!”
History proved Kimball’s words: Qian Xuesen successfully led China’s aerospace and nuclear bomb undertakings. Atomic bombs, missiles, satellites, spacecraft... Qian Xuesen was a primary contributor to these great achievements. He was also the founder and advocate of modern mechanics and systems engineering theory and application research in China. Under his leadership, the planning for the “establishment of jet and rocket technology” in China was successfully completed, and he participated in the development of short-range missiles, medium-short-range missiles, and China’s first man-made earth satellite. Qian Xuesen directly led the “two-bomb combination” test of carrying an atomic bomb with a medium-short-range missile, participated in formulating China’s first development plan for interstellar aviation, and established Engineering Cybernetics and Systems Science.
Eternal Spirit
Do you remember the essays everyone wrote during their student days? I believe many people cited Elder Qian’s deeds when writing about topics like patriotism and responsibility. In the impoverished New China of that time, it was precisely because of patriotic scientists like Elder Qian that China’s science and technology continued to progress, reaching the world’s forefront in an extremely short time and creating one miracle after another! In addition to patriotism, there was also the spirit of tireless research! In the harsh environment of that time, being able to conduct research and guidance without stopping was truly rare!
Today, Elder Qian’s spirit still inspires us. I believe our generation, and even the next, will surely carry this spirit forward; it will never be extinguished!
Farewell, Elder Qian!
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