"A Marxist Will Absolutely Not Fail to Love the People and the Motherland", Renowned Scientist

Qian Xuesen, 90, begins his routine work when the light of the morning sun streaks into the small house. This is a morning spreading with the scents of crops promising a bumper harvest in a wide, clear season. Noted scientist Qian Xuesen, who has been working hard in the scientific field for over 70 years for the motherland and the people, as usual, begins his never-ending thinking and exploration....

"As a Chinese scientific and technical worker, I live for the purpose of serving the people." Qian devotes all his life to carrying out this common, yet great promise.

"I'm a Chinese, It's Natural That I'm Loyal to the Chinese People"

Two months after the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, Qian was born in Shanghai, national danger and disaster became the earliest memory in his life. For national salvation, Qian, after graduating from middle school, like many other strongly-willed youths, chose engineering course as the orientation for his life strivings. In the summer of 1934, 23-year-old Qian, after completing his study on the mechanical specialty in Shanghai's Jiaotong University, was admitted into the Tsinghua University's preparatory class for future studies in the United States. One year afterwards, Qian went across the ocean to the United States' Massachusetts College of Science and Engineering to major in the aviation industry for the master degree.

The poor and weak motherland became the object being often held to ridicule. When an American student ridiculed that the Chinese could only amoke opium, bind feet and were ignorant, Qian's blood was boiled with indignatin, he stood up and retorted the laughing American schoolmates, "China, as a country, does lag behind the United States; but as an individual, who, among you, dare to compare with me, let's see who will get a better school record at the end of smester?"

The American students put out their tongues, no one dared to answer. No one of them would forget that when no one could answer a complicated dynamics question, it was Qian Xuesen that easily gave the answer.

With the enery to win honor for the motherland, Qian grabbed the master degree after only one year. In 1936, Qian was transferred to study at the California College of Science and Engineering, after three years, he got the aviation and mathematics Ph.D. Later, with the guidance and cooperation of his tutor, world mechanics Master M. Carmen, Qian began the research on high-speed plane aerodynamics, solid mechanics, rocket and missile, participated in numerous engineering practices and, together with his colleagues, designed and developed for the United States the first generation missiles capable of being used in operations, laying a reliable theoretical foundation for the etablishment of the world aviation industry.

Qian very soon enjoyed a good fame, becoming a famous scientist as reputed as Carmen. The US armed forces invited him to lecture on the rocket and jet technology, the American air force used his "Jet Propulsion" as internal teaching materials. In 1947, 36-year-old Qian became a young professor with the Massachusetts College of Science and Engineering, possessing the position, reputation and comfortable life which many people were dreaming of all their lives.

Qian never prepared to permanently live in the United States, he was well aware that the place was only a stage in his life, it was the far-away motherland that was his eternal homeland. During the 20 years of his stay in the United States, Qian did not buy even a single dollar worth of insurance. Applying the wind-tunnel principle in the case calculation of wind-mill power generation, he chose the height from the sea level to eight km above sea level, that is precisely his motherland--the natural condition of China.

After many years, Qian Xuesen said, "I studied in the first three to four years in the United States, and worked in the latter dozen years. All this done was to make preparation, aimed to do something for the people after my return to the motherland. This is because I am a Chinese."

However, his homward journey was a rough and rugged path.

Harassments and obstructions came one after another, the US authorities used every possible means, but there was only one aim: Trying by all means to prevent Qian from going home, because "he is too valuable, under whatever circumstances, he can be equal to three-five division forces".

Imprisonment, house arrest, frightening, shadowing, the US reactionary forces' persecution and attack, none could subdue Qian, what these aroused him was his valiant and fearless struggle. In the face of the procurator's unwarranted charge, Qian gave a sonorous answer, "knowledge is my personal property, I've the right to give it to whoever I want to." "I'm a Chinese, of course, I'm loyal to the Chinese people." US news media said: It was not Qian Xuesen, but the procurator who was interrogated!

Under Qian's prolonged protests and the tremendous pressure of the motherland's diplomatic struggle, the US authorities were compelled to approve of Qian's returning home. On September 17, 1955, with broad and profound knowledge and full of zeal, Qian Xuesen got on board the steamship bound for the motherland.

"I'm very Excited, I'm Now a Member of the Laboring People"

In the 1950s, the whole globe was enshrined in the dark clouds of the Cold War. The blockade and provocation by the anti-China Western forces posed serious threat to the security and development of the new-born People's Republic. New China was in desperate need of a strong national defense.

On the afternoon of one February day in 1956, Qian Xuesen, together with Ye Jianying, reported to the then Premier Zhou Enlai their tenative idea about the development of rocket and missile. The Premier warmly grasped Qian's hands, saying, "Comrade Xuesen, please write down your idea into a written opinion report, so as to submit it to the central authorities for discussion".

Hearing that the Premier call him "comrade", he felt a sense of warmth welled up in his heart. From the Premier's bright piercing eyes, he felt the trust and a heavy load was placed on his shoulder. Qian could not subpress the surge of emotion inside him, he only spelled out the word, "OK, I'll."

A few days later, a detailed "opinion report" was sent to Premier Zhou's desk. On October 8, after half a year, China's first rocket and missile research institute--the No.5 Research Institute under the Chinese Ministry of National Defense was formally set up with Qian Xuesen being its president. After a brief founding ceremony, Qian Xuesen gave a lecture on the "Introduction to Missile" to 156 university students newly assigned to work at the institute. The tortuous yet brilliant rocket, missile and aviation industry of New China was henceforth formally started up.

That was a road of painstaking exploration. There was then a want of materials and acute shortages of talents in China, Qian and his colleagues could only draw support from the former Soviet Union and started with imitation. In 1960, just at the time when the imitation work entered the crucial stage, the former Soviet Union suddenly withdrew all their experts.

That put China in a dilemma like dark clouds were bearing down. In the face of the difficult and compicated situation, Marshal Nie Rongzhen then in charge of this work, acting in line with the instruction of the centural authorities, said: We must strive for vindication, we must produce our own missile by relying on our own strength and basing ourselves at home!

These weighty words shoke Qian to the bottom of his heart. Five years earlier when he was visiting northeast China, General Chen Geng asked him: Can we create rocket and missile on our own? Qian Xuesen answered, Why not? What foreigners can make, we China can do too!

What difficulty aroused could only be the will-power of the strongest. Qian Xuesen and his colleagues determinedly undertook the heavy historical task of developing China's own missiles. The Chinese scientists, by displaying the aspiration, diligence and wisdom of the Chinese and after working many days and nights and making many calculations and tests, finally overcame one after another difficulties left behind by the experts of the former Soviet Union.

Science-related things allow of not the least error. In order to eliminate all possible errors on the ground, Qian had done extemely meticulous work. He often worked at the bases for one or two months and personally inquired about things, big or small. He always carried with him a "Handbook" in which details about each test were noted down. Abnormalities and breakdowns were listed in tables, what had been solved was noted as "has been replaced" and "usable"; what was not yet solved and carried out, he put down an asterisk in red.

As the saying goes, "A fortress can be formed only with united wills". In order to bring the wisdom and intelligence of everybody into play, Qian invariably asked several great masters to come to his home on the afternoon of every Sunday, however busy he was, to discuss major technical problems. Qian said with all sincerity: If your proposals turned out to be successful, then the credit should go to you; if they fail, I'll be responsible for the failure. His words were so deeply engraved in the minds of the great masters that they, for dozens of years, had not forgotten. Everybody spoke freely, dull discussion meeting became an "immortal meeting" that gave one an ease of mind.

On November 5, 1960, the launching test of China's first missile was successful. That day, it was only five years after Qian's return to the motherland and only four years after China startinglaunching the missile development plan. While achieving this, the United States had to spend nearly 10 years.

Qian Xuesen has dedicated all his energy and wisdom to the rocket, missile and aviation undertaking of the motherland. Shortly after the success of the missile test, Qian began to think of a long-term development plan of China's missile undertaking and set about to study the flying blast test of the integration of atom bombs and missile. In January 1965, he again formally proposed to the central authorities: Drawing up a man-made satellite research plan at an early date. China's first man-made satellite project was therefore dubbed as "651 Project"....

After the beginning of the 80s, Qian, together with other scientists, boosted the implementation of the "863 Program". At the start of the 90s, he suggested organizing a Science-Technology Company to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, advocating the development of quaternary industry--science, technology and intelligence and information industry, he paid attention to underground gasification technology of China's coal, proposed the establishment of spiritual civilization science. With regard to the large-scale development of the western region now under way, he reminds with the calmness of a scientist: although the development is all-round and comprehensive, it is still necessary to take agricultural development as the foundation....

In 1991, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee put Qian Xuesen, Lei Feng, Jiao Yulu and Wang Jinxi side by side as outstanding representatives of Communist Party members and called upon people of the whole country to learn from them. After learning about this, Qian had difficulty falling asleep all the night: "I'm extremely excited, now I'm a member of the laboring people, and I'm among the most progressive elements of the laboring people."

"A Marxist Will Absolutely Not Fail to Love the People and the Motherland"

A great creation comes from a scientific method. During his youthhood, Qian Xuesen conscientiously read a lot of Marxist works. He told the students many times that the achievements he had gained in science were the fruits he had gathered in his Marxist philosophical study. He particularly admired Albert Einstein, J.R. Oppenheimer and other scientists, because they not only dedicated themselves to world peace and the cause of human progress, but also their thoughts were dialectical materialist."

Dialectical materialism--this is precisely the "secret key" to Qian's constant outdoing his colleagues and his consistent advance in the most forward position of science.

As a scientist having the experience of technology and engineering, Qian Xuesen has always paid attention to proceeding from practice, summarizing, refining and checking theoretical assumptions. He is a scientific master good at integrating engineering practice and theoretical innovation. As a conscious Marxist, Qian always treat truth with a scientific spirit. In his protracted scientific practice, he has forged a strict, unadorned and realistic style of study and character.

Upholding truth and being realistic--this is Qian's scientific character, as well as his exemplary personality. When he was young, he did not blindly believe in authority, he once debated so heatedly with his tutor that he flushed up to the ears; when he became authoritative, in the face of the correct opinions put forward by the young students, he could calmly accept them and immediately made revision in the printed teaching materials. He often tells people: When I was studying in the middle school attached to the Beijing Teachers' University, I was counted as a good student, but I got a mark of only a little over 80 in each examination; I was admitted into the Shanghai Jiaotong University through examination, I was placed not the first, but the third. In the doctoral oral examination in the United States, the achievement I attained was not the first grade, but the second grade.

In a letter to his friend, Qian Xuesen wrote: "In the past 30 years, I've all along been studying Marxist philosophy, and I've invariably attempted to use it to guide my work. Marxist philosophy is the source of wisdom! Furthermore, a Marxist will absolutely not fail to love his people and the motherland."

When his work unit offered to build a house for him, he firmly disagreed, saying that because "I cannot divorce myself from the broad masses of scientific and technological personnel"; when he was given a bonus check worth a huge sum of HK$1 million, without having even a glance at it, he donated all the money to the undertaking of sand-control. In his later years, Qian, with extreme modest of a Marxist, treats honor, psition and money indifferently.

"I myself is only like a drop in the ocean, and indeed very negligible. It is the Chinewe people, the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China that are really great!"

Those are the words given by Qian Xuesen, a Marxist, and the sincere aspiration of a scientist of the people.



By People's Daily Online


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