FigQian Zhengying.
On June 3, 2009, Qian Zhengying, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a water conservancy expert, and former minister of water resources, was interviewed by reporter Ma Guochuan, and asked about the transfer of her to the Ministry of Water Resources as a vice minister in 1952
"Do you know why you were transferred to the Ministry of Water Resources back then?”Hearing this question, the old man Qian Zhengying just smiled and said three words:
"I don't know. ”You must know that the old man Qian Zhengying was transferred to the Ministry of Water Resources, not only as a clerk, but directly as a deputy minister, in the Ministry of Water Resources, all the leading cadres above the vice minister were basically more than ten years older than her, and Fu Zuoyi, who was the minister of water resources at the time, was two rounds older than Qian Zhengying. If you want to talk about qualifications, at that time in the Ministry of Water Resources, almost every leading cadre was older than Qian Zhengying.
Needless to say, General Fu Zuoyi was asked to be in charge of water conservancy work at the beginning of the founding of New China, and in addition to serving as minister of water resources, he also served as chairman of the Suiyuan Military and Political Committee and commander of the Suiyuan Provincial Military Region. By 1952, after being dismissed from the part-time position, the vice-chairman of the National Defense Committee was appointed.
Vice Minister Zhang Hanying is also a water conservancy expert, he was nominated by Fu Zuoyi as Vice Minister, and he was 50 years old when he took office, and there is also a Vice Minister Li Baohua, the son of Mr. Li Dazhao, who only served as Vice Minister of Water Resources at that time, and also served as an alternate member and party secretary.
FigIn 1946, Qian Zhengying was at the Huai River embankment.
A girl who is not yet 30 years old, but she can be on a par with these revolutionaries of the older generation.
Later, Ma Guochuan also asked Academician Qian Zhengying:
"What are you mainly responsible for after you are transferred to the Ministry of Water Resources?”Academician Qian Zhengying only replied with two words:
"Business. ”If we want to talk about water conservancy projects, Academician Qian Zhengying can be said to be a family scholar.
Qian Zhengying's father, Qian Kui, graduated from Nanyang University in Shanghai, majoring in civil engineering, and later went to the United States to study water conservancy engineering, so Qian Zhengying later went to college and studied civil engineering.
From today's professional point of view, civil engineering is a major project, and there are many sub-specialties below, including roads, construction, water conservancy, and so on.
But Qian Kui asked his daughter:
"Daughter, you can do anything in the future, but you can't do water conservancy!”Qian Zhengying was still a little ignorant at the time, and it wasn't until later that she understood why her father said this.
FigQian Zhengying when he was young.
In July 1935, a rare flood broke out in the Yangtze River basin, affecting Hubei, Hunan, Henan and southern Shaanxi
"The rain is so dark that people can't open their eyes, and the water on Yichang Street is half a person deep. ”More than 40,000 people died in the Jianghan Plain overnight, and tens of millions of people were affected, and even Wuhan, known as an international metropolis, was soaked in the flood for 90 days.
At that time, Qian Kuizheng was the director of the Second Engineering Office of the Jianghan Engineering Bureau, and was specially sent to Wuhan to prevent and control floods.
Originally, this was also a professional counterpart, but the difficulties of reality weighed on Qian Kui.
The people led by Chiang Kai-shek were concentrating on encircling and suppressing the Soviet area led by the Communist Party of China at that time, how could there be extra money to take out to prevent and control floods.
Qian Zhengying was still young that year, but she still remembers it clearly:
"When I was young, I accompanied my father to the river every day to see the water gauge. As long as the tide rises, my father will be restless. ”Fortunately, after the flood season in 1936 passed safely, Qian Kui was also relieved, but this official, he was killed and did not want to do it anymore. Others were promoted and made rich, and when he became this official, not only did he not take a penny from his family, but he also discounted his salary, so that during that time, the whole family could only survive by selling his wife's dowry.
FigIn 1951, Huang Xinbai and Qian Zhengying took a group photo in Tushan, Anhui.
Unexpectedly, Qian Zhengying still took the path that her father was unwilling to let her take.
Qian Zhengying studied civil engineering at Datong University in Shanghai in 1939 Xi was during the Anti-Japanese War.
During that time, Qian Zhengying was engaged in underground party work while going to school.
But by 1942, things had changed.
Because it is too dangerous to engage in underground work in the occupied areas, and these highly educated students are the pillars of the future construction of the motherland, and they cannot be easily lost, the organization demanded that Qian Zhengying and his group of students be withdrawn to the liberated areas.
Qian Zhengying withdrew to the Huaibei Liberated Area with regret, and Peng Xuefeng, who was then the commander of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army, also comforted her
In the future, if we want to carry out construction in the Huaibei Liberated Area and build a large auditorium, we will definitely ask you to design it. ”
After many years, Qian Zhengying is still a little sad:
Unfortunately, Peng Xuefeng died on the battlefield two years later. I designed a cemetery for him. ”
After Qian Zhengying arrived in the Huaibei Liberated Area, she was appointed as a cultural teacher under the arrangement of the party organization, but a sudden accident allowed Qian Zhengying to give full play to her talent in water conservancy.
FigIn March 1958, ** talked with Qian Zhengying at the Ming Tombs Reservoir.
In 1943, the Huai River flooded. The people of Huaibei District organized people to work for relief and repair the embankment, and by chance, everyone found that Qian Zhengying graduated from engineering, so they made her the technical leader.
That is, from this day on, Qian Zhengying ran around the embankment every day, because it was the Anti-Japanese War at that time, and part of the section of the embankment that Qian Zhengying was responsible for was still in the occupied area, so at that time, the embankment was repaired, and the troops had to send people to patrol the surrounding area to prevent the enemy from sneaking attack.
What impressed Qian Zhengying was that during a chat, the landlady told her:
In the past, the old man said that women were not allowed to go to the top of the gate, because women were unlucky, and when they went to the top of the gate, the gate would fall down. ”
Qian Zhengying was surprised:
I walk on the top of the gate every day, and no one cares about me. ”
The landlady smiled happily:
You are different, you are for us to cure the water. ”
Qian Zhengying also felt the urgency of the people for water control.
After the embankment was built, Qian Zhengying was transferred to the head of the water conservancy section of the construction department of the Huaibei Branch, that is, from this time, Qian Zhengying completely embarked on the post of water conservancy engineering.
Being a soldier, carrying a gun, and fighting in a war is Qian Zhengying's real experience during the war years.
FigIn 1951, Comrade Qian Zhengying (left) and model workers of Zhihuai were with Comrade Deng Yingchao at the reception of the All-China Women's Federation.
In 1948, Qian Zhengying was transferred to the Shandong River Affairs Bureau as deputy director and party secretary, and some cadres who had worked in the River Affairs Bureau later wrote reminiscences and said when talking about Qian Zhengying
"There was a female soldier who rode a big white horse and carried a shell gun. ”By 1950, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Qian Zhengying had already served as the deputy director of the Water Resources Department of the East China Military and Political Commission and the deputy director of the Engineering Department of the Huai Control Committee.
At that time, Qian Zhengying was only 27 years old.
In fact, before the establishment of New China, Qian Zhengying had two opportunities to study abroad.
One was before the outbreak of the civil war, the United Nations Relief Agency sent people to China to investigate, at that time the United Nations water conservancy experts suggested that Qian Zhengying go to the United States to study, and even the border areas also signed and agreed, but because of the outbreak of the civil war, this matter could only be blown up, until after the reform and opening up, an Australian water conservancy expert who had been to China that year, still took Qian Zhengying's ** asked:
Do you know this person?She's still alive?”
Another time was after the liberation of Jinan, Qian Zhengying considered that he did not have enough knowledge of water conservancy and hoped to go to the Soviet Union to study and Xi, and when the report was sent to Zeng Shan, director of the Jinan Military Management Commission, Zeng Shan waved his pen:
Work is stressful and inseparable. ”
Qian Zhengying's path to studying abroad also came to an end.
Although Qian Zhengying studied civil engineering in college, the real experience was accumulated through continuous learning and Xi in practical work, Qian Zhengying later admitted frankly:
"[The water conservancy work I participated in before the liberation] had a great impact on me, which made me understand what water conservancy is all about, and I had a preliminary understanding of these important rivers and the importance and complexity of water conservancy. For example, when I was working on the Yellow River, I had time to read the historical documents of the Yellow River, including the manuscripts of Jin Fu, the Qing Dynasty governor of the Yellow River, and his "chief of staff" Chen Huang, as well as the manuscripts of Pan Jitao, an expert on the control of the Yellow River in the Ming Dynasty, as well as the documents of the American experts, German experts, and Chinese experts Mr. Li Yizhi who were invited by the Kuomintang to help control the Yellow River. ”When Qian Zhengying was appointed director of the Water Resources Department of the East China Military and Political Commission, some people directly questioned it at the meeting
How can a yellow-haired girl be a minister?”
Although there were many voices of opposition, it seemed that there were more supporters, and Zeng Shan, then vice chairman of the East China Military and Political Commission, was even more controversial.
After Qian Zhengying became the Minister of Water Resources of the East China Military and Political Commission, the name of "Yellow-haired Girl" was also completely called. After Qian Zhengying was later transferred to Beijing as the vice minister of water resources, he held a meeting in Beidaihe, and after the meeting, he took the initiative to greet her, and on the way back, he asked curiously:
"You're the yellow-haired girl?”At the age of 27, he became the minister of water resources of a large region, and at the age of 29, he became the vice minister of the Ministry of Water Resources. In July 1954, the Huai River flooded again, when Qian Zhengying was 8 months pregnant, and the expected date of delivery was in September, but she still went there in person regardless of the danger. At the Huaihe Flood Control Headquarters in Bengbu, he stayed for a month, and until the beginning of September, Qian Zhengying returned to Beijing with a big belly, preparing to participate in the first National People's Congress.
As a result, before the people's congress was held, Qian Zhengying gave birth.
For this past, Qian Zhengying was very impressed, when he returned to Beijing in early September, he took the train, because he didn't buy the lower berth and sat on the upper bunk, but after getting on the train, the passengers in the lower bunk couldn't bear her to climb up and down with a big belly, so he gave her the lower berth to sit.
On September 8, 1954, Qian Zhengying attended the preparatory meeting of the National People's Congress at the Beijing Hotel, but had a stomachache during lunch and was rushed to the hospital.
It was a pity for Qian Zhengying not to attend the opening ceremony, but in any case, she could not help but participate in the voting election, and before she was confined, Qian Zhengying begged the hospital to participate in the election, and Beijing Hospital later made an exception to agree to her request.
At that time, the staff specially arranged ballot boxes in the rest room of the National People's Congress to facilitate the voting of people's congress deputies such as Qian Zhengying, who was inconvenient to move.
Until many years later, Qian Zhengying still remembered this matter:
"I attended the National People's Congress, and I also participated in the election. ”Deng Yingchao heard that Qian Zhengying gave birth to a child during the National People's Congress, and felt that it was very meaningful, so he asked someone to talk for a while, and suggested that the child be named "Xiansheng" to commemorate the birth of the first constitution of New China, but this incident is another regret for Qian Zhengying:
"I didn't accept this suggestion at the time, because I told my wife before, the child is his surname, the word in the middle of the name is according to their family's ranking, the last word will follow me, I am engaged in water conservancy work, and the child's name must have three points of water, so the second child is called Weihong, so I can only live up to Sister Deng's good intentions. ”
From being transferred to the Ministry of Water Resources as Vice Minister in 1952, to being appointed Minister of Water Resources and Electric Power, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Minister of Water Resources, and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group in 1974, and then leaving in 1988, Qian Zhengying has worked in the water conservancy department for more than 30 years and has participated in almost all water conservancy and electric power projects since the founding of New China.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, leaders such as ** attached great importance to water conservancy projects.
In August 1949, when the whole country was about to be liberated, the Huai River was flooded, and the number of people affected by the disaster reached 40 million, including 10 million in the hard-hit areas, and the flooded cultivated land in the country reached 1 according to incomplete statistics215.6 billion mu, reducing grain production by 22 billion catties.
Later, when I received Zeng Xisheng's report message, I couldn't help crying, and from that time on, I made up my mind to build water conservancy.
However, because of my lack of experience, I suffered a lot at first.
During Qian Zhengying's work in Anhui, Soviet water conservancy experts came to guide the work, and suggested that a flood storage sluice gate should be built in the Huaihe River Runheji and a design plan should be developed. However, due to the rush of time, instead of building an anti-flush tank under the gate as is customary, an anti-flush tank was simply dug as usual. Later, after Qian Zhengying was transferred to the Ministry of Water Resources, he conducted a model test on the project and repaired the dissipation pool under the gate.
But even so, something happened later.
In July 1954, the Huai River was flooded, and the gate was washed away as soon as it was opened.
Qian Zhengying was annoyed by this and asked for a punishment, and after receiving Qian Zhengying's report, he also weighed her difficulties, and did not criticize her, but just gave a comment:
"Lack of experience, no accountability. ”
FigQian Zhengying.
Although the construction of water conservancy projects throughout the country has been bumpy, after all, some achievements have been made, and although the rivers, lakes, and seas of the whole country are still raging when the flood season comes, it is almost impossible to hear of the situation of the destruction of the dams and the inundation of farmland caused by the floods, and this is inseparable from the efforts of a large number of water conservancy experts headed by Qian Zhengying in that era.
It is worth mentioning that in his later years, Qian Zhengying still single-handedly led the demonstration of the Three Gorges Project.
The Three Gorges Project can be said to be a century-old project, from Sun Yat-sen's proposal in the "National Founding Strategy" in 1919 to the construction stage after the founding of New China, it can be said that it has placed the painstaking efforts of countless people.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the construction of the Three Gorges Project was once again put on the agenda, but when she went to Qian Zhengying with the plan, she clearly objected:
"The time is not ripe. ”At that time, the largest installed capacity in China was less than 10 million kilowatts, and the water level of the reservoir of the Three Gorges Project was set at 190 meters and the installed capacity was 20 million kilowatts.
In 1969, when the Three Gorges Project was again proposed, Qian Zhengying still objected, but proposed an alternative – the construction of the Gezhouba Hydropower Project to meet the needs of power development.
After presiding over the study, he believed that the Gezhouba project could be used as a practical preparation for the Three Gorges, and later agreed to this plan.
FigIn 1979, Qian Zhengying and Gezhouba female workers represented.
Although it has been 20 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the national strength is still not enough to support the launch of the Three Gorges Project, and a series of problems have also arisen during the construction of the Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project.
In 1971, after Qian Zhengying returned from a foreign visit, he was ordered to inspect the construction site, and only then did he discover the seriousness of the problem, and even the design plan had serious problems.
In November 1972, he presided over the meeting to discuss the construction of the Gezhouba water conservancy project, and the comrades at the meeting agreed that although there were problems in the construction of the Gezhouba project, it was because the problems of the Gezhouba project were not in accordance with the infrastructure procedures, the survey and design work was too rough, the investment estimate was too low, and the construction preparation was insufficient.
**After listening to the opinions of all parties, he decisively ordered the Gezhouba project to be stopped, and asked to re-prepare the design, and only after the design was approved could the work be resumed.
It was not until September 1974 that the design plan of the Gezhouba project was approved, and the project started again.
In 1988, the entire Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project was officially completed, and Qian Zhengying officially withdrew from the Ministry of Water Resources. However, not long after, in her capacity as vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, she concurrently served as the head of the leading group for the demonstration of the Three Gorges Project, and promoted the start of construction of the Three Gorges Project.
FigIn the 80s of the 20th century, Qian Zhengying had a cordial conversation with workers at the construction site.
Although the founding of New China for several decades, coupled with the reform and opening up for many years, the country's economic strength has been significantly improved, but for the construction of the Three Gorges Project, Qian Zhengying still invested in a detailed demonstration and research, which lasted 32 months, and the demonstration was a great success, and Qian Zhengying was finally convinced:
"The establishment of the Three Gorges Dam is very necessary, and now that the technology is mature, the sooner it is built, the better!”In 1999, 76-year-old Qian Zhengying was the head of the Three Gorges Project Quality Inspection Expert Group, and despite his advanced age, he had to visit the construction site twice a year, and in 2004 he was reappointed as a consultant to the expert group, and still insisted on inspecting the Three Gorges construction site every year.
After leaving the water conservancy department, Qian Zhengying's heart remained in the study of China's water conservancy problems, and after jumping out of the water conservancy department, she was able to look at the problem more comprehensively.
After the 90s, the Yellow River broke off, which was a very heavy blow to people like Qian Zhengying, who had studied water conservancy projects all his life. Qian Zhengying later realized that the older generation of water conservancy workers had made mistakes in their work in the past
"Extensive management, transitional development".In 2003, ** held an academic lecture, Qian Zhengying was named to talk about water conservancy work, and when talking about the overdevelopment of water conservancy projects in the past, Qian Zhengying took the initiative to admit his mistakes:
"It's not the responsibility of the current Minister of Water, it's the responsibility of me when I was the minister. ”This spirit of courage and responsibility is very valuable.
FigQian Zhengying.
I remember that in 1992, when Qian Zhengying was also the head of the leading group for the demonstration of the Three Gorges Project, a reporter interviewed her
"Do you have a special affection for hydropower?”Qian Zhengying sighed "oops", and then told reporters
"I have handled countless large and small reservoirs, but when I built a reservoir, I was scolded once, and when I accepted the task of demonstrating the Three Gorges, the children in my family were all against it, and they said, "What are you doing?"It's okay if you do so many projects, and then do something that everyone scolds?If you don't do it well, you have to sit in the class room, and killing your head is not enough to thank the world!”But even so, Qian Zhengying still undertook this arduous task in his prime, and Qian Zhengying always believed that he should have a sense of historical responsibility for China's water conservancy problems.
On October 22, 2022, Academician Qian Zhengying passed away in Beijing at the age of 99.