Qian Sanqiang, this name is familiar to everyone, he is the father of China's "two bombs and one star" and has made outstanding achievements. However, did you know that Qian Sanqiang is not actually his real name, his original name is Qian Bingqiong.
The origin of the name can be traced back to his junior high school days. At that time, his father Qian Xuantong found out that his classmates nicknamed him "Sanqiang", and when asked why, Qian Bingqiong explained: "Because I am healthy and ranked third, I am called 'Sanqiang'." ”
However, his father Qian Xuantong renamed his son Qian Sanqiang on this basis. What is the meaning behind this name? And what ups and downs has Qian Sanqiang's life experienced?
Let's walk into his story together.
Qian Sanqiang was born in 1913 in the Qian family of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and they originated from Qian Luo, the king of Wuyue in the Tang Dynasty. The Qian family has produced many talents, such as Qian Xuesen and Qian Zhongshu.
Qian Sanqiang's father, Qian Xuantong, was a literati in the ** period, and he once participated in the New Culture Movement with Chen Duxiu and others, and founded the magazine "New Youth". Qian Sanqiang's mother, Xu Wanzhen, was frail and sickly and was diagnosed with a cervical tumor in 1926.
Qian Xuantong and Xu Wanzhen have a total of six children, of which the three sons are Qian Bingxiong, Qian Bingchong and Qian Bingqiong.
Qian Xuantong's sons are very good and have made a difference. Among them, Qian Bingqiong studied hard and excelled in sports at Confucius School, and also became brothers with Li Zhizhong and Zhou Fengyi.
Once, Qian Xuantong saw the correspondence between Qian Bingqiong and Li Zhizhong"Big weak"He was curious and asked his son.
In order to explain to his son, Qian Xuantong mentioned their friend Li Zhizhong's nickname "Da Weak" because of his physical condition and age. Qian Xuantong was very interested in this nickname, and then he asked Qian Bingqiong's nickname and found that his nickname was "Sanqiang".
This made Qian Xuantong fall into deep thought. Later, he told his son: "I have always found your name a bit awkward, and I think you should be moral, learned, and physical.
So, in the future, you will call Qian Sanqiang. In this way, Qian Bingqiong changed his name to Qian Sanqiang because of a nickname. After graduating from the preparatory department of Peking University, Qian Sanqiang graduated from the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University in 1936.
He then went to France in 1937 to study as a graduate student at the Curie Laboratory at the University of Paris.
Marie Curie's daughter and son-in-law share a passion for science, and they continue to study radium in the Curie laboratory, and they are known as the second generation of the Curies. Qian Sanqiang has excellent scientific research ability and is extremely diligent.
After studying in the laboratory for a while, he approached Marie Curie's daughter, Elaine, and expressed to her her willingness to learn about the experiment of preparing radioactive sources, hoping that she could help her.
Elaine praised Qian Sanqiang's enterprising spirit and assisted him in contacting Mrs. Guo Dele, who was engaged in related experiments. In addition, Qian Sanqiang also used his spare time to study at the French Institute of Nuclear Chemistry.
Whoever needs help, as long as he finds Qian Sanqiang, he will do his best to help, because he thinks that he can learn from it. Someone once asked Qian Sanqiang why he was so desperate, and he replied: "I do this in pursuit of knowledge." ”
Qian Sanqiang decided to return to his homeland to continue his research, because in his opinion, if he didn't study, no one would be able to help him. Although there was an extreme shortage of talents and experts in the field of natural sciences in China at that time, it was because of the persistence of patriotic scientists like Qian Sanqiang that China was able to develop until now.
However, Qian Xuantong died of illness in 1939, which made Qian Sanqiang deeply sad. Qian Sanqiang's study abroad was supported by public funds, but since the defeat of France in 1940, the public funding for Sino-French education was about to stop, so he decided to escape from Paris and return to China as soon as possible.
However, he was stopped by the Germans.
At the end of 1941, Qian Sanqiang heard that there were ships bound for China from Lyon, so he hurried there, but found that there was no hope of returning home. Paris was occupied by Germany at the time, and it became extremely difficult to get from Lyon.
Fortunately, with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Elaine, he was able to obtain a visa to go to Paris and continue his research in the Curie laboratory. Qian Sanqiang likes the research atmosphere here very much and has been committed to research.
He Zehui, Qian Sanqiang's Tsinghua classmate, is one year older than him. Her long braids are particularly eye-catching among her short-haired female classmates, and her sweet appearance and excellent academic performance have made her quickly become the focus of attention.
However, although there is no shortage of suitors around him, He Zehui is devoted to his studies and has never been in love. Qian Sanqiang had a crush on her silently, and never confessed to her in four years of college, only when he learned of his graduation results, he felt a little happy that he was lower than He Zehui.
In the war-torn era, although Qian Sanqiang and He Zehui studied in a foreign country, their fates were closely linked. After a brief contact in 1939, they were forced to separate and live separately in Germany and France.
However, Dr. He Zehui worked in a German laboratory after graduation, but he always had Qian Sanqiang in mind. In 1940, she sent a letter to Qian Sanqiang, hoping that he could report safety to his family on his behalf.
Since then, the two have corresponded frequently, and although the ban on correspondence has allowed them to write no more than twenty-five words at a time, their relationship has grown stronger through these short letters.
It turned out that in those days on the Tsinghua campus, He Zehui already had a good impression of Qian Sanqiang, who was excellent in character and learning.
In 1945, Qian Sanqiang proposed to his girlfriend He Zehui in the form of letters, hoping that she could return to China with him for development. He was looking forward to He Zehui's reply, but he was also worried that he would be rejected.
Finally, He Zehui's reply made him feel relieved, she was willing to spend the rest of her life with Qian Sanqiang, and she also planned to return to China. In that winter, He Zehui came to Paris from Germany, and the pain of separation between the two was finally released at the moment of reunion.
Qian Sanqiang happily took He Zehui's hand and took her around Paris, and their love story was like a beautiful poem. The following year, they tied the knot in Paris, and were blessed by the second-generation Curie couple, and humorously said that this marriage between scientists seems to be a "contagious disease", and now it is "infected" to Qian Sanqiang and his wife.
After marriage, He Zehui and Qian Sanqiang worked together in the Curie laboratory, and their love and career bloomed together.
In 1947, Qian Sanqiang and his wife made significant progress in uranium nuclear research, causing a huge sensation. As a result, the two became known as the "Curie couple of China" and were interviewed by many journalists.
Qian Sanqiang won the Henri Deba Prize in Microphysics and became a research mentor at the French National Center for Scientific Research. However, when everyone thought that the couple would make a big show in Paris, Qian Sanqiang proposed that he and his wife would return to China.
Although many friends in France persuaded him to stay in France, thinking that he would have greater development there and not to go back, otherwise his talent would be buried, Qian Sanqiang insisted on saying the classic sentence: science has no borders, but scientists have their own homeland.
Under the humiliation of the imperialist powers, China was poor and backward, and wars broke out everywhere. However, a group of students who have gone abroad cherish the motherland and have left their hometowns to devote themselves to scientific research in order to bring China to a more advanced field of science and technology and make the motherland more prosperous and powerful.
Qian Sanqiang is one of them, and he believes that the time has come for him to return to China after completing his studies. With the assistance of the second-generation Curie, the Qian Sanqiang couple returned to China in 1948 with their daughter, who was a few months old.
They brought back some valuable scientific information, including radioactive materials, radioactive sources and confidential nuclear data. These are extremely valuable scientific research materials, which are of great significance for improving China's scientific and technological level.
After returning to China, Qian Sanqiang became a professor at Tsinghua University, while his wife, He Zehui, worked as a researcher at the Peking Research Institute. The environment in which they worked was very simple, but they still went all out and participated in the initial establishment of the Beiping Research Institute.
After years of hard work, they finally got the necessary scientific instruments for this physics institute. Their dedication has laid a solid foundation for China's scientific and technological development.
In the summer of 1948, Qian Sanqiang and his wife embarked on a journey back to China with their half-year-old daughter, and they struggled for scientific research all their lives. In January 1949, shortly after the liberation of Beiping, he invited Qian Sanqiang to join the delegation of the liberated area and go to Paris to participate in the World Peace Defense Conference, because Qian Sanqiang was familiar with Paris.
Qian Sanqiang accepted this task without hesitation, knowing that this was his first heavy duty after returning to China. In Xibaipo, ** allocated an emergency fund of $50,000 to Qian Sanqiang to order a batch of instruments and equipment related to atomic energy.
When Qian Sanqiang learned that the Communist Party planned to develop atomic energy-related undertakings, he was excited. He knew that the funds of the party organization at that time were not abundant, but he was still able to use the money to support the atomic energy cause, which showed the vision and courage of the party organization, which had a huge impact on China's future.
In April 1949, during a break in the meeting, Qian Sanqiang approached his junior brother in the Curie laboratory and asked him to help buy some much-needed instruments and drawings. When Qian Sanqiang returned to China from Paris with the delegation with these materials and instruments, he burst into tears.
He knew that with these things, New China's atomic energy undertaking would be able to develop. In 1955, Qian Sanqiang joined the Communist Party of China. He has been working in the atomic energy industry in China.
In 1958, he launched an initiative calling on a group of Chinese scientists to participate in the construction of atomic reactors. When Qian Sanqiang asked Deng Jiaxian whether he was willing to participate in the "artillery battle" of developing the country, Deng Jiaxian said firmly: "Of course. ”
Deng Jia first told his wife that he was about to be transferred, but the confidential content and *** should not be disclosed. His wife understood and silently packed his bags for him. In 1959, Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated, and the USSR withdrew specialists.
Soviet scientists ridiculed China for its lack of scientific talent and inability to develop an atomic bomb. Qian Sanqiang was furious after hearing this, saying that China has scientists and people who are not afraid of hardship, and they are confident in building an atomic bomb.
He Zehui did not participate in the research of the two bombs because there was no one to take care of the children at home.
In 1964 and 1967, China's atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb were successfully successful, which not only demonstrated China's strength, but also made China no longer threatened by nuclear powers.
After the success of the atomic bomb, Qian Sanqiang was excited and immediately hit his family. Not long after, He Zehui took the **, Qian Sanqiang was so excited that he couldn't speak for a long time, and He Zehui guessed something smartly and laughed: "We succeeded!" ”
Qian Sanqiang replied with tears in his eyes: "Yes, we have lived up to everyone's expectations. Many years later, although Qian Sanqiang and his wife have reached retirement age, they have devoted themselves to scientific research and never stopped.
When the children advised them to pay attention to their bodies, He Zehui smiled and said, "Rest is going to rust!" ”
Qian Sanqiang: Science has no borders, but scientists have a motherland. As the president of Zhejiang University, he advocated that students should have an innovative spirit and encouraged them to conduct research in interdisciplinary fields and become innovative talents who are beneficial to the country.
His love for science and his motherland made him firmly choose to return to China at the crossroads of that year and began his extraordinary life. His student and best friend, Hélène, the daughter of the second-generation Curies, once said that Qian Sanqiang was their student and their best friend.
His spirit will always inspire us to pursue innovation and contribute to the country.