Qian Xuesen, whose name is well known, is known as the "Father of China's Aerospace", "Father of China's Missile", "King of China's Rocket" and "Father of China's Automation Control".
However, he does not attach importance to these honors, believing that the work of missile satellites is a "big science" that requires the concerted efforts of millions of people, and that he is just a small sesame seed in it.
He firmly believes that all achievements belong to the party and the collective. Although the United States once spoke highly of him, saying that his value was equivalent to five Marine Divisions, Qian Xuesen always kept in mind his original intention and made unremitting efforts for the national defense of the motherland.
His return to China has pushed forward the launch of China's missiles and atomic bombs for at least 20 years.
Do you know the story behind Qian Xuesen's return to China? People only know about his tortuous journey back to China, but few people know why he was able to leave the United States and the great efforts made by China to achieve this.
It turns out that all this is inseparable from the efforts of *** and China***. Their work is unforgettable in its meticulous and touching nature. The story begins with Qian Xuesen being placed under house arrest.
On June 19, 1950, Qian Xuesen was revoked by the US side of his secret research permit, banned him from participating in any classified research, and was framed as one of the members of the Communist Party of the United States.
Qian Xuesen was so angry that he submitted his resignation letter to Caltech on the same day and issued a statement. In his statement, he said that he had made a great contribution to the development of science in the United States, but now he must leave here.
After resigning, Qian Xuesen immediately set about returning to China and packing his luggage. However, danger soon came. On September 6 of that year, Qian Xuesen was taken from his home in Los Angeles and taken to Termino Island Prison in southern Los Angeles.
He spent 15 days in prison, where he was tortured, losing 15 kilograms of weight and losing his speech at one point.
During Qian Xuesen's house arrest in the United States, he expressed his desire to return to China in various ways. At that time, China and the United States were at war on the Korean Peninsula, and the United States strictly forbade Chinese students and overseas Chinese to return to China, so that Qian Xuesen was unable to return to China for a long time.
In June 1955, Qian Xuesen saw Chen Shutong standing on the Tiananmen Tower with *** to participate in the celebration of May Day, and he decided to ask for help by writing to Chen Shutong.
In the letter, he expressed his longing for his homeland and his strong desire to return to China, and pointed out many compatriots stranded in the United States. After the letter was seen by ***, he instructed *** to immediately send the most solemn ** to the United States.
**After learning the news of Qian Xuesen's return to China, I was very happy and believed that Qian Xuesen could return to China smoothly. Since the Geneva Conference in 1954, representatives of China and the United States have held talks on many occasions.
On August 1, 1955, China and the United States began negotiations at the ambassadorial level. The U.S. representative submitted a list of U.S. personnel who demanded China's release, and at the same time argued that Qian Xuesen and other Chinese students had no intention of returning to China unless China could produce evidence that they wanted to return to China.
**In anticipation of this, when I received Qian Xuesen's letter for help, I immediately handed it over to our representative. When the US representative saw the letter asking for help, he was speechless.
Coupled with China's decision to release 11 US pilots from captivity, it finally agreed to release Qian Xuesen to return to China. On August 3, 1955, the U.S. Department of Defense submitted a memorandum to the White House, agreeing to Qian Xuesen's exit visa and releasing him.
The United States is engaged in political negotiations with socialist China, and a decision to release can be made at the right time. On August 4, Qian Xuesen received the news that he was allowed to return to China.
At that moment, he burst into tears. Qian Xuesen didn't want to stay in the United States for a moment, even if he bought a third-class ticket. At the same time, my country also took active action, and sent a telegram to Qian Xuesen on September 7.
On September 17, 1955, Qian Xuesen and his wife embarked on a voyage back to China. Under the persuasion of Dubrich, president of the California Institute of Technology, Qian Xuesen insisted on returning to China, saying: "As long as I can go back to my motherland, I can do anything, even if it is to grow apples!" ”
In the end, Qian Xuesen returned to his homeland and made a significant contribution to China's scientific and technological development.
Qian Xuesen said that he has made the decision to return to China, and he intends to do his best to help the Chinese people build their own country so that they can live a dignified and happy life.
Despite his people leaving the United States, his ideas and influence will continue to influence the world. "
Qian Xuesen's family endured hardships on the journey back to China, especially the long journey in the third-class cabin. When the cruise ship arrived at the port of Yokohama, Japan, many people got off the ship to rest and shop, but Qian Xuesen's family did not.
"I had other classmates who came back with me, and they sometimes went ashore to see it, and I thought I wouldn't be able to go," he recalled. If I leave this ship as soon as I go, it is equivalent to leaving the territory of the United States, and the Americans are not responsible for me, maybe they will find a way to kill me, so I resolutely do not get off the ship, no matter how uncomfortable I am, I will hold back and stay on the ship. ”
On October 8, Qian Xuesen's family arrived in Kowloon, Hong Kong, but the British authorities in Hong Kong "sent them" to the Luohu port in Shenzhen on the grounds of "escorting them to the crossing". Luohu Bridge is a bridge, but it is also an important window to the outside world of the mainland, witnessing many important historical moments.
However, for a long time, the Luohu Bridge was a two-sided zone, and at the beginning of the founding of New China, there were many spies lurking in the mainland and Hong Kong. Due to the attention of Qian Xuesen's return to China and the evaluation of the US side, he is easy to become the target of assassination by spies.
Qian Xuesen's son Qian Yonggang said: "At that time, my mother had a task, that is, when we crossed the Luohu Bridge in Shenzhen, once there was any emergency, we must lie down as soon as possible and protect my father with my body, which was discussed by the two on the boat. ”
In other words, Jiang Ying may sacrifice herself at any time to protect Qian Xuesen. When Qian Xuesen's family walked across the Luohu Bridge, a Hong Kong reporter took a photo of this precious **.
* In the middle, Qian Xuesen held a guitar in one hand and his son Qian Yonggang in the other, and slowly walked across the Luohu Bridge with a serious face.
From an encounter at Luohu Bridge in Shenzhen, a journey spanning thousands of miles began. Zhu Zhaoxiang, at the end of the Luohu Bridge, greeted the arrival of Qian Xuesen's family. He didn't know Qian Xuesen, but his love for Chinese science made him desperate to find the great man of the future.
His hard work has finally paid off. At the head of Luohu Bridge, he received Qian Xuesen's family. His hand was held tightly by one of the forerunners, and tears instantly slipped from his eyes.
He realized that he represented the future of the motherland and a symbol of the great motherland. Qian Xuesen's family, after hardships, finally met his father. The reunion after many years of absence is very exciting.
However, regarding the telegram, Qian Xuesen said that he had not received it. Perhaps, this is the arrangement of fate, destined for them to meet.
1.Qian Xuesen's family spent nearly 60 years with his father, Qian Junfu, until 2005, when Qian Yonggang learned of a telegram sent in the name of his grandfather, ** in the form of this telegram, asking the family not to change their itinerary on the way.
After that, Qian Yonggang made a copy of the telegram and kept it in the Qian Xuesen Library on the Xuhui campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2.Among the archives that have been declassified, there is a telegram that Zhu Zhaoxiang sent to the Chinese Academy of Sciences on October 16, 1955 from Zhejiang Province and forwarded it to ***, and at the same time copied the report to the *** office.
The title of the telegram was "Qian Xuesen and others have arrived in Shenzhen," which truly recorded the situation that Qian Xuesen and others had just returned to China. On October 28, Qian Xuesen's family finally arrived in Beijing and was warmly welcomed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The day after returning to Beijing, Qian Xuesen led his family to Tiananmen Square early in the morning. Looking at the national flag fluttering in the wind, Qian Xuesen couldn't help but say: "Motherland, motherland, I'm finally back." ”
On October 8, 1956, Marshal ** announced at the inaugural meeting of the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense that Qian Xuesen would serve as the president. This major decision has opened the way for China's missile and aerospace science and technology to develop at a high speed and forged an important national weapon for the country.
Qian Xuesen shouldered this important task and made significant contributions to the development of China's science and technology.