Speaking of Qian Xuesen, in our country, everyone knows and knows that he has countless titles such as "father of Chinese missiles", "the founder of two bombs", etc., but these are not enough to show his contributions to the motherland. He is the "ridge (jǐ) beam" of our country to become a big country, a strong country, and his life is full of legend.
Qian Xuesen was born in Shanghai on December 11, 1911. He was gifted and had been interested in science and engineering subjects since childhood. Only 22 years old was the third year student of the Mechanical Department of the National Jiaotong University at that time, once, he got a full score in the mechanics test, he looked at the teacher's changed test paper, found that he had a mistake, it turned out that he wrote "NS" as "N", took the initiative to apply to the teacher to change the score to 96 points, the teacher was also impressed by his rigorous and more truthful attitude, and went along with his wishes.
Recently, the exam paper of this scholar was exposed, and we were fortunate to see his exam paper. It can be seen from the examination paper that Qian Xuesen answered in English, and it can be seen that his English skills are very solid, the handwriting is like printing, the answers are very rigorous, and the details are everywhere.
No wonder Qian Xuesen can get so many honors, which is completely inseparable from his usual strict self-discipline and serious and responsible attitude.
In 1934, Qian Xuesen graduated from the National Jiaotong University, and in June effortlessly won the quota of Students studying in the United States by Tsinghua University.
In September 1935, Qian Xuesen successfully entered the Aeronautical Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States for further study, and the following year obtained a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the university. He studied aerodynamics and missile science in the United States, and soon rose to prominence with his talents and talents under the tutelage of the famous American aerospace engineer von Carmen.
Under the guidance of his mentor, it did not take long for Qian Xuesen to make outstanding achievements in the fields of aerodynamics, solid mechanics and rockets, and became a world-class aerodynamicist at the age of only 28, and published a number of scientific research results, which attracted the attention of people from all walks of life and gained fame and fortune.
At that time, as a tenured professor at MIT, he had a pivotal position in American research centers, and even the few Chinese who could enter and exit the Pentagon.
In 1949, the founding of New China was founded, and the news immediately spread to every corner of the world. When Qian Xuesen heard this news, he was even more surprised, and he could finally use what he had learned to serve the country. But the road back home is extremely difficult, and there will be too many unknown situations on the way.
The first problem in front of us is the prevalence of "McCarthyism" in the United States, when a thorough investigation of CCP members was set off across the country, Qian Xuesen was considered a communist by US investigators, and Qian Xuesen refused to issue a statement after being strictly interrogated, so he was revoked all his certificates of participation in military research in the United States.
And Qian Xuesen didn't care about these at all, he only had China on the other side of the ocean in his heart, and the first thing he did when he returned home was to tell his wife Jiang Ying that he would find a suitable time to return to China.
When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the United States intervened in the Korean battlefield and burned the flames of war to northeast China. In order to defend its homeland and have a stable and peaceful international development environment, China had no choice but to send troops to Korea to carry out a hard battle.
In such a complex international environment, many international students in the United States and well-known scientists, including Qian Xuesen, hope to return to China at an early date, "add bricks and tiles" to the country, let the people live a good life at an early date, make the country rich and strong, and can no longer be bullied by foreign forces.
When Qian Xuesen decided to return to the mainland of his motherland for many years on the pretext of visiting his relatives, he was questioned by The US Navy Vice Secretary Kimbre, who was in charge of his research work, and Qian Xuesen immediately indicated that he wanted to leave immediately, and said sternly: "Instead of letting the US authorities continue to suspect me and be monitored by them, I would rather return to my motherland."
As soon as these words came out, Kimbre panicked, and he felt: "Qian Xuesen's threat is too great, he will be able to withstand the strength of five divisions no matter where he is in the future, if he is really allowed to leave the United States and go to China, it is better to kill him now." He then informed USCIS that it was ready to intercept.
Where did Qian Xuesen know that the Americans had such evil ideas, but he was full of joy and wanted to return to China as soon as possible and build a powerful "Great Wall of Steel" for the motherland. However, at that time, China and many countries and regions did not have direct transportation, and many foreign people who wanted to return to the mainland of the motherland had to go to Hong Kong first and then return to China.
At this time, a steamship from the United States to Hong Kong, China, was about to set sail, and Qian Xuesen thought to himself: "We must seize this hard-won opportunity." However, at that time, the tickets to return to China had already been bought by people "through the back door", so Qian Xuesen had no choice but to choose other ways to return to China.
Later, with the efforts of many parties, Qian Xuesen managed to get several tickets to return to China, and he was overjoyed and informed Jiang Ying to quickly pack up his luggage and prepare to return to China to prevent the incident.
In August 1950, just as Qian Xuesen was handing over his luggage to a porter for shipment and preparing to leave his family, he suddenly received a notice from the immigration bureau: "Your whole family is not allowed to leave the United States."
Incidentally, the US customs department also acted together, they seized all the luggage of Qian Xuesen's family, disregarded the privacy of Qian Xuesen and his family, and opened the luggage without permission to check whether there were any phone letters between Qian Xuesen and the Communists, and Qian Xuesen's research results and materials during his time in the United States.
Subsequently, the U.S. government sent FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) officials to take turns to monitor his family's every move, report everything to the officials, and the phones were monitored, without privacy, freedom.
On September 6, 1950, the FBI formally detained him illegally and sent him to the Immigration Department Detention Center for further interrogation.
During the half month of interrogation, Qian Xuesen was subjected to all kinds of inhumane torture, when he just fell asleep at night, there were personnel to wake him up, almost every hour someone would come to harass him, all day long did not rest well, physically and mentally exhausted, lost nearly 30 pounds.
When they learned that Qian Xuesen was unjustifiably detained by the US authorities in a detention center, the teachers and students of Qian Xuesen's college and his mentor von Carmen took various actions to rescue Qian Xuesen.
Some of them took the media offensive, some protested to the immigration bureau's actions, wanted to find a defense lawyer for Qian Xuesen, and raised more than 10,000 US dollars in bail to bail Qian Xuesen.
But this is not over, the U.S. government only temporarily released him, but the surveillance of him did not diminish, did not allow him to leave the city where he lived, although FBI officials were watching him in front of his house, but still talked to him every few days to understand his state of mind. Qian Xuesen lost his precious five years of freedom in such an environment.
After New China learned that Qian Xuesen was being monitored day and night, it thought of many rescue methods, but they were forced by the international environment and comprehensive national strength at that time to achieve little effect.
For example, after the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, we had many US prisoners of war in our hands, and the US military wanted the Chinese side to release them or allow Americans who had relatives in China to visit the PRISONERs of war.
In order to show its sincerity, China unconditionally released the first batch of US prisoners of war, which made the relatives of prisoners of war who were able to return home very happy, while the families of other prisoners of war who could not return were anxiously waiting for the next action of the US authorities.
The Chinese side and the US side have held many rounds of negotiations, just to let Qian Xuesen and other patriots return to China safely. However, every time, the US government uses the excuse that "Qian Xuesen lives in the United States without worry about food and clothing, he does not want to return to China, and the Chinese side has no evidence that Qian Xuesen urgently wants to return to China" to prevaricate china.
China has always been in such a passive state, and after seeing the attitude of the United States of "preferring to be crushed by jade rather than for the whole of the country," it is even more worried about Qian Xuesen's situation, and the personnel negotiations between the two countries have reached an impasse.
In May 1955, things took a turn for the worse, and Qian Xuesen, depressed, could only read the newspaper at home, and accidentally saw Chairman Mao's familiar name in the list of visitors to celebrate May Day in a Chinese pictorial, that is, his father's compatriot and good friend Chen Shutong.
Qian Xuesen thought to himself: "Mr. Chen Shutong has a very good friendship with his father, and now that he is a member of the central government of New China, he must have a way to help me return to China." ”
On June 15, Qian Xuesen asked Jiang Ying to take advantage of the fact that officials were not paying attention to write a letter to Jiang Yingyuan's fourth sister in Belgium. Jiang Ying imitated children's handwriting, and after writing the family letter on the envelope, she carried a letter to Chen Shutong in the home letter, accompanied by a palm-sized New York Times reporting briefing.
After writing the letter, Qian Xuesen and his wife walked in front, followed by the secret agents, of course, the secret agents mainly kept an eye on Qian Xuesen. When they came to the outside of the mall, Qian Xuesen stood at the entrance of the mall, and the agent followed him to the door, and Jiang Ying walked into the mall alone, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her, he quickly threw the letter into the postbox set up in the mall.
And this letter successfully "confused through the customs", crossed the ocean to Belgium, Jiang Ying's fourth sister saw the letter to Chen Shutong mixed in the letter, naturally understood its reasoning, and immediately sent it back to the motherland. After many days of wandering, the letter later reached chairman Mao and other central leaders.
The central authorities are extremely worried about the situation of Qian Xuesen and his family, and people from all walks of life in China have supported and supported Qian Xuesen through various channels. At the chinese government level, it seriously condemns the US side for violating Qian Xuesen's personal wishes to return to China and using illegal detention to seriously interfere with personal freedom.
The Chinese side immediately used the letter it received as physical evidence to start negotiations with the United States once again, and China's goal is very clear, that is, to return to China a large number of Chinese students who have been unjustifiably detained by the United States. The Americans were very cunning and agreed that Chinese students would all go back, but only Qian Xuesen could not.
In desperation, our side made the biggest concession, released the last chip, decided to release all US personnel in China, and in order to let the US side see our sincerity, it could first release a number of important pilots of the US military.
When the US side saw this condition, it finally laughed greedily, after all, at that time, the US government had long wanted to use the Qian Xuesen issue to divert domestic contradictions, and moreover, there were letters as evidence, and it could no longer deny it, so it agreed to the exchange terms of the Chinese side.
On August 4, 1955, Qian Xuesen regained his freedom, and at that moment, the "jack-of-a-million-pound stone" in his heart was finally removed from his chest. No matter how aggrieved and unhappy he was in his heart, the only thing he thought of was to quickly pack his bags and return to China with his family, never wanting to think of this unpleasant past.
The president of the California Institute of Technology once asked Qian Xuesen: "From one of the most developed capitalist countries in the world today to a poor and backward agricultural country, what do you think?"
Qian Xuesen replied happily: "As long as I can return to the motherland again, I can plant apples." ”
Just as Qian Xuesen was preparing to leave the United States and return to China, he received a mysterious telegram, which was signed as his father. The general content is that I am glad that Qian Xuesen can finally go home, but do not disembark on the ship returning home, there will be someone to pick him up at the border. At that time, Qian Xuesen thought that his father was worried that he would be calculated on the ship, which was a good intention, so he took precautions.
September 17, 1955, this day was the day when Qian Xuesen realized his wish to return to China.
He and his wife, Jiang Ying, boarded the "President Cleveland" ship with their two young children, and the family deliberately took photos on the ship, at which time people from all walks of life rushed to see him off, including his old colleagues who had worked before, FBI officials who monitored him, and some media workers.
One of the reporters asked Qian Xuesen: "Mr. Qian, do you have the highest reputation in the United States, do you have any worries about food and clothing, and do you have any plans to consider coming back?"
Qian Xuesen looked around at the people present and said: "The decision to return to my own motherland is not something I have thought about in the past few days, I am a Chinese, and I have the obligation to do my best to contribute to my country and make my people have a dignified life, and I have no reason to return to the United States."
When the ship officially set sail, Qian Xuesen looked at the port thoughtfully, this country where he had worked for nearly 20 years, he had won countless honors here, but at least he was not happy in life, only when he returned to New China, back to the place where the dream began, he could feel the meaning of struggle.
Before boarding the ship back to China, Qian Xuesen received a telegram from his motherland, which was thousands of miles away, written in the name of his father, and the content was to warn Qian Xuesen: Do not get off the ship halfway.
During the voyage of ten thousand miles, Qian Xuesen obeyed his father's instructions, no matter how many countries and ports he passed, he never got off the ship in the middle of the way.
Qian Xuesen later wrote in his memoirs: "When the ship passes through the city ports of some of the allied countries of the United States, many of his Chinese classmates will go ashore to see and buy something, but they cannot go, because as soon as they leave this ship, it is equivalent to leaving the ship that symbolizes the territory of the United States, and the Americans have no obligation to protect him, and they will be eliminated by the agents on the shore in every way they can, so no matter how uncomfortable they are, they can only stay on the ship, and they have to hold back when they are uncomfortable."
On October 8, after more than 20 days at sea, the Qian Xuesen family arrived in Hong Kong (then under British jurisdiction) and prepared to enter the country in the evening Chinese mainland.
Receiving the instructions of Qian Xuesen at the request of their superiors, Zhu Zhaoxiang and others came to the Luohu Bridge in Shenzhen early in order to check the factors of uneasiness in the surrounding area and safely receive More than 20 scientists including Qian Xuesen.
The Luohu Bridge is a railway bridge connecting Shenzhen and Hong Kong, with iron doors on both sides, so we can ensure safety, but the Hong Kong side is on duty by British soldiers, they are all loaded with guns, so there will be some unstable factors.
Qian Xuesen's son, Qian Yonggang, said in a later interview: "His mother Jiang Ying told him that when they passed through the Luohu Bridge, once they found that the situation was not right, they must stop their father in front of him at the first time to protect his safety."
Fortunately, everyone entered the border smoothly and arrived safely at the Chinese mainland, and the jack-of-the-box stone in the hearts of the people gradually fell.
That night, they rushed from Shenzhen to Guangzhou non-stop, and after a few days of rest, Qian Xuesen's family came to Shanghai. He asked his father about the telegram "Never get off the ship in the middle of the way", who knew that his father said that he had never initiated this telegram. Although Qian Xuesen still had doubts in his heart, it was not convenient to ask too many questions.
Because compared with the "mysterious telegram" sent to him by whom, the construction of new China is the most important, after all, the person who can send him the telegram must hope that he can successfully reach China on the other side of the ocean, and now that he and his family are safe and sound, the person must be relieved.
At the beginning of 1956, he submitted to the Central Committee the "Opinion on the Establishment of China's National Defense Aviation Industry", and the Central Committee immediately established the Aviation Industry Committee according to his suggestions and appointed Qian Xuesen as a member. In the following years, he was appointed to establish China's first rocket and missile research institute, and also served as the director of the Department of Modern Mechanics of the University of Science and Technology of China, and was one of the actual founders of the University of Science and Technology of China.
Qian Xuesen is China's "father of rocket missiles.", and with the continuous efforts of Qian Xuesen and others, China launched the first imitation short-range missile, which is also a turning point in China's rocket industry.
In 1956, Chairman Mao invited Qian Xuesen to juxiang bookstore, Chairman Mao was busy dealing with the documents in his hand, when he saw Qian Xuesen enter the door, he immediately put down the documents in his hand and got up to meet him.
The chairman took Qian Xuesen's hands and said kindly: "We really have been waiting for you for a long time to look forward to your return, the United States Kimbre said that you can be worth 5 divisions, but for our country, you can be far better than 5 divisions, that is, equivalent to 10 divisions is not excessive, after all, your engineering cybernetics is particularly advanced!"
Qian Xuesen modestly replied: "Chairman, I am a Chinese science and technology worker, and it is my greatest happiness to be able to return to my country, serve the people, and solve problems for the country." If the country and the people can recognize the work I have done, it is the highest appreciation for me."
The chairman was very pleased to hear Qian Xuesen's words and let him work in the high-end field of China's military science and technology.
From the perspective of Qian Xuesen's safety, Premier Zhou prevented spies or some enemy elements from assassinating him, and equipped him with bodyguards to protect his safety 24 hours a day.
But in a subsequent dinner party, the public security personnel found that Qian Xuesen's meal was poisoned by the cooker, so they specially arranged a trialist for him, this kind of ultra-high-standard treatment, I am afraid that only the ancient officials and nobles can enjoy it!
However, it is precisely because many personnel protect Qian Xuesen's safety that the country's scientific and technological military industry level can break the monopoly and develop rapidly.
On June 29, 1964, the first Dongfeng-2 medium- and short-range missile was successfully launched, but Qian Xuesen felt that there was still room for improvement in this missile, and then used short- and medium-range missiles to carry atomic bombs for the test of "combining two bombs".
Qian Xuesen took root in the cause of national defense for decades, and finally completed a series of great achievements in strengthening national defense strength and saving the nation from peril under extremely difficult conditions.
Therefore, some people say that Qian Xuesen is not only a scientific and technological worker who develops rockets and missiles, but also has formed a very mature theoretical system of applied mechanics and automation control. Just as "the predecessors planted trees and the people were cool", with Qian Xuesen's theoretical system and scientific and technological achievements, future generations can take fewer detours and do things that are more effective with half the effort.
For example, the 2019 National Day parade "Dongfeng-17" missile is a missile that completely crushes the dream of US hegemony, and as a hypersonic vehicle, it is a nightmare for the existing defense system. It uses the "Qian Xuesen Ballistic".
As the name suggests, it is a new type of missile concept proposed by Qian Xuesen, which uses the method of "hitting the water and drifting" to refer to where to fight, and there is no way to prevent it. It is conceivable that Qian Xuesen's great contribution will surely go down in history.
Speaking of the mysterious telegram, it was not until 50 years after his return to China that the mystery was revealed. It turned out that the international situation was very complicated at that time, China and many Western countries did not establish diplomatic relations, in a state of hostility, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs borrowed qian Xuesen's father's name to send a telegram to Qian Xuesen to wake up.
Although the central authorities knew that he was about to return to China, they were still very concerned about the safety of his family, and they were worried that as soon as he got off the ship, agents would carry out assassination operations against him, hoping that he would return to the motherland safely.
Qian Xuesen loves the motherland very much, and the motherland also welcomes his arrival, and is very fortunate that a group of elites studying abroad have returned to serve the motherland. At that time, people certainly could not have imagined that the central authorities would make such a great effort for a person studying abroad, which showed that the central authorities attached great importance to Qian Xuesen, even if there were many concessions and great sacrifices in the negotiations with the United States, but as long as Qian Xuesen could come back safely, then everything was worth it.
And Qian Xuesen did not disappoint the country and the people, his arrival, so that the entire country's scientific and technological military industrial strength has been renewed, greatly catching up with Western countries, to ensure that China has a peaceful and stable development environment.
It is precisely because a large number of patriotic people, such as Qian Xuesen, have braved difficulties and dangers, broken through all kinds of difficulties, returned to the motherland, and worked hard to tackle key problems in various fields that China can steadily enhance its comprehensive national strength and make hostile forces dare not fight china's ideas.
We can have such a peaceful, stable and prosperous development environment, inseparable from their selfless dedication, scientists are the country, is the backbone of the nation, they should be the stars we should chase. Write more scientists into students' teaching materials, so that students can follow their example and make due contributions to the country.