Guide:
In 1935, Qian Xuesen went to the United States to study. After ten years of study, Qian Xuesen began to emerge in the field of rockets, and later, because of the publication of the amazing rocket theory that "rockets with a speed of 10,000 kilometers per hour have become possible", Qian Xuesen has been famous all over the world and has since become one of the world's first-class rocket experts. During World War II, Qian Xuesen also followed his mentor von Carmen to participate in the research and development of the top-secret "Manhattan Project" of the United States at that time, missile nuclear weapons, and was praised by the United States as one of the few rare talents.
At the age of 36, Qian Xuesen had become the youngest tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and as the only Chinese, he followed the US Air Force advisory group to investigate the missile technology of Nazi Germany, which was a rare honor at the time. Qian Xuesen was also awarded the rank of colonel by the US Air Force for his outstanding contributions, and the US government also provided Qian Xuesen with very favorable working and living material conditions, all of which seemed to be perfect to outsiders.
However, Qian Xuesen did not forget his motherland for a moment. Every move of the motherland on the other side of the ocean deeply affected his fiery heart. In the 20 years in the United States, Qian Xuesen has retained Chinese citizenship, he recalled: "I was in the United States for so long, I did not save a dollar, because I am a Chinese, and I do not plan to live in the United States for a lifetime." ”
As we all know, in order to realize his desire to return home, this world-renowned missile expert has experienced more than 5 years of suffering. The U.S. government first disqualified him from participating in the study of state secrets; then issued a notice to him prohibiting him from leaving the country, and a US vice admiral even said: "Wherever Qian Xuesen is, he is worth 5 divisions, and I would rather shoot this guy than let him return to China!" Later, the United States arrested him under the pretext of concealing his identity. In his last few years in the United States, Qian Xuesen was basically under the surveillance of the Americans at all times, which was like house arrest.
However, in a secret correspondence with his friends at home, Elder Qian said: "He did not return to China for a day, for a moment, without thinking about returning to China, and participating in the great climax of construction."
Under Elder Qian's firm conviction and unremitting resistance, and under the reasonable and forceful representations of the new Chinese government, the US immigration authorities finally had to agree to allow Qian Xuesen to return to China. One day in the early autumn of 1955, Qian Xuesen's family finally boarded a ship from San Francisco to return to China and returned to their dreamed motherland. Due to Qian Xuesen's return to China, the launch of Chinese missiles and atomic bombs has advanced for at least 20 years, and Qian Xuesen has been praised by Westerners as China's "father of missiles".
And the greatness of Qian Xuesen lies not only in his scientific brilliance, but also in his indifference to matter. After returning to China, he lived in the dormitory of the Academy of Sciences in Zhongguancun, Beijing, and moved into the compound of the Ministry of Aerospace affairs in 1960. The organization had repeatedly tried to arrange a new home for him, but he politely refused. He even donated several of his old properties in Hangzhou and Shanghai to the state. He said: "I am now in better housing conditions than those who have returned from the same boat as me, and I am often disturbed by this..."
In 1958, after the publication of Qian Xuesen's book "Engineering Cybernetics", the publishing house gave Qian Lao a large amount of money, but when Qian Lao witnessed many rural children admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China and did not even have the money to buy a ruler, he resolutely donated this money to buy learning and daily necessities for these cold students. In 1962, the country suffered an unprecedented natural disaster, and Qian Xuesen donated more than 3,000 yuan of his own writing fee to the state. In 1994, Qian Lao won the "Ho Leung Ho Lee Fund Excellence Award". The prize is up to HK$1 million. As a result, Qian Lao did not even look at the check, so he wrote a power of attorney and donated the money to the cause of sand control in the west.
Elder Qian once said: "My surname is Qian, but I don't love money." ”
Later, the United States invited Elder Qian to visit the United States many times, and even proposed that as long as Elder Qian was willing to come, it would give him the title of academician of the American Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Engineering. However, Elder Qian calmly refused, and some people asked him why, and he just smiled lightly, saying, "If Chinese people say that Qian Xuesen has done something for the country and the nation, it will be the highest reward." As for those foreign titles, I am never rare. ”
At 8:06 a.m. Beijing time on October 31, 2009, Elder Qian died in Beijing at the age of 98.