[ Hanlin Think Tank Zhong Xiubin ]
Academician Yang Le, a famous Chinese mathematician, although he has reached his old age, he is tall and in good spirits.
He often went to the office of the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the morning to handle work, or occasionally received some visits. In October 2021, on an autumn rainy morning, I should visit Academician Yang Le. The gentleman waited in the office as promised, and when I entered the door, he stood up from his office chair to greet me, shook hands warmly and forcefully, let me sit on the sofa, and brewed hot tea for me.
Born on November 20, 1939 in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, Mr. Yang graduated from the Department of Mathematics of Peking University in 1962, and was admitted to the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with his classmate Mr. Zhang Guanghou in the same year, under the supervision of Professor Xiong Qinglai, to conduct research on the distribution theory of pure function values of Nai Wanglinna. He collaborated with Mr. Zhang Guanghou and others to produce a series of remarkable results, and published five academic papers during his graduate studies (1962-1966). The results of one of the articles have solved a long-standing world problem in the field and have had a great impact on the international community. Unfortunately, due to the lack of communication channels between Chinese and foreign academics at that time, Mr. Yang did not know that his research results had solved the world's problem, and 10 years later, he obtained a copy of the problem with the help of his relatives in the United States, and learned of the enthusiastic response of some foreign mathematicians. When the Cultural Revolution broke out in 1966, research work was seriously disrupted, and not only was Academic Exchanges between China and foreign countries cut off, but even normal academic paper publications were impossible. Academic journals of natural sciences were discontinued, and during this period, only domestic print publications were "Mao Xuan" and "Mao Quotations". This was an unforgettable period of time, the "ten years of catastrophe" interrupted the door of academic exchanges between China and the world, Mr. Yang did not know much about the development of international mathematics at that time, and some excellent work could not be published publicly due to the Cultural Revolution, and the outside world could not know.
After ping-pong diplomacy in 1971, the cold confrontation between China and the United States eased. Nixon's visit to China in 1972 broke the ice of the Cold War era. From May 3 to 27, 1976, a delegation of 10 American mathematicians headed by McLane visited China, and mainland mathematicians made more than 60 reports to introduce the progress of mathematical research in China. After returning to the United States, the U.S. delegation wrote a 115-page report on its visit to China (published internally, having sent two volumes to the Chinese Academy of Sciences), in which the abstract of the section on academic content (5-6 pages) was published in the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. The report lists the work of Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhang Guanghou as one of the two most prominent works in the current state of pure mathematics in China[1]: "The most valuable contribution of Chinese mathematicians in complex analysis lies in the nevanlinna theory, which was done by Yang Le and Zhang Guanghou of the Institute of Mathematics. Many mathematicians around the world have carefully cultivated this field for half a century, and it requires daunting analytical skills, and for this ancient discipline, Yang Le and Zhang Guanghou have obtained some new and profound results. ”
In 1978, the spring of Chinese science came. Chen Jingrun, a mathematician who was praised for his study of the Goldbach conjecture, became a science star, and Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhang Guanghou were widely publicized for their world-class research work, and they were highly respected by the Chinese people, and they became the scientific heroes in the hearts of the Chinese people at that time.
In 1980, at the age of 40, Mr. Yang was elected as a member (academician) of the Faculty of Chinese Academy of Sciences, becoming the youngest member of the Faculty at that time.
In the era of reform and opening up when Deng Xiaoping emphasized the rejuvenation of cadres, Mr. Yang, who has both ability and political integrity, gradually moved towards an academic leadership position, successively serving as deputy director and director of the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the first Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, making "convincing" contributions to the development of mathematical research in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. [2] As Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General of the Chinese Mathematical Society, he assisted Mr. Hua Luogeng and Mr. Wu Wenjun, the chairman of the Board, and promoted China's accession to the International Mathematical Union. In the early 1990s, he served as chairman of the board and led many major events in the Chinese mathematical community. Promoting the International Mathematical Congress to be held in China and assisting Qiu Chengtong in building the Morningside Mathematics Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for open research, it has achieved outstanding results and far-reaching influence. In addition, Mr. Yang also served as the vice chairman of the All-China Youth Federation for 11 years (1979-1990) and the fifth member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (1983-2008), participating in the reform and development of China's scientific and technological system.
Too many administrative and social appointments undoubtedly consumed a lot of Mr. Yang's energy and influenced his later academic research. However, as a strategic mathematician, he is more concerned about and pleased with the overall development of Chinese mathematics, and his personal gains and losses have long been ignored.
Academician Wang Yuan, another great mathematician, said that Yang Le was an excellent mathematician with both ability and political integrity, and a mathematician who had a great influence on the development of modern Chinese mathematics.
Today, Mr. Yang is old and strong, and he prefers to move the heart of the white head. Many years ago, he warned about the national Olympic mathematics training that has become popular in China, which focuses on primary or more partial "showmanship" problem-solving techniques, which are fundamentally different from mathematical research that reveals the mysteries of nature and explores human truths. Four years ago, I asked a math-loving child what good math summer camp activities were in China, and Mr. Yang patiently introduced me to the summer activities of Tsinghua, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the phone, and talked for nearly an hour before and after. Three years ago, he explained in detail to two mathematical elites who had just entered Peking University in his office how to learn mathematics well in the university, and the old man would tell decades of academic pursuit and experience, which was undoubtedly a feast of ideas for the listener. One of them is now pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics at Peking University.
Mr. Yang Le and Mr. Hua Luogeng in their youth (right)
The second year of junior high school likes mathematics because of algebra and geometry
When Mr. Yang was 5 years old, he studied at the first primary school of Nantong Normal School (formerly known as Tongzhou Normal School) in Jiangsu Province, and the reason why he went to school in the morning was because his brothers and sisters at home went to school and no one played with him. From the perspective of teacher level, student quality, and school environment, even if the current standards are used to require, the first attached primary school of Nantong Normal School is a good primary school. As for whether to study hard or how to learn, he had no such thoughts in his mind at the time. When he graduated from elementary school, he was just over 10 years old.
Nantong is a model county planned and developed by Zhang Xiao at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and all social undertakings are well laid out. In addition to industry, education, urban construction, parks and other aspects of the business are balanced planning. In terms of education, Mr. Zhang Founded Nantong Normal School. Mr. Yang's father-in-law, Mr. Huang Wanli, who was born in Shanghai, once said that his primary school teachers graduated from Nantong Normal School. Nantong Normal School was the first normal school in China at that time, and Mr. Wang Guowei taught here for a year. Scholars of this level have all taught here, and you can imagine the level of Nantong Normal School in those years.
Mr. Yang recalled that his homework in school felt ok, the grades belonged to the upper middle of the class, and the math level was probably the same. Usually, there is no problem in arithmetic, but when encountering the problem of chickens and rabbits in the same cage, or the engineering problems of a pipe putting water and a pipe entering the water, it is somewhat incomprehensible. After the teacher had spoken, he was more clear and knew how the head and feet in the chicken and rabbit cage problem should be converted. But when he thought about this kind of question himself, he didn't seem to understand it. More than seventy years later, Mr. Yang still remembers this vividly, and he feels that he may have been young at the time and had difficulty understanding those concepts. Facing the xiaosheng preliminary examination, he and several classmates in the class reviewed their homework together, the time was not short, and it took a lot of effort.
Nantong Middle School is the best middle school in Nantong. At that time, Jiangsu Province set up a provincial middle school in each place, just like Suzhou Middle School and Yangzhou Middle School, which were called provincial middle schools. At that time, nantong and the surrounding suburban counties, students who studied well came to apply for Nantong Middle School. Every year, there are about 1500 candidates, and 200 candidates are admitted, which is equivalent to seven or eight candidates admitting one person, and the competition is fierce. Mr. Yang was not sure at the time, and his family thought he was so young, and he did not feel any certainty. Finally admitted to Nantong Middle School, he is relatively happy.
Mr. Yang's self-esteem primary school grades are quite OK, and his luck is better. In the first year, mathematics was still arithmetic, just a review, not yet learned algebra, but more difficult than elementary school arithmetic, such as the square opening of numbers, and some relatively complex application problems. Until the fall of 1951, in the second grade of junior high school, mathematics was divided into algebra and planar geometry. Originally, algebra and plane geometry were learned separately, first algebra and then geometry, but at that time the school taught these two courses in parallel and at the same time. In his opinion, elementary school arithmetic is all numbers, and algebra is the use of letters to represent numbers, which feels very fresh. At that time, Nantong Primary School did not have English teaching, and I began to learn English until junior high school. The use of English letters can also be used to represent numbers, and it can be calculated with numbers, which he found algebra particularly interesting. Especially after learning the equations, many of the original complex application problems can be set up unknowns, column equations to solve, turn it into standardization, or program, and the application is simplified. Some originally did not know where to start, but now they only need to set an unknown, use an equation, and express the complex relationships in the application problem clearly. Algebra was so interesting that it made him doubly interested in mathematics. Geometry is also a new subject, it has strict laws, flat figures, and strict reasoning, each step must explain what axioms or theorems are based on. Thus, the algebra and geometry of the second year aroused his strong interest.
At the same time, due to his slightly older age, the young Mr. Yang gradually understood things. At the end of 1951, he was 12 years old and began to know that if he did not study well, it would affect his high school and college, and even affect his work as a growing up.
When Mr. Yang went to middle school, he was in a period of drastic changes in the old and new societies. After 1950, although there were many political movements, society showed a thriving scene. This environment also has some impact on learning, but he feels that the impact is not large.
Mr. Yang liked mathematics after the second year of junior high school, which is the same as the great mathematician Mr. Yau Chengtong. After learning plane geometry in his second year of junior high school, he found that geometry can derive so many theorems and laws from a limited set of five axioms, and the reasoning process at each step is so rigorous and amazing, so that his interest in mathematics is increasing day by day.
When it comes to flat geometry, Mr. Yang believes that the Euclidean geometry is a leap forward in human mathematical thinking, and it is really remarkable that there was such a system of thought more than 2,000 years ago. This is like the ancient Confucius, who was able to bring many ideas together and was a thoughtful man. Of course, Euclidean geometry is not the same as Confucius's theory, it is a system of scientific logic, the source of the continuous development of mathematical theory for more than 2,000 years. This system of thought continues to this day, just as most Chinese philosophical thought matured in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago. In essence, whether it is mathematical logic or humanistic thought, they all have the same destination and are pursuing truth, goodness and beauty, but the methods and methods are different. Under the existing logical framework, mathematics is a system of scientific theories that can be accurately described and accurately expressed.
When Mr. Yang was eleven or twelve years old, he could figure out why he should study hard and go to high school and college to do a good job in the future, which was only a few precocious children at that time. Times are different, many children now live in good conditions, have not experienced hunger, poverty and setbacks, and take it for granted that all the good things are natural now. Children don't quite understand that these are the result of decades or even hundreds of years of hard work by their grandparents and fathers. Let the children know more about the growth process of some big scientists and reduce the impact of games or mobile phone information on them, which is also a problem that Mr. Yang is thinking about.
Mr. Yang Le's wife, Professor Huang Jiyuan's classic book "The Scholar" (Published by Science Press, March 2013)
Young people should read more books such as "The University"
Before his death, Mr. Yang's wife, Professor Huang Jiyuan, spent a lot of effort studying the life anecdotes of a class of great scientists (for example, botanist Hu Xianhua, electronicist Meng Zhaoying, mathematicians Chen Shengshen, Qiu Chengtong, Wang Yuan, physicist Peng Huanwu, hydraulic scientist Huang Wanli, etc.), and conducted in-depth interviews with Mr. Chen Shengshen, Peng Huanwu, Qiu Chengtong, Wang Yuan, etc., who were still alive at that time.
Her father, Huang Wanli, a professor at Tsinghua's Department of Water Conservancy, and Meng Zhaoying, a professor at Tsinghua's Department of Electronics, are neighbors who taught the author English. Professor Huang (the eldest granddaughter of mr. Huang Yanpei, a famous democrat), with a peaceful and profound and sincere stroke, wrote seven biographies focusing on revealing the humanistic spirit of great scientists, aiming to remind scientists to attach importance to the cultivation of literature, history and philosophy, and the role these cultivations played when they became masters and made major contributions in the professional field, profoundly answering the question of how to achieve the master of the times. After these articles were published, they were widely acclaimed. Thanks to the trust of Professor Huang and Mr. Yang, I planned to edit these articles into a book called "The University", which was published by Science Press in March 2013. It is sad that Professor Huang died of illness in March 2012, and this masterpiece became her last legacy to posterity.
The book was not well printed at the beginning, and it was sold out in no time. Many readers wanted to read the book again, and I asked Mr. Yang for permission to reprint it, and he happily agreed.
Speaking of his deceased wife's will, Mr. Yang's box of words opened. Regarding the book, if there is a chance to republish it, and the circulation is larger, he thinks it is a good thing. If society pays too much attention to show stars, teenagers' attention is drawn to entertainment, which is a bad phenomenon.
He recalled fondly, "Huang Youyuan interviewed several scholars, accumulated materials and ideas, I know that she worked hard. On the one hand, she has been interested in this aspect of work in the past, and her literary skills are relatively good, plus she has received very rigorous training in mathematical sciences. She wrote an article by Mr. Chen Shengshen, and Mr. Chen read it several times. His secretary and people close to him said that there are many people at home and abroad who write About Mr. Chen, but Mr. Chen is most impressed and satisfied with this one written by Huang Andyuan. In 2003, before his death, he also specially made an appointment with Huang Heyuan to visit the Chen family in Nankai, Tianjin. It can be seen that Mr. Chen is very recognized and appreciative of this article.
Several other scientists she wrote about were also more successful. For example, Mr. Peng Huanwu is an authority in the field of theoretical physics in China. Once, the party secretary of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences told me that when celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Theoretical Physics, they specially included this article written by Huang Youyuan as an important commemorative document in the collection of essays on the celebration. ”
The article written by Professor Huang is not like an interview draft for ordinary journalists. She collects information, repeatedly studies the information of these characters, and each has her own unique experience. As an editor, I know this well. Mr. Yang Le felt, "First, she pays special attention to what kind of characters to choose to write. For example, Chen Shengshen, Peng Huanwu, Qiu Chengtong, Hu Xianhua, etc., she paid attention to the selected scientists, collected the information of these characters, carefully studied them, and repeatedly analyzed and speculated. Among the surviving scholars, she seriously went to visit. She made a great effort to integrate these materials with the content of her interviews, and after much thought, she wrote the article. There won't be many people like her who will work hard to write articles now, so I am in favor of republishing this book, and young people will benefit from reading it. ”
Mr. Yang is worried that young people are now too affected by mobile phone information. For example, he said that every time he went to the office, as soon as he got on the elevator, if there were young people riding with him, they often looked down at the mobile phone information. The information on mobile phones is mixed and uneven, and most young people lack the ability to distinguish. Although you can't blindly blame those editors who publish mobile phone information, they are forced by their livelihood to study the authenticity of the editing materials in depth, and there are often some irresponsible and error-prone content. Now many articles on mobile phones and self-media, the source is unclear, many can not withstand scrutiny. Some self-media platforms are not rigorous, publishing hearsay and unverified content. Although they believe it themselves, in fact this is often not the case at all.
Now that the Internet platform is open, it is convenient for everyone to express their opinions. If massive information is not processed by professional editors, it is inevitable that the quality will be uneven. Nature has more noise than pleasant music, which is the norm. However, real music is produced by the intelligence of trained professionals, while noise is something that species in nature can produce at will. People who read a lot and have considerable high attainments can distinguish between good and bad information. And for most people, especially teenagers, they don't know where this information is coming from. Even a small number of content publishers are not good-hearted, indiscriminately sending messages to achieve the goal, to put it bluntly, to cheat money, will inevitably cause many people to be deceived.
Mr. Yang's worries make people feel the importance of guiding children to have the opportunity to read more good books. Mr. Yang has read "Sven in an Era: Mei Yiqi, President of Tsinghua University", co-authored by Mr. Huang Yanfu and me. He felt that Principal Mei had set a good example for intellectuals, but unfortunately there were too few people like him now. We also send a lot of international students, some of whom have good professional achievements, but in terms of personality, they lack the cultivation of the elderly scholars. There are not many people like Principal Mei who are gentlemen, and there are not many people who actively contribute to the country. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to carry forward the spirit of President Mei now.
Mr. Yang Le and the famous mathematician Mr. Yau Chengtong (left)
Learn the main class well in the classroom
In July this year, the Ministry of Education issued a "double reduction" policy for primary and secondary school students across the country to "reduce the burden of homework and reduce the burden of extracurricular tutoring". The purpose of the double reduction policy is to solve the excessive burden of homework and off-campus training, family education expenditure and the corresponding energy burden of parents in the compulsory education stage, and promote the all-round development and healthy growth of students.
The original intention of the double reduction policy is expected. In the actual implementation process, it is inevitable that some new situations will appear. For example, how can students be more efficient in the classroom and grasp the learning content as much as possible in the classroom? For gifted students, learning efficiency is high, and the impact of burden reduction will not be too large, but how to develop interest and self-improvement? For children with certain learning difficulties, classroom learning alone is certainly not enough. What about these children if they don't let them do after-school tuition? How to distinguish between children who are really gifted and interested, especially mathematical ability, so that they can be taught according to their talents and become talents?
Mr. Yang believes that these problems are mainly aimed at the current primary and secondary school students. For primary school students, they can not ask for anything, and parents should not ask how their children should be too early, because children in primary school are still very young.
In general, most children do not begin to understand some hard work and serious study until they are about 12 years old, that is, after entering junior high school, and know that this is related to their further study and work in the future. In elementary school, the main thing is to let children complete the learning of the main class, listen carefully to the teacher in the classroom, and the teacher leaves a little homework, which can be completed in the school. Of course, primary school students are now reducing their burden and leaving less homework, and the children should be completed relatively well in school.
After middle school, mathematics has algebra, geometry, trigonometry and other subjects. Mr. Yau Chengtong also specifically proposed that students who want to have a good degree in mathematics should learn a little calculus. Of course, it depends on the teaching conditions and how the teacher explains calculus.
The old methods of calculus, such as before 1949, were taught according to the idea of middle school mathematics, and if you teach yourself, you can also do it. But now the calculus method, theory and concept is strong, often from the abstract point of view to explain calculus, which is very different from the algebra, trigonometry of elementary mathematics, pure theory and pure concept of things are very much, in fact, this is the characteristics of advanced mathematics, and elementary mathematics is very different. Because of this difference, the articulation between elementary and advanced mathematics is not too easy for students. Including students at several Ivy League universities in the United States, when they learn calculus, teachers teach with advanced mathematical thinking, and many students can't fully adapt at first.
When Mr. Yang studied calculus at Peking University, he did not feel any obvious difficulties. But a considerable number of students (probably more than half) found it difficult. At that time, they were able to enter the mathematics department of Peking University, and the mathematical level was already the best of the best students, and they also learned so hard and difficult, and even they still had fluctuations in their thinking, and they felt that they were not suitable for mathematics at Peking University. Therefore, at that time, Peking University invited Mr. Hua Luogeng to give a speech to explain the mathematical learning methods, improve Mr. Yang and his classmates' ability to learn mathematics, and enhance their confidence in learning mathematics well.
Mr. Yang Le accompanies the famous mathematician Mr. Chen Shengshen (left)
Ask the expert for advice and choose a good reference book
The state has introduced a "double reduction" policy, which Mr. Yang feels is very important. In any case, the child should learn the main subject content well.
After the introduction of the burden reduction policy, children should pay attention to learning in the classroom, and we naturally talked about the current primary and secondary school textbooks. Mr. Yang is full of concerns about the quality of the current primary and secondary school mathematics syllabus and textbooks.
Today's mathematical syllabuses and textbooks are not well written. For example, he said, for a time, Beijing (and possibly some parts of the country) invited a professor from a mathematics department at a university to preside over the compilation of middle school mathematics textbooks. The professor is more than ten years older than Mr. Yang, has a good mathematical standard, and is a good old man.
Teachers involved in the preparation of the textbook will have a variety of opinions. For example, there is an opinion that the concept of mathematics textbooks should be modernized, and that the learning of calculus in secondary mathematics in the past did not reach The Newtonian era, staying before the 16th century, and even geometry staying in the earlier ancient Greek era, so it is too unmodified. Some people can put forward another opinion, such as more geometric proofs, some content should be removed, and what can be replaced by applied measurements. The professor was a good old man, and he felt that it was reasonable to follow everyone's various opinions, so he wanted to try to rub these opinions into it. It turns out that mathematics textbooks have their own system, which is a complete system. Now, in this way, the original system has been disrupted, with both modern mathematical views and some practical knowledge, such as the preferred method and the overall method. The various contents are rich, but the concept of the textbook is chaotic. Such a textbook, how to let students practice the basic skills of mathematics?
Mr. Yang Le said that in the past, whether it was geometry, or algebra, or trigonometry, it took considerable effort to teach some of the most basic concepts. Now the math textbook is interspersed with these miscellaneous contents, here and there squeeze a little bit, the original math content has been weakened very badly, plus the class time is only half of the original, so that students do not study well, the teacher can not teach well. This is the source — the syllabus and teaching materials are not ideal, and the teaching materials are written according to the outline. Of course, the teaching and research staff of the Textbook Research Center of the Ministry of Education did not make effort to study and solve these problems.
A professor writes teaching materials, his own level is OK, he could have compiled good teaching materials, but because he wanted to listen to the opinions of all parties and hope to be able to be included in the teaching materials, it affected the quality of the teaching materials. The compilation of mathematics textbooks for primary and secondary schools in China basically does not have the habit of soliciting opinions from highly accomplished mathematicians. At least Mr. Yang has never been "disturbed".
Some pedagogical research authorities dominate the preparation of textbooks. Mr. Yang, who has been engaged in mathematical research for more than half a century, believes that the important thing in writing mathematics textbooks is to look at the mathematical literacy and mathematical history of the author, not on his pedagogical research level. If the author of the textbook does not know much about the whole mathematical idea and mathematical history, it is inevitable that there will be problems in writing the textbook.
For students, the best way to learn now is to master the learning content in the classroom. Now the teacher may assign less homework, just like Mr. Yang when the teacher assigned a small amount of questions and is relatively easy, and it can be done in a little time between classes. For those students who are better off, there is still a lot of time after class. For example, when Mr. Yang was in middle school, after 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon, there was basically no formal curriculum, and he could study on his own in school, and day students could even go home, and there was more time in the evening. For this part of the students who have learned better, Mr. Yang suggested that if the ability is relatively strong, then you can find some reference books to read by yourself.
Because there are so many mathematical reference books now, it is actually difficult for children to take the initiative to find books. Mr. Yang Le said that it is best to find their teachers or ask experts for advice. Teachers or experts have a better understanding of the child's learning situation, can give him some professional advice, the child himself sometimes is not too clear about what to learn more. Of course, for people with superior ability, they can also choose reference books to learn, and finally they can become their own and form their own style. In the history of mathematics, very few mathematicians have become talented in this way. The level and ability learned in this way are particularly high, but this is only a very small or even a few cases. In general, it is still recommended to consult the teacher or relevant experts, lead the way, and make some suggestions.
In August 2002, the famous physicist Hawking visited China, accompanied by Mr. Yang Le and his wife Professor Huang Zhiyuan
Academics do not ask questions, learn from the masters
Mr. Yang said that in the 1950s, middle school textbooks to university textbooks, including some reference books, were mostly written with reference to the Soviet textbook system. Although secondary school textbooks were not directly translated word for word from Soviet textbook organizations, they were written according to the Soviet system and writing method. The university textbooks were completely translated from moscow university textbooks. At that time, the Soviet Union's mathematical, physical and chemical textbook system was relatively advanced.
Before the October Revolution, a group of mathematicians in the Soviet Union (the situation in physical chemistry was not too bad) studied in France, Britain, Germany and other Western European mathematical powers. At that time, France and Germany were the center of mathematics in the world, and science and art were also very strong. Mathematics was developed in the United States after World War II. The economic power of the United States is significantly stronger, and the salaries of scholars are higher than those of Europe, and many talents are attracted to the United States. On the eve of World War II, Hitler was anti-Semitic, expelled Jews, and a group of outstanding scholars fled to the United States. Most of the old mathematicians of the Soviet Union were trained and trained in Western Europe in the past. The Soviet Union also had several high-level mathematicians who had grown up indigenously. After the October Revolution, others were treated poorly, but these scholars were generally guaranteed higher treatment so that they could continue to do some higher-level work.
Mr. Yang Le lamented with regret, "At that time, the three anti-five anti-five antis, the anti-rightist movement and especially the later Cultural Revolution, the political movement interfered too much with scientific research. Otherwise, if we let everyone play freely, we can also develop relatively well. After the 1950s, some people went to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to study, and a considerable number of these people were still of good standards. As soon as Sino-Soviet relations were strained, these exchanges were suspended.
If Yau Chengtong had been in Hong Kong, although he could have made achievements, it is unlikely that he would have achieved such a high level of achievement and done so many excellent jobs. ”
As Mr. Yang said, when Mr. Yau chengtong was a sophomore at the University of Chinese in Hong Kong, he met a teacher who had just received a Doctor of Mathematics degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and it was only then that he learned what modern mathematics looks like. When he arrived at Berkeley, he came into contact with the world's first-class mathematicians, and the entire academic horizon and pattern were opened, coupled with talent and diligence, his academic brilliance soon shone out. When Mr. Yau Chengtong went to the United States for graduate school, China was making a big cultural revolution and was basically isolated from the world, and Mr. Yang and his colleagues had no idea what international mathematics was busy with. Without Chinese and foreign academic exchanges, how can such an environment do research?
Mr. Yang Le in the office
Unconsciously, I slipped away quietly in the morning, and it was time for me to say goodbye to Mr. Yang. The elderly Mr. Yang was still in good spirits, stood up, smiled and sent me out.
Every time I come with a question, I have a satisfactory answer, and this time is no exception. Such a beautiful and eternal time, Mr. Yang will also give many people who love him.
On October 28, after the first draft of this article was written, the author passed it on to Mr. Yang. After reading it, he replied on WeChat that some places should be modified, and asked the author to communicate the final draft by phone at the right time the next day. After 9:00 a.m. on the 29th, Mr. Yang called the author in the office, reading the manuscript word by word, and when it was necessary to revise, he stopped to explain and put forward revision suggestions. For example, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, is a relatively fixed statement in the author's impression. Mr. Yang patiently corrected that at that time, Nantong was a county, formerly known as Tongzhou (NantongZhou), because Beijing also had Tongzhou (Beitongzhou), which was later changed to Nantong.
Mr. Yang, who is 82 years old, has a meticulous and rigorous spirit of excellence, such as the silent spring wind and rain. This is his attitude towards a mathematical life, which is extremely touching.
Note: Excerpts from this article were published in the 8th edition of Beijing Youth Daily on December 18, 2021.
[1] Another piece of work was Mr. Chen Jingrun's Goldbach conjecture research.
[2] Wang Yuan (1930-2021) was a famous mathematician and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He commented on the preface to "The Vicissitudes of the Seas: An Interview with Yang Le" (Hunan Education Publishing House, March 2018).
Attached is [About the Author of Hanlin Think Tank] - Mr. Zhong Xiubin, senior media publisher
Mr. Zhong Xiubin, graduated from Nankai University, Master of Science. Mei Yiqi, a scholar of educational thought research, is a specially invited director of the Research Association of Mr. Zhang Boling, the founder of Nankai University (former president of Nankai University). He is the co-author of "Swen of an Era: Mei Yiqi, President of Tsinghua University", "Mei Yiqi's Pictorial Biography", and the editor-in-chief of "He Zhaowu's Ideological and Cultural Essays (Impact and Repercussions, Touching the Soul of the Times, From Identity to Contract, Necessity and Chance)", "Gu Yuxuan: China's Renaissance", "Li Siguang and His Era", "Scholars", "Mao Yisheng: The Bridge to Modernization", "The Trend of China's Reform in the Next 30 Years" and other works.