◎ Core Report studio Shen Wencong
As the son of Cao Benxi, although Cao Jue spent a lot of time living with his father, his achievements in his father's work only stayed in a vague understanding of "chemical expert and chief engineer". After retiring, in 2010, he co-wrote the "Geng Geng Dan Xin Zhao Ri Yue - Cao Benxi Memorial Anthology" recalling his father's life deeds, and in the exchanges with his father's colleagues, friends and students, he slowly learned about what his father had made to China's nuclear industry, chemical industry and petroleum higher education. And it was in this process that he also more deeply perceived his father's spiritual character.
▲Cao Benxi
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > "four startups" in a lifetime</h1>
In 1946, Cao Benxi returned to China with a doctorate from Imperial College London, England, and was recruited to return to his alma mater, Tsinghua University, and was appointed to organize the Department of Chemical Engineering. After three years of struggle, when new China was founded, the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tsinghua University, which had the shortest establishment time, was already the largest and best chemical engineering department with the best experimental conditions in the country, and it was also a department with a considerable scale in colleges and universities across the country.
In September 1952, the Department of Petroleum Engineering of Tsinghua University was founded, and Cao Benxi led everyone to start the entrepreneurship of the Petroleum Engineering Department from scratch.
In 1953, the "Beijing Petroleum Institute" was established on the basis of the Department of Petroleum Engineering of Tsinghua University. Cao Benxi is a member of the Preparatory Committee of Beijing Petroleum Institute and is responsible for teaching planning. Cao Benxi became one of the founders of the Beijing Petroleum Institute.
▲ Cao Benxi in his youth
In 1963, at the critical moment of china's nuclear fuel industry technology research, Cao Benxi once again obeyed the organizational arrangements, transferred to the nuclear industry system, and served as the deputy director of the Second Bureau of the Second Machine Department (Nuclear Fuel Bureau) and the chief engineer of the chemical industry. In the past 20 years, he has participated in the organization and leadership of a series of major scientific and technological research in the field of nuclear chemical industry, met the needs of nuclear weapons development and nuclear material production, and made outstanding contributions to the development of the nuclear industry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="180" > lived in Tsinghua Garden</h1>
Cao Benxi and his wife Wei Yuzhi had two children. Before Cao Benxi studied in Britain, Wei Yuzhi gave birth to their eldest daughter Cao Ying. In 1947, Cao Benxi and his wife had a second child, their son Cao Jue. At that time, the family of four lived in a bungalow in Tsinghua University, sharing a yard with another family.
▲ Cao Benxi's family
Until the age of five or six, Cao Jue lived at Tsinghua University. He still vaguely remembers the home of Tsinghua Garden, full of the fun of life. In the open space of the courtyard, grape racks are set up and fruit trees such as peach trees and peach trees are planted. When the fruit was ripe, he and his sister competed to pick it and eat it. When the sisters and brothers celebrate their birthdays, my mother will spend a lot of effort steaming a big cake, and the whole family will gather to taste it.
On weekends, Cao Benxi would also take time with his wife and daughter, call his students, and accompany them to climb the Fragrant Mountain and visit the Summer Palace, and the relationship between teachers and students was very harmonious, like friends. Unfortunately, at that time, Cao Jue was too young to walk much, let alone climb the mountain, and could only stay at home and let the nanny take care of it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="181" > left precious photos of his family with his camera</h1>
In Cao Jue's memory, there was a camera at home very early, which was very rare in that era. The family's cameras have been replaced several times, all of which were bought by my father, who loved photography. In the early years, he was most impressed by two cameras, one was the German-made lens foldable 135 camera, which was very advanced at the time, and the other was the Soviet camera that his father bought when he went to the Soviet Union to investigate. Not only that, but my father also brought back a delicate magnifier from the Soviet Union. Later, both the camera and the magnifier were donated to a museum of photography in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, for display as exhibits.
Cao Benxi used these cameras to leave many precious photos for himself and his family, recording the footprints of his children's growth along the way, and also recording the life scenes of the husband and wife for a lifetime. Images of the family's life over the years are packed with several large photo albums. Looking closely, there are photos of their lives at home, photos taken when visiting the garden, pictures of friends and students coming to communicate at home, and scenes of Cao Benxi and his wife teasing their grandchildren in their later years. In addition, there are landscape photos, architectural photos, etc. Pictures after photo, telling the quiet of the years.
▲Cao Benxi and his wife
Influenced by his father, Cao Jue has been fascinated by photography since he was a teenager, a hobby that lasted for many years, and after retirement, it became his pleasure.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="182" > "endure" let the ticket listen to the son describe the "war situation" and "relieve the hunger"</h1>
Not only photography, Cao Benxi has a wide range of interests, especially sports.
When Cao Benxi was studying at Tsinghua University, he was the main player of the grade basketball team. During his tenure as provost and vice dean of the Beijing Petroleum Institute, he advocated that students should love sports to strengthen their bodies, and also took the lead in participating in the school sports meeting. Although he was middle-aged at that time, he still participated in the competition with enthusiasm, and his style did not diminish that year, winning several medals. These medals are now preserved at the China University of Petroleum. During his time in the nuclear industry, he was a table tennis enthusiast, often playing table tennis for more than an hour after work before returning home.
▲Tsinghua Chemistry Department basketball team
When his son is older, Cao Benxi still likes to go to sports games with his son. This is also one of the few moments of solitude with his busy father in Cao Jue's impression, and it is also his happiest moment. Cao Jue remembers that whether it is basketball, football or volleyball, as long as he hears that there is a game in Beijing, Cao Benxi will find a way to buy tickets. However, tickets for some competitions are difficult to buy, sometimes only one can be grabbed, Cao Benxi had to "endure the pain" to give the ticket to his son, and waited at home for his son to come back to describe the battle situation to him to "relieve the hunger".
In terms of literature and art, Cao Benxi loved to listen to classical music, and the earliest was to use a phonograph, when the family bought a lot of vinyl records and plastic records. Under the influence of their father, their mother and sister gradually fell in love with listening to classical music. Occasionally, my father would beckon the whole family to sit on the couch together, put on a piece of music, and quietly enjoy it. Cao Jue's impression is that the most common song in the family in the 1960s was the violin concerto "Liang Zhu".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="183" > "the greatest luck in my life is to be Mr. Cao's student."</h1>
As the head of the department and vice dean of the institution of higher learning, while holding administrative positions, Cao Benxi still unremittingly lectures for undergraduate and graduate students, and often personally produces examination questions. He had to do these questions two to three times to make sure they were accurate before he came out. And the students he taught, many years later, are still very grateful for the patience of the teacher.
Zheng Yuanyang, a graduate student led by Cao Benxi at the Beijing Petroleum Institute, wrote a letter to Cao Jue on the eve of the 95th anniversary of his mentor's birth. In the letter, he sincerely wrote this sentence: "The greatest luck in my life is to be Mr. Cao's student. ”
When Zheng Yuanyang was studying for graduate school in chemical engineering, he had a chemical mathematics course, and Cao Benxi asked the students to complete it by using self-study and discussion. For Zheng Yuanyang, who only studied calculus in college, the mathematical content of this course is somewhat difficult, and it is very difficult to teach itself. After Cao Benxi knew, he made up lessons for him alone once a week, and the location was chosen in his own home.
Zheng Yuanyang still remembers that in the study of the teacher's home, under the window to the north, there was an old double desk shared by the teacher and the teacher's mother, which accounted for most of the area of the study. There is also a pair of small sofas with a central coffee table in the house. Every Monday afternoon, in this study, Teacher Cao instructed him to teach him "one-on-one", first asking him about his week's study, difficult questions, giving answers, then checking notes, asking questions, and then arranging next week's learning tasks and exercises, often an afternoon passed quickly. At that time, the teachers and mothers who were also teachers of the Beijing Petroleum Institute had to go to the library or laboratory to prepare lessons in order to make room for them.
In order to commemorate his teacher, Zheng Yuanyang wrote to Cao Jue in November 2009, suggesting that cao Benxi's relatives, friends, colleagues, and students should be invited to write manuscripts as soon as possible and published in a volume, which is the reason why "Geng Geng Dan's Heart Illuminates the Sun and the Moon - Cao Benxi's Commemorative Essays" was published and distributed in 2010. Today, many of the authors and interviewees who wrote the reminiscence articles have passed away, Cao Jue sighed, the commemorative anthology was published, and finally did not leave too many regrets, but it would be better to do it a few years earlier.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="184" > buy food for drivers out of their own pockets</h1>
In 1957, during the "Anti-Rightist Movement," many intellectuals and democratic party figures were identified as "rightists." However, none of the members of the China Democratic League branch of the Beijing Petroleum Institute, of which Cao Benxi is in charge, have been classified as rightists, which is inseparable from Cao Benxi's intentional protection.
Every time the driver of the Beijing Petroleum Institute sends Cao Benxi to an off-campus meeting, if he cannot return to school at noon, Cao Benxi either buys a meal in the canteen of the unit where the meeting is held and sends it to the driver's master, and then he goes to eat; or he pays out of his own pocket and lets the driver master buy food outside.
After Cao Benxi was transferred out of the Beijing Petroleum Institute, he also entrusted a department leader of the institute to transfer his former secretary from the administrative department back to the teaching and research office, so as not to waste his studies.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="186" > "engaged in learning, or Cao Benxi is smart"</h1>
In 1962, Bai Wenzhi, then director of the Second Bureau of the Second Machine Department, received two files of recommended candidates to serve as the chief engineer of the Bureau, one from Qian Sanqiang, deputy director of the Second Machine Department, and one from the Ministry of Petroleum. The candidates recommended by both sides were all graduates of the Department of Chemistry of Southwest United University, and they were also well-known chemical experts at that time. After Bai Wenzhi read the file, it was difficult to choose for a while.
Later, he went to consult He Dongchang, who was the party secretary of Tsinghua University. He Dongchang introduced these two people in detail to him and said the most crucial sentence: "Engaging in learning, cao Benxi is still smart." In 1963, cao Benxi, who was 48 years old at the time, came to the second bureau of the second machine department.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="187" > innovative nuclear chemical expert</h1>
"Mr. Cao's chemical skills are very solid, and his English is good, so he can sometimes keenly discover new technologies and new processes abroad."
"He has the courage to push the crowd, adopt new technical routes, dare to make decisions, and give convincing reasons for arguments."
……
At the invitation of Cao Jue, Jiang Yunqing and Wang Shisheng, who have worked with Cao Benxi for many years, were interviewed by China University of Petroleum recently, and they recalled Cao Benxi's contributions in the field of nuclear chemical industry in the past, and invariably thought that he was a far-sighted and innovative nuclear chemical expert.
▲ Cao Benxi (center) and members of the Scientific Research Office of Beijing Petroleum Institute
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="188" > "Not saying doesn't mean it's not painful" is not painful</h1>
With Cao Benxi's transfer to the Second Machine Department, in the spring of 1963, the family of four also moved from the Family Hospital of Beijing Petroleum Institute to No. 5, Gate 63, Sanlihe District. His wife, Wei Yuzhi, is still teaching at the Petroleum Institute and returns once or twice a week, her daughter Cao Ying is a sophomore in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tsinghua University, and her son Cao Jue is boarding in the third year of junior high school in 101 Middle School, and the family's life is peaceful and stable.
Unexpectedly, in the winter of 1963, Cao Ying was found to have leukemia, and in the name of "returning to Beijing to report on work", Cao Benxi, who was performing production tasks at the 404 factory at that time, returned to Beijing to visit his daughter. At this time, at a critical moment in the production of nuclear fuel, Cao Benxi was worried about the production of the factory, stayed for only one month, arranged his daughter's hospitalization and treatment, and then returned to the 404 factory. Wang Shisheng, who followed him in the 404 factory, did not see anything unusual here, "I did not find that Cao always had any emotional fluctuations, and he threw himself into the work of supervising the squatting point as usual." It was not until Cao Ying's death in September 1965 that Wang Shisheng knew that in the previous year or so, Cao Benxi had endured such a great pain of losing his beloved daughter.
For Cao Ying's death, Cao Benxi did not show any emotional expressions, and even agreed to donate his daughter's body to Union Hospital for medical research. Today, more than 50 years later, Cao Jue mentioned that her sister still can't stop the tears, and you can imagine how Cao Benxi, who loves his daughter, experienced a pain like a heavy stone pressing his chest, not to say that it does not mean that it is not painful.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="189" > still try to complete the work of the mind in the last days</h1>
After 1980, Cao Benxi's body became weaker and weaker, but it was not until the autumn of 1982, when blood in the stool was found, that he went to the hospital for examination, and the doctor diagnosed rectal cancer and underwent surgery. In order not to affect the work, less than half a year after the operation, Cao Benxi ignored the doctor's objections and returned to work with an sleeve. As usual, he went through the literature to conduct research, participated in the discussion of technical routes, and in order to receive foreign experts to teach himself German, he was busy like a top, as if he did not pay any attention to the disease.
▲ Cao Benxi in the office
But by the end of 1983, Cao's condition had deteriorated dramatically, and he had died in a coma, unable to look at his family again.
Cao Jue said that after his illness, his father never mentioned a word of posthumous affairs to his family and people who came to visit, and he did not leave any instructions to his family in the last days, but only tried his best to complete several tasks that he was worried about.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="191" > wife's later years</h1>
Cao Benxi's death was a very big blow to his wife Wei Yuzhi, and she was sad to the extreme after the sudden death of her intimate partner who had been with her for decades. In order to ease her emotions, music became an important part of her life. Her son bought her a Sharp 777 tape recorder, for which she specially ordered two radio and television newspapers from the Central Committee and Beijing, and recorded her favorite music with a tape recorder at regular intervals according to the broadcast time of the music programs published in the newspapers. At that time, she recorded nearly 100 tapes of famous foreign symphonies, violin pieces, and piano pieces.
The couple, who met during their studies at Tsinghua University, are classmates in the Chemistry Department, have a common language, and interact a lot on weekdays. Cao Jue still remembers that when her parents were at home, they often read books and discussed chemical problems together in the study, and her mother sometimes could not understand some sentences in foreign literature, and her father would patiently explain them to her.
Later, Wei Yuzhi perked up and began to actively participate in public welfare activities to care for the elderly in their later years and help the elderly in need. She also donated half of her husband's only 20,000 yuan savings to the China Committee on Aging and half to the Yuetan Street Civil Affairs Department for the welfare of the elderly and the disabled. Cao Jue said that her mother did this not only for Cao Benxi's wishes, but also a little comfort for her husband who was tormented by illness before his death.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="193" > they commemorate Cao In their own way</h1>
To this day, Wang Shisheng and Jiang Yunqing are commemorating in their own way the old leader they respect in their hearts, Cao Benxi.
Wang Shisheng never forgot such a thing. During the Cultural Revolution, Cao Benxi lived in a unit and was forced to hand over part of the apartment he shared with others. There are three families living in one house, which brings a lot of inconvenience, especially after Cao Benxi has done rectal cancer surgery, it is very inconvenient to share the toilet. Until his death, the problem of sharing could not be solved. But he never said a word of complaint before his death. His strict self-discipline and self-denial in life are touching.
In Jiang Yunqing's bookcase, there is always a copy of the 1974 edition of the English-Chinese Chemical Vocabulary, which is a relic of his mentor Cao Benxi. Although the book is very old, he still reads it from time to time. Whenever he saw new words and translations that were not originally included in the book but were neatly filled by Cao Benxi with a ballpoint pen, he felt very kind.
Everyone remembers Cao Benxi, as Liu Jie, former director of the Second Machine Department, wrote in the preface to "Geng Gengdan's Heart Illuminates the Sun and the Moon - Cao Benxi's Commemorative Anthology": "His deeds are very touching, his life is respected and loved, and he is an outstanding representative of many advanced model figures and scientific and technological workers. I miss him and have a deep respect for him.". On January 15, 2020, at a symposium commemorating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the nuclear industry, Cao Benxi was awarded the Meritorious Service of China's Nuclear Industry.
▲ Statue of Cao Benxi
Planning | Yang Jinfeng
Edit | Xing Honglin Song Hanyu