Drawing | Wang Ruonan
Rao Yi | Ren Zhishou: Mr. Yang Zhenning
Inside page of Mr. Yang Zhenning's Centennial Anthology | Photo courtesy: Rao Yi This article is an article published by Rao Yi in the "Collected Writings on the Centenary of Mr. Yang Zhenning's Centenary Birthday" published by Rao Yi at the Institute for Advanced Study of Tsinghua University.
Written by | Rao Yi
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Referring to the Analects is a shortcut to writing About Mr. Yang Zhenning.
Not only did the titles immediately exist and the six subheadings four, but the feeling of seeing Mr. Yang every time was described by the words that the Analects had already written: "A gentleman is like a man."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" > the smartest person I know</h1>
The Analects attach great importance to the wisdom of interpersonal relations, but do not attach much importance to the intelligence of intelligence, and this subtitle has to be self-drafted.
Mr. Yang Zhenning is the smartest person I know.
Mr. Yang's many outstanding scientific achievements are recognized by physicists.
Mr. Yang's intelligence and wisdom can be felt in ordinary, non-scientific interactions. I now regret that I not only listened carefully to Mr. Yang's speech at that time, but also recorded it afterwards. But it has only been recorded once, so it is not easy to say why Mr. Yang is the smartest. Maybe you can only rely on feelings, from twenty or thirty meetings and more than a hundred emails (my computer lacks pre-2011 emails, and 72 copies of the emails kept are from Mr. Yang).
Although I also know a few mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and computer scientists, it is mainly biologists who can judge, so the comparison has sample limitations.
Some of the Biology Nobel laureates think they are stupid. Compared with pure mathematics and theoretical physics, biology, like many industries, does not require high IQ. If there is enough time to accumulate, most people can do well (or even outstanding). There are also some who are more intelligent in the field of biology, some of whom can do a good job of research, but there are also many delays, because intelligence plays a smaller role in biology. If Shi Yigong won the Nobel Prize for biological research one day, it was not the strength of his intelligence.
Co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, American biologist Jim Watson (Watson, 1928-), is six years younger than Mr. Yang Zhenning. Watson's scientific contributions are outstanding. Most people recognize Watson and the British physicist Francis Crick (Crick, 1916-2004) as the most important biological work of the twentieth century when they proposed the double helix in 1953. While I think it's second in importance to the work of Avery et al. in 1944 in proposing that DNA is genetic material, there's no doubt that the DNA double helix is indeed crucial.
Several of Watson's books have been read by many people. I taught students in the Molecular Biology of Genes, which he edited. In 2017, Watson visited Tsinghua University, and Mr. Yang shared the stage with him. In 2018, both of them also visited Westlake University. The Watsons came to my house as a guest. When Watson and Mr. Yang are together, it's hard not to be compared. Born later, Watson is not as clear as Mr. Yang's mind in terms of logical thinking, language expression and reaction speed. Comparing the writings and speeches of the two of them when they were young, I also felt that Mr. Yang was better.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="171" > Gentleman Wilder</h1>
Mr. Yang cares about major events, the world, China, and science.
Mr. Yang has his own unique insight into the past, present and future of the world and China. Some are profound, some are interesting, sometimes people are suddenly enlightened, sometimes they feel lofty and majestic.
Mr. Yang completely proceeded from the public mind, rational analysis, and came up with his own views.
Confucius's "Gentleman's Frankness" is applicable to Chinese figures similar to Mr. Yang, and the description of their temperament is a stroke of the gods.
Mr. Yang's views on society have caused misunderstandings. For example, I suspect that some of the things he expresses are what he feels is a reasonable pace and pace, while being thought to be what he thinks is the ultimate goal.
Mr. Yang does not influence his views on business because of his personal interests. I sense he has a misunderstanding. He felt that Mr. Deng Xiaoping was not happy with him after opposing the Beijing collider, so he did not see Mr. Yang for several years around 1980. I suspect that at that time, China was in ruins and was waiting to be revived, and there were many more things for Chinese leaders, reducing the frequency of courtesy meeting foreign guests without special matters being discussed. But this misunderstanding did not prevent Mr. Yang from highly admiring Deng Xiaoping.
For the development and future of Chinese science, Mr. Yang has provided long-term support and assistance in many ways. Two things I am familiar with in recent years have mr. Yang's support.
In 2016, I participated in the launch of the Future Science Prize and identified 7 of the first 9 members of the Committee of Scientists. Mr. Yang is very supportive of this award, which has made important scientific contributions to the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, from its conception to the award. Shi Yigong and I invited Mr. Yang to attend the first award ceremony on January 17, 2017.
In 2018, Ma Huateng and I proposed the establishment of the "Science Exploration Award". For this award in support of young scientists in China, Mr. Yang not only became one of the initiators, but also participated in the nomination of candidates and supported younger generations of young scientists for two consecutive years. In 2019, I invited Mr. Yang to attend the award ceremony on November 2, and mr. Yang, 97, not only attended but also delivered a speech. On November 4, Mr. Yang also sent an email to affirm the "Science Exploration Award".
Mr. Yang's teaching, motivation, participation and moral supervision are very important for establishing and upholding the fairest and most honorable scientific award in China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="172" > gentleman is righteous</h1>
Mr. Yang looks at the problem from the perspective of righteousness.
On the occasion of Mr. Yang's presence, everyone can get spiritual enjoyment and ideological sublimation from his words.
In the vocabulary of the Analects, Mr. Yang is "polite and polite". Mr. Yang has not approved of the large collider for decades, but it is all conceptual, based on his understanding of the development of physics and his understanding of the significance of the large collider. His criticism is right about things and not about people. Moreover, Mr. Yang did not initiate an open debate, but was only forced to make his attitude public after being publicly drawn into the debate and feeling that he was being placed in an inappropriate understanding.
In 2016, Mr. Yang and Wang Yifang published an open debate in The Intellectual, which had very different views and was a relatively influential event in china's scientific community that year. Neither side exerted influence outside of the article. In 2019, Wang Yifang won the Material Science Award of the Future Science Award. Mr. Yang not only never criticized our award committee for issuing the wrong award beforehand and afterwards, but also personally attended the award ceremony. This is a natural outpouring of Mr. Yang's gentlemanly demeanor.
"Gentlemen are gentle but not arrogant". Mr. Yang is not opinionated, let alone condescending. In Hong Kong and Beijing, I have seen the editor-in-chief of the Toward the Future Series discuss and argue with Mr. Yang. Once the other party's voice was urgent and his face was red, but Mr. Yang did not mind at all. Mr. Yang provided great help to his return to China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="173" > the beauty of a gentleman's adulthood</h1>
In the year mr. Yang won the prize, my third uncle was a junior in the Physics Department of Peking University, and he and physics teachers and students throughout China were deeply encouraged. His great-uncle was a theoretical physicist and nuclear physicist, and while in Germany in the 1980s, Mr. Yang visited the institute of his mentor. My uncle and aunt, who taught college physics, also visited Mr. Yang in the United States in 1991.
Mr. Yang suggested that physics teaching should integrate the history of physics, and my aunt used it very effectively. Mr. Yang's knowledge of the history of science goes beyond physics, and he also knows about the history of biology such as Chinese electrophysiologist Ling Ning and Chinese physiologist Feng Depei. Mr. Yang was a member of the advisory board of the famous Salk Institute of Biology in the United States, and when faced with controversy over major directions, he vigorously pushed the institute to adhere to the foundation and pursue excellence.
After 2006, I myself had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Yang closely, and often witnessed Mr. Yang's habit of helping others and promoting young people in many ways.
The first time I heard about Tian Gang and Xia Zhihong was because I read that Mr. Yang Zhenning publicly praised Tian and Xia for their outstanding mathematical achievements in the 1990s. Mr. Yang's evaluation has made many people pay attention to Tian and Xia. Ten years later, I met Xia Zhihong at Northwest University and Tian Gang at Peking University.
Physicist Zhang Shousheng once told me how Mr. Yang Zhenning communicated with him at length to discuss physics problems. Mr. Yang has affirmed Zhang Shousheng's achievements in physics on many occasions.
In 2006, Xiaodong Wang, a biology winner of the Shaw Prize, gave a speech at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I happen to be at HKUST. At lunch, Mr. Yang asked Wang Xiaodong to call me over, which was the first time I had the privilege of talking to Mr. Yang. Soon, I went to the residence of Mr. Yang of Tsinghua University, met Weng Fan and physicist Nie Huatong, and then went to the C Institute for dinner.
Mr. Yang has given me valuable support and teachings on many occasions and in many ways. After my article about Tu Youyou and Zhang Tingdong came out in 2011, and after my article describing the impact of the new crown epidemic on my family came out in 2020, Mr. Yang sent an email to affirm it. Mr. Yang's occasional gentle reminders and my wife's frequent reminders are the two main reasons why in recent years I have found that I need to reflect more on myself and listen more to the opinions of others.
Mr. Yang's selfless dedication to Tsinghua. He also supports Peking University, for example by participating in my teaching work at Peking University. I used to offer an undergraduate "What Is Science" elective. The first class was to invite Mr. Yang to give a lecture, which was a good teaching for undergraduate students at Peking University.
Mr. Yang twice asked me to take his place at international scientific events. I was unable to make the trip in Japan because I did not have a U.S. passport or a Chinese passport. On that occasion, other countries went to Nobel Laureates, and my daughter and I enjoyed the "treatment" of a Nobel Laureate. After Shi Yigong returned to China, Zhao Renbin soon took his children back to China. Mr. Yang and Weng Fan also participated in the two schools to welcome Yigong and Renbin to settle in Tsinghua. Yigong's article describes part of Mr. Yang's many supports for him.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="174" > gentleman weekly</h1>
Mr. Yang advocated "gentlemen meet with literature". After I returned to China full-time in 2007, Mr. Yang proposed to have a small gathering and exchange with professors from the two universities.
I arranged for scholars from Peking University, Tsinghua University, HKUST, Academy of Sciences, and Beijing Hospital to take turns to gather at Peking University and Tsinghua University. Each time there is an exchange first, one person leads, and then discusses, dinner.
The first time was at the Tsinghua Institute for Advanced Study, where Mr. Yang gave a lecture. Mr. Yang's speech, like his cultural articles, is fresh and timeless.
These exchanges have benefited me a lot, built a scientific culture, increased my insights, and learned about multiple disciplines and different people.
However, Mr. Yang "does not compare with the week". Although many of us have great respect and admiration for Mr. Yang, he does not exert any other influence on us.
As one of the editors-in-chief of The Intellectuals (Editor's Note: This article was written in early September 2021, and Rao Yi stepped down as the editor-in-chief of the Intellectuals on September 18, 2021 to become the editorial board of the Intellectuals), I participated more in the early days, and then the editorial department itself did a good job, and my participation gradually decreased, and I did not have to participate later.
Some Chinese people younger than me criticized me violently because the "Intellectuals" published articles signed by the author, raised their eyebrows coldly, and even never came back. Several of these articles I have not read in advance, not to mention that the author is responsible for the text, and the published text does not represent the consent of the editor-in-chief or the editorial department. If the published articles all represent the views of the editorial board, it is a very poor platform. If Intellectuals publishes views that I personally agree with, it should be closed.
In sharp contrast, Mr. Yang Zhenning has never expressed his displeasure in any way about what words are published in the journals in which he reveres his descendants. Mr. Yang has also never exerted any influence in any way. This is due to Mr. Yang's gentlemanly demeanor, which is admirable.
There was an article that was later found to contain content that seemed to allude to Mr. Yang. There is also an article, which can be seen in advance that there is a great prejudice against Mr. Yang. However, in the dilemma of respecting the author who bears the responsibility of the text and worrying about Mr. Yang's opinion, we finally published it according to the author's original text according to the fair editorial policy. In both articles, Mr. Yang did not blame us in the slightest. In fact, the title and content of the second part are obvious, and It is impossible for Mr. Yang not to notice it. I think that on the one hand, Mr. Yang is generous, and on the other hand, he is confident enough not to worry about the fact that an article can change history.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="175" > Mr. Yang's conservatism</h1>
Freeman Dyson, a British physicist in the United States, calls Mr. Yang's style of physics a "conservative revolutionary."
I have some experience with Mr. Yang's conservatism.
Around 1996, when I was teaching in the United States, I faxed Mr. Yang a suggestion, hoping that he would participate in the initiative to build a research university in China. At that time, my idea was based on the Chinese Academy of Sciences, because the higher schools did not seem to have enough power. Mr. Yang replied to the fax in one sentence, to the effect that it was too early.
I later proposed directly to Mr. Zhou Guangzhao, and the reply I got was that higher education institutions should be allowed to build research universities. Of course, I felt that the research in higher education was still far behind, so there was no connection to the education system. But in 1999, China began to build a world-class university, from the initial slogan, to more than a decade later, China did make great strides in the process of building a research university. In this case, Mr. Yang and I both expected China's development to be slower than they actually were. To be precise, Mr. Yang is more conservative than I am.
In 2012, Mr. Yang was 90 years old. It so happened that Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian-Jewish neurobiologist and the first laureate of the Centenary Nobel Prize, published a research paper at the age of 102. I wrote an introduction to this and sent it to Mr. Yang. Mr. Yang replied that he had just published a physics paper. I wish him a record for italian biologists to publish his paper at the age of 105.
Mr. Yang replied at the time: Confident 95 years old.
Facts have once again proved that Mr. Yang is too conservative.
In the summer of 2020, Mr. Yang, Weng Fan and our husband and wife had lunch, and Mr. Yang had a clear thinking and no tiredness for three hours, and his energy and state were obviously better than mine. If I don't update my expectations, it's a lack of confidence in myself.
Moreover, the times are advancing, health is improving, and the grandfather of a father will be 110 years old.
I should reflect on myself: don't be too conservative, and update the desire to write an article for Mr. Yang at the age of 105 ten years ago to the expectation that Mr. Yang is writing an article at the age of 110.
September 5, 2021