This tortuous life experience is like a passionate symphony, with ups and downs, full of ups and downs, and brilliance. A legendary story from orphan to scientist destined to go down in history.
He went through the most cruel ordeal of his life, but he never gave up his ideals; In his pursuit of science, he encountered many obstacles, but in the end, with his indomitable will, he made outstanding contributions to the country. In his later years, he was even forced to sign an "unequal treaty", but he still worked hard and had no regrets. Who the hell is this person? How did his saga unfold? Let's walk into this magnificent journey of life together.
Curse of Fate: A Lonely Childhood
In 1925, Peng Shilu came to this world and was born into a revolutionary family. His father, Peng Pai, was an important leader of the early agrarian revolutionary movement of the Chinese Communist Party, and his mother, Cai Suping, was also a brave revolutionary. However, fate dealt him a heavy blow from the beginning.
When Peng Shilu was three years old, his mother was tragically killed and he became a victim of the revolutionary cause. A year later, his father, Peng Pai, was also arrested in Shanghai, and finally died heroically. Four-year-old Peng Shilu began a life of displacement without support and loneliness.
That rainy night, at a young age, he was carried on his back and ran wildly, and an angry roar came from behind him: "The one surnamed Peng is not allowed to stay, and the grass must be cut to the roots!" He bit his lip so hard that his mouth was full of blood. The revolutionaries managed to save the child's life with all their might.
Since then, Peng Shilu has lived a life without a fixed place and without food. He boarded in the homes of the revolutionary masses and was adopted by more than 20 families. In order to survive, he worked as a beggar, ate hundreds of meals, and lived a miserable life.
However, bad luck did not let him go. When he was eight years old, he and his "parents" who had protected him were all captured and imprisoned in Chao'an County Prison, and then transferred to Shantou Stone Fort Prison. There, the young Peng Shilu was brutally tortured. The enemy tried every means to extract a confession from him about the whereabouts of the revolutionaries, but he never confided a word. It was not until later that his comrades-in-arms, who had fought alongside his father, would rather be tortured than reveal his identity.
In the summer of 1936, 11-year-old Peng Shilu was imprisoned again. Fortunately, his grandmother in Hong Kong finally rescued him with great difficulty. However, fate's test for this child is far from over.
The dawn of ideals: to plunge into the fire of the revolution
The hardships of his childhood sharpened Peng Shilu's will, and he realized that the only way to change this dark world was to join the torrent of revolution. In 1938, at the age of 13, Peng Shilu secretly fled Hong Kong and joined the anti-Japanese guerrillas in Huiyang County, Guangdong, where he began his revolutionary career.
Although the life in the guerrillas was hard, Peng Shilu never feared. He learns military knowledge, participates in battles, and fights the enemy to the end. In 1940, at the age of 15, he was recommended to study at the Yan'an Cadre School. This was an important turning point in his life, Yan'an not only gave him the truth of the revolution, but also reshaped his life values.
In Yan'an, Peng Shilu witnessed the selfless love of ordinary people in northern Shaanxi for revolutionary soldiers. Despite the hardships of life, they always left the last dry rations for the front-line fighters. Peng Shilu was deeply moved by this spirit of treating the people as relatives, and he was determined to fight for the future of the people and the country all his life.
At the Yan'an Youth Cadre School, Peng Shilu studied Marxist theory and received rigorous revolutionary training. They work in the fields during the day and attend classes at night. Although the conditions are embarrassing, everyone's enthusiasm has not diminished in the slightest. Peng Shilu volunteered to work as a nurse in the Central Hospital, caring for the wounded and sick, and was rated as a model nurse. When he was about to graduate, he took the initiative to ask for the most difficult post to exercise.
After graduating, Peng Shilu successively worked in the Xuanhua Coking Plant, Shijiazhuang Coking Plant and Explosives Factory, implementing the tenet of "hard work and absolute loyalty to the revolution" everywhere. In 1945, he was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology with excellent results. After graduating, the organization approved the opportunity for Peng Shilute to go to the Soviet Union for further study, which was a very high recognition for him.
During his six years in the Soviet Union, Peng Shilu made unimaginable efforts. He never rested before 12 midnight and completed his studies in difficult circumstances with a thirst for knowledge and loyalty to the revolutionary cause. In 1956, at the age of 30, Peng Shilu graduated with honors from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Machinery and was ready to return to China.
It was at this time that a major need for nuclear submarine research erupted in China. When the young Chen Geng informed Peng Shilu that he was eligible to choose to study nuclear power, Peng Shilu agreed without hesitation. It was a difficult project that almost exhausted his life's energy, but he was willing to give up everything as long as the motherland needed it. So, this 30-year-old young man once again shouldered the heavy responsibility of sailing and opened another legendary chapter in his life.
The arduous journey of scientific research
Victory in the first battle: China's first nuclear submarine is launched
In 1958, Peng Shilu returned to China after completing his studies and was assigned to work at the Beijing Institute of Atomic Energy. In the same year, China's nuclear-powered submarine project was officially launched, and Peng Shilu became one of the core researchers.
At that time, nuclear submarine technology was a completely new field in China. They only have two blurry photographs and a toy model of a nuclear submarine bought from the United States on hand for reference. Due to the lack of precedents and experience, they can only grope little by little and build a theoretical system from scratch.
In the face of many difficulties, Peng Shilu and his colleagues never flinched. They worked all night, in the dorm room and in the lab. The progress of scientific research is slow, but they never give up, and they are persevering and tireless in every small progress.
In 1964, with the hard work of scientific and technological personnel across the country, a physical model of China's first nuclear submarine was successfully launched. Although it is only a beginning, it is of great significance to China, marking a key step in the development of nuclear submarines on the mainland.
Brave the difficulties: go forward and give up returning to China
Although China's nuclear submarine industry has made a good start, the road ahead is full of difficulties. At first, the Soviet Union promised technical assistance, but soon rejected the promise, citing "insufficient conditions in China."
In the face of this blow, Peng Shilu was not discouraged. He understood that this was a path that had to be self-reliant. In 1961, he was appointed the general head of the nuclear power unit, leading the work of the laboratory.
Since then, Peng Shilu and the team have entered a hard-fought battle. They studied reactor theory from scratch, delved into core design, and did their own experiments. Sometimes a small structural problem has to be calculated and carefully analyzed hundreds of times.
Bigger challenges are yet to come. In the mid-1960s, the United States abruptly halted all exports to China, and even the most basic parts were embargoed. In order to solve the dilemma of not being able to obtain key components such as fuel rods, they can only explore new raw materials and new production routes on their own.
And in this process, every step forward has to be put under tremendous pressure and difficulty. Some colleagues couldn't stand the pressure and fell ill, and some relatives passed away due to physical and mental exhaustion, but Peng Shilu never wavered and always gritted his teeth and moved forward.
Days and nights in a foreign land: blood and sweat forge greatness
In the late 1960s, in order to overcome one technical difficulty after another, Peng Shilu had to go to the Soviet Union again to engage in field research on nuclear reactors.
In that foreign land, he lived a very hard life. I work from 5 a.m. every day and don't rest until late at night. In order to save time, he rented a hut near the dormitory, and continued to work after a simple bite of dry steamed buns in the house at noon.
At the same time, he has a lot of transactional work to do. Write a long technical report every week and communicate with domestic units constantly. Outside of work, he also finds time to learn Russian in order to do his job better. Peng Shilu really gave too much, but never complained to anyone.
I forgot how many days and nights, and he stayed up like this for 5 years. During this time, he was alone in a foreign country, never returned home, and never saw his wife and children. It wasn't until 1973 that he finally completed his last nuclear reactor project, ending his long journey to study abroad.
Peng Shilu, who was over half a hundred years old at the time, paved the way for the take-off of China's nuclear submarine industry with his sweat and blood during this period.
The rise of the backbone of a great power
The nuclear power industry has made new contributions
In the mid-1970s, after significant progress in nuclear submarines, Peng Shilu was assigned to work in the field of nuclear power plant engineering.
At that time, China's nuclear power plant construction was just starting, and technology and experience were scarce. In the face of a new major task, Peng Shilu once again showed the determination to go all out without hesitation.
In 1977, he was commissioned to lead the design of the reactor island for the mainland's first nuclear power plant. The future of the work was uncertain and difficult, but Peng Shilu only asked one question: "What does the country need me to do?" ＂
Since then, he has led the team to forget to sleep and eat, and started a new and vast journey. From site selection to process design, from approval to construction, every detail has been repeatedly scrutinized to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
At the same time, he has taken on a variety of roles to assist in the overall planning and development of the country's nuclear power industry. Due to the lack of precedent, they had to grope their way forward from scratch.
In this process, Peng Shilu has encountered major bottlenecks many times. For example, if the design of key components such as the reactor core and control rods was not perfect, they recalculated and experimented from scratch, sometimes hundreds of times. Some problems have not been solved for a long time, so he simply asked the engineers to work first, and then make practical corrections when there is new progress.
In this way, with the unremitting efforts of Peng Shilu and his team, China's first nuclear power plant was completed in 1991 and successfully connected to the grid for power generation, marking a major breakthrough in the mainland's nuclear power industry.
Hardship and transcendence of oneself
During the construction of the nuclear power plant, Peng Shilu once again showed a chubby but rock-determined style.
He worked the construction site all year round, supervised the construction, and lived with the workers. Even though he was in his old age, he was reluctant to get up after 6 a.m. Every morning at 5 o'clock, when others are still asleep, Peng Shilu is already running around the construction site.
Sometimes, when confronted with difficult problems, he would immediately convene a meeting of all parties to study countermeasures, and the meeting time often lasted until midnight. When he returned to his accommodation, he had to check the drawings and materials, and he had little time to rest.
Life is so poor, but Peng Shilu never complains, but always encourages the people around him. Once, when a young engineer had health problems due to working overtime for several weeks in a row, Peng Shilu not only took care of him personally, but also comforted him and said: "Don't be sad, it is worth contributing to the country." ＂
In this persistent and tenacious struggle, Peng Shilu has broken through many difficulties again and again with extraordinary perseverance, and finally made significant progress in China's nuclear power industry.
Forced to "sign unequal treaties" in his later years
Just when Peng Shilu was passing the old age, he had to face the biggest humiliation in his life.
In 1985, in order to speed up the construction of nuclear power plants, the Chinese government decided to transfer nuclear power technology to France. Peng Shilu is one of the main leaders responsible for foreign technology transfer and training.
However, in the course of the negotiations, the French side put forward an absurd and unreasonable condition: Peng Shilu, who was in charge of technology transfer, and his team members were required to sign a strict "unequal treaty" when they were trained, and give up all the fruits of their intellectual labor in nuclear power technology.
In the face of this unreasonable demand of the French side, Peng Shilu and his colleagues were extremely indignant. They would rather choose to postpone technology transfer than sign this contract to "buy Laos" lightly. However, policymakers at the top believe that it is a helpless expedient measure to acquire advanced French technology in order to speed up the pace of nuclear power construction on the mainland, and to swallow their anger for the time being.
In the end, under the pressure of the organization, Peng Shilu, who was too old, reluctantly signed the "unequal treaty". Since then, whenever he talks about it, this old man, who has been arrested twice and has worked hard all his life, sheds tears of anger.
A hundred years of solitude at sunset
A lifetime of dedication to the motherland
Peng Shilu's life is an epic of hard work. In his nearly 100 years, almost every major time node has been accompanied by hardships and hardships.
From childhood displacement, to the smoke of war in youth; From the poor years of Yan'an caves in the 40s to the lonely wandering in a foreign country in the 60s; From the groping of nuclear submarines to the expansion of nuclear power plants. Along the way, Peng Shilu has made outstanding contributions to the country's scientific and technological undertakings with his own blood and sweat.
He was a pioneer in the motherland's nuclear submarine industry and personally promoted the advent of China's first nuclear-powered submarine; He was a pioneer in the construction of nuclear power plants in China, leading the team to complete the construction of the first nuclear power plant in mainland China; He is also a benchmark for national independent innovation, and has spent his whole life overcoming technical difficulties and paving the way for the development of China's nuclear power.
It can be said that without Peng Shilu's unremitting efforts, there would be no take-off of China's nuclear power industry today; Without generations of scientists bravely shouldering heavy burdens like him, the road to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation would be far away.
A lonely shadow for a hundred years
He has worked diligently all his life, just to serve the country without regrets. However, in the face of selfless dedication, history still gave Peng Shilu a heavy price after all.
The long-term separation and struggle made him a stranger to his loved ones. When the wife was alive, it was difficult for them to be together; Since his son became sensible, Peng Shilu has never called him "son" in person. What is even more regrettable is that his only daughter died in the 80s of the last century, and Peng Shilu was still fighting at work in a foreign country when he died.
After retirement, Peng Shilu lived a very different life. He lives in an ordinary bachelor apartment, and relies on tai chi every day to maintain his health, eating some simple vegetables as three meals a day.
Despite this, his heart has never changed his sincere heart for the motherland. Even in the most difficult times, he insisted on saving money to contribute to the construction of the country.
Until the end of his life, the 90-year-old still couldn't let go of work. He often walks more than 10 minutes from his residence to a small scientific research base to talk to young people about new nuclear power technologies. Listening to his crisp voice, it was hard to believe that this was the man who had been arrested twice and his family was ruined.
end
A hundred years of loneliness, a lifetime of loneliness, this is the portrayal of Peng Shilu's life. He used everything he had to hold up the motherland's scientific and technological dream, but he was homeless and had no children to comfort. But he did not regret it, but always had a pure heart for the motherland, and this noble character will be immortal.