On February 1, 1956, Mao Zedong and Qian Xuesen had a cordial conversation at a banquet
"You are much stronger than five divisions"
One
On February 1, 1956, Mao Zedong hosted some members attending the Second Session of the Second National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai. During the meal after the meeting, Qian Xuesen, a famous scientist who came to the meeting, walked to the 37th table where he was with an invitation card, but found that there was no table sign with his name written on the table. The staff stepped forward to explain, saying that Mao Zedong had looked at the list before, and saw that Qian Xuesen was arranged at the 37th table, so he deliberately ticked his name to the first table and sat with him, and the position was on Mao Zedong's right hand. At this moment, Mao Zedong came to the banquet hall amid the applause of the audience and warmly greeted Qian Xuesen: "Comrade Xuesen, please sit here!" Qian Xuesen was pleasantly surprised. As soon as he sat down, Mao Zedong began to talk to him enthusiastically. Mao Zedong happily said to Qian Xuesen: "I heard that the Americans treat you as five divisions!" I see that for us, you are much more powerful than five divisions. I am working on your engineering cybernetics, which I will use to direct the economic construction of the continent. At this moment, the photographer seized the moment when the two were smiling and pressed the camera shutter.
Qian Xuesen was cordially received by Mao Zedong at least six times. The story behind this has to start from the beginning.
Qian Xuesen was born in Shanghai in 1911, and after graduating from the then National Chiao Tung University in 1934, he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology in the United States for further study, and then taught at these two universities. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Qian Xuesen was very excited and thought that the time had come to serve the motherland. At that time, McCarthyism was rampant in the United States, and he was imprisoned, and a large number of notes and materials accumulated over the years were confiscated. The news of Qian Xuesen's persecution in the United States spread back to China, and domestic scientists actively organized solidarity. After Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai learned about it, they also tried every possible way to create conditions through diplomatic channels to strive for Qian Xuesen and other scientists studying in the United States to return to China as soon as possible. After several twists and turns, it was not until September 1955 that Qian Xuesen was able to embark on a passenger ship back to China with his wife and a pair of children. It can be said that it was Qian Xuesen's heart to serve the country that supported him to give up his preferential treatment in the United States, overcome many difficulties and obstacles, and resolutely return to the embrace of the motherland.
For China at that time, there was no shortage of generals who had been on the battlefield for a long time and commanded large corps, but top scientists like Qian Xuesen who stood at the commanding heights of their field were rare. Qian Xuesen's return is not only of great significance to the mainland's aerospace industry, but also has an exemplary role in attracting more overseas students to serve the country with science and technology. Out of his sincere admiration for scientists and patriots, Mao Zedong would take the time to have in-depth conversations with Qian Xuesen and other scientists every time he met them, listen to their opinions and suggestions on scientific and technological work, ask them about their difficulties in work and life, and repeatedly exhort and encourage them to cultivate more scientific and technological talents, especially young scientific and technological talents, for the motherland.
On the afternoon of January 25, 1956, Mao Zedong presided over the sixth meeting of the Supreme State Council, which mainly discussed the "National Agricultural Development Program from 1956 to 1967 (Draft)". Qian Xuesen and other scientists were also invited to participate. Due to the large amount of content to be discussed, the meeting dragged on until the evening, and everyone temporarily decided to take a break and continue the meeting after eating something. When Qian Xuesen was resting in the lounge, Mao Zedong came to him and shook hands with him cordially and asked him about his current situation. During the chat, Mao Zedong also asked Qian Xuesen about "whether elementary particles are divisible" and other questions, and said that "elementary particles are also divisible". Due to the limitations of the level of observation and research at that time, the international academic community had not yet reached a conclusion on this issue, and Qian Xuesen could neither affirm nor deny it. But later developments in physics have taken the issue a step further. Qian Xuesen once said: "Chairman Mao made a very incisive exposition on the question of the infinite separability of matter from the height of materialist dialectics. ”
Just a few months after returning to China, he was cordially received by Mao Zedong, and Qian Xuesen was undoubtedly relieved and excited. After that, in 1956 and 1958, Mao Zedong had two in-depth talks with Qian Xuesen, not only about work and life, but also on the macro strategic issues of the mainland's scientific and technological development. History has proved that Mao Zedong had great trust and respect for Qian Xuesen and other scientists.
On October 16, 1964, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and others met with all the personnel participating in the performance of the large-scale music and dance epic "Dongfang Hong".
Two
In the mid-to-late 50s of the 20 th century, with the rapid development of medium- and long-range missiles by the two nuclear superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, both sides began to study how to effectively defend themselves against each other's missiles launching attacks on their own territory. The United States has successively deployed missile interception systems such as "Nikee-Zeus," "Sentinel," and "Guard," while the Soviet Union has deployed "rubber galoshes" anti-missile interception systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In order to break the nuclear threat of the United States and the Soviet Union, while actively developing the "two bombs," Mao Zedong and other leaders also proposed to study and develop the mainland's own anti-missile defense strategy and equipment.
On February 6, 1964, Mao Zedong invited Zhu Kezhen, Li Siguang, and Qian Xuesen to Zhongnanhai to talk about scientific work. When talking with Qian Xuesen about cutting-edge technology in the field of national defense science and technology, Mao Zedong said that the United States and the Soviet Union and other countries regard anti-missile technology as a key move for their countries to win the initiative in strategy, and that anti-missile weapons and related strategies and tactics are highly complex, and it is necessary to have special personnel to study them. Engage a small number of people to study this issue. Five years will not work, ten years; Ten years will not work, fifteen years, it will have to be done." In this regard, Qian Xuesen agreed, and put forward opinions based on his own expertise, which was affirmed by Mao Zedong. More than a month later, with the support of Mao Zedong, Qian Xuesen presided over a seminar on ballistic missile defense technology. At this meeting, China's anti-missile technology research and development project was named "Project 640," and there are a number of sub-projects under it. Although the project was finally discontinued in 1982 due to the fact that the project exceeded the domestic technical level at that time and was interfered with by the "Cultural Revolution", the project still overcame many key technical problems in the implementation process, and accumulated valuable technology and experience for the subsequent development of aerospace science and technology and defense industry. Today, the fact that the mainland has been able to achieve such great achievements in ballistic missile technology, anti-missile technology, anti-satellite technology, advanced artillery, advanced radar, and various supporting tracking and control technologies has a direct bearing on the implementation of this project.
During the ten years of the "Cultural Revolution", Mao Zedong was always very concerned about the work and life of Qian Xuesen and other scientists, and repeatedly instructed them to protect and take care of them. In 1970, during the celebration of May Day, Qian Xuesen climbed the Tiananmen Tower as a representative of the ceremony. Mao Zedong once again had a cordial conversation with him and encouraged him to "go among the masses and unite with them." In 1975, on the occasion of the first session of the Fourth National People's Congress, Mao Zedong specifically told Zhou Enlai to check whether there were two people in the list of deputies, Qian Xuesen and Hou Baolin, and if not, they must be made up.
After Mao Zedong's death, Qian Xuesen was grief-stricken. On September 16, 1976, he published an article in the People's Daily entitled "Never Forget Chairman Mao's Cordial Teachings", recalling that he had been received by Mao Zedong six times and expressed his sorrow. The first paragraph of the article reads:
In the moment of great sorrow, the memories of the past are vivid. Twenty-one years ago, under the care of the great leader Chairman Mao, after arduous struggle and the support of American friends, I finally returned to the great socialist motherland. After returning to China, the great leader Chairman Mao personally taught me many times, and each time he pointed me out the direction to continue to move forward, and each time it gave me the strength to climb the peak. The reason why I am where I am today is because of Chairman Mao and the Communist Party.
It can be said that the exchanges between Mao Zedong and Qian Xuesen are a true portrayal of the party and state leaders of that generation who respected science and talent and worked hard for the fate of the country and the nation.
"Our first atomic bomb test was successful!"
One
On October 16, 1964, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other central leaders came to the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People to meet with all the personnel who participated in the creation and performance of the music and dance epic "Dongfang Hong", and took a group photo. After the group photo, Zhou Enlai announced a good news to the cast and crew present - the first atomic bomb explosion test in New China was successful. This photo has thus become an important historical witness in the history of the development of national defense science and technology in New China. Whenever you see it, you feel like you're back to that exciting time.
After World War II, the international situation gradually evolved from the confrontation between the two camps of the East and the West to a nuclear arms race between the two superpowers, and even nuclear blackmail against neighboring countries. In the 50s of the 20th century, during the Korean War and the two Taiwan Strait crises, the United States repeatedly clamored for the use of atomic bombs against China. Mao Zedong once said with deep feeling: "We must not only have more planes and artillery, but also atomic bombs." In today's world, we can't live without this thing if we want to be bullied by others. ”
On January 15, 1955, Mao Zedong presided over an enlarged meeting of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee in Zhongnanhai to study the development of atomic energy. Scientists Li Siguang and Qian Sanqiang and Liu Jie, secretary of the party group and vice minister of the Ministry of Geology, were invited to attend the meeting and reported on China's atomic energy scientific research and uranium resources. After hearing this, Mao Zedong said: "This matter always has to be caught. Now it's time to catch. As long as you put it on the schedule and grasp it carefully, you will definitely be able to get it started. Now that the Soviet Union is assisting us, we must do a good job, and we will certainly be able to do a good job if we do it ourselves. As long as we have people and resources, we can create any miracle. "This meeting made a strategic decision for China to develop its atomic energy industry.
The Soviet Union was the only socialist country at that time that had nuclear bombs and missiles. China was developing nuclear bombs and missiles in the hope of receiving technical assistance from the Soviet Union. As a result of the talks, the two countries signed a number of agreements on the Soviet Union's assistance to China in the development of atomic bombs and missiles. However, on June 20, 1959, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union sent a telegram to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, under the pretext that the Soviet Union and the United States were negotiating an agreement on a ban on nuclear testing in Geneva, and intended to interrupt the provision of all technical information to China on the development of the atomic bomb. In August 1960, all the Soviet experts who worked in the system of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry were withdrawn to the country, and all important drawings and materials were taken away, and the supply of raw materials and equipment was stopped. At that time, China was in a difficult period of three years, and Western public opinion gloated, saying that China would not be able to build an atomic bomb in 20 years.
Under these circumstances, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China resolutely decided to build the atomic bomb on its own initiative. The vast number of scientific research workers did not lose heart, but continued to be busy under very difficult conditions. It was precisely because of that telegram in June 1959 that China's first atomic bomb development project was given the code name "596" to show that it would not forget its "national shame."
By the second half of 1961, the development of the atomic bomb had reached the stage of tackling key technologies, and the investment was getting bigger and bigger, and the country's economic difficulties were becoming more serious. At this time, there was a heated debate between "getting on the horse" and "getting off the horse".
In July of this year, the Central Military Commission held a national defense industry conference in Beidaihe. At the meeting, it was said that the Soviet Union had openly announced that it would stop aid, and that we would not only have many technical difficulties in developing sophisticated weapons, but also that the existing industrial base was too weak to ensure the supply of raw materials. The country's entire economic situation is full of difficulties, and all aspects need money, and sophisticated weapons cost too much money, and if they are carried out by force, it will not only affect the development and production of conventional weapons, but will also drag down the development of the national economy. The best thing to do is to take off for the time being and wait for the country's economy to improve. Others look at the problem from the perspective of national defense strategy, believing that it is worth investing more in a long-term nuclear shield. Suspension will only make the foundation that has been established fall into obsolescence, and the disbandment of the team is tantamount to starting all over again, which is not the solution to the problem. The two opinions are in sharp opposition.
When the Politburo meeting discussed this issue, there were still differences of opinion and disputes. In the end, the meeting decided to send people down to investigate and find out the actual situation. In accordance with the requirements of the meeting, Zhang Aiping, Liu Xiyao, and others conducted solid investigations and studies on some factories, mines, and research institutes in the western region, had full exchanges with nuclear engineering experts and technicians, and soon submitted a "Report on the Basic Situation of the Construction of the Atomic Energy Industry and Several Problems to be Urgently Resolved" to the central authorities. According to the analysis of the report, this major project seems to be a big plate, but in fact many things are contained in various sectors of the national economy. Therefore, the key is not how much to invest, but to tap the potential of each department.
In the end, Mao Zedong made a final decision and decided that "the research and trial production of cutting-edge weapons should still be carried out as soon as possible, and we must not relax or dismount."
Two
In 1962, the development of the atomic bomb entered its most intense phase. On October 30, Luo Ruiqing, then chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, submitted a report to Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee, proposing that efforts should be made to explode the first atomic bomb in 1964, and that to achieve this goal, it was necessary to obtain strong human and material support from the whole country, and suggested that a special committee be established to strengthen the leadership of the atomic energy industry. Mao Zedong issued an instruction on November 3: "Very good, do as it is." It is necessary to vigorously coordinate this work to do a good job. ”
On the same day that Mao Zedong gave instructions, the Central Special Committee was established. Since then, the atomic bomb has ceased to be led by the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, but has become a national grand strategy. More than 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, 26 relevant ministries and commissions, and more than 900 factories, universities, and research institutes have closely coordinated and formed a good situation of concerted cooperation in the development of the atomic bomb.
In 1964, just as the continent's atomic bomb technology had just passed, American hegemonists threatened that if China were to carry out a nuclear explosion, they would destroy its nuclear facilities. Mao Zedong and the Party Central Committee resolutely decided to conduct a nuclear test immediately if there was a risk. Mao Zedong said: The atomic bomb is scary, not necessarily used; Since it is scary, it will ring early.
At 15 o'clock on October 16, 1964, the mainland successfully exploded its first atomic bomb at the Lop Nur test site. When Zhou Enlai reported the good news to Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong instructed very calmly: "Whether it is a real nuclear explosion or not, we must find out." Mao Zedong was well aware of the weight of China's first atomic bomb, and he once again instructed: "Continue to observe, to convince foreigners!" After careful verification, the Lop Nur nuclear test base once again reported: "Our first atomic bomb has indeed exploded!" ”
At around 17 o'clock on the same day, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other party and state leaders came to the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People to meet with more than 3,000 performers of the music and dance epic "Dongfang Hong".
In the hall, people applauded excitedly. This made Mao's joy even higher. According to his instructions, the announcement of the nuclear test to the public has been postponed from the original date of 18 o'clock to 23 o'clock, and the written report of the test results will not be reported until 19 o'clock. When he sat down to take a group photo, Mao Zedong asked Zhou Enlai: "Do you want to tell them the good news?" ”
Zhou Enlai smiled and said, "Tell them that they all have to jump up with joy!" ”
After taking the photo, after the party and state leaders waved away in applause and cheers, the host of the scene announced loudly: "Please rest in place, don't mess up the team, and Premier Zhou will announce the good news to everyone later!" ”
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Enlai walked into the banquet hall again, waved his arms to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said excitedly: "I have two good news for you: first, Khrushchev has stepped down; The second, our first atomic bomb test was successful! ”
The whole hall suddenly boiled.
Zhou Enlai humorously reminded everyone: "Comrades, be careful, don't collapse the floor!" ”
History turned out to be such a coincidence. At the beginning, Khrushchev broke the treaty and stopped helping. Now, only 4 years after the withdrawal of Soviet experts, the Chinese have made the atomic bomb. And it was at this time that Khrushchev was ousted from power. Later, when reviewing this period of history, Mao Zedong said: "We have made great achievements in developing missiles and atomic bombs, and this is the result of Khrushchev's help, and the removal of experts and forcing us to go our own way will be awarded a one-ton medal!" ”
The shock wave of the atomic bomb had not yet subsided, and on June 17, 1967, China's first aerial explosion test of the hydrogen bomb was successful, and China became the fourth country in the world to master the technology of the hydrogen bomb. On April 24, 1970, the Dongfanghong-1 satellite was launched by the Long March-1 carrier rocket, and China's dream of going to the sky was finally realized.
Mao Zedong and the CPC Central Committee resolutely decided to develop strategic nuclear weapons such as atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, and intercontinental missiles and artificial satellites under the very grim situation at home and abroad, and achieved great success. This is the foresight of a great strategist. It has broken the nuclear threat and nuclear monopoly of the superpowers, and is of very important and far-reaching significance for safeguarding the mainland's national security and enhancing the mainland's international status. As Deng Xiaoping said in October 1988: "If China had not had atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, and satellite launches since the 60s, China would not have been able to be called a major power with important influence, and would not have the international status it has now." These things reflect the capabilities of a nation and are also a sign of the prosperity of a nation and a country. ”
Source: Party History Expo