<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Author: Li Hengjian Lei Ning</h1>
July 26, 2017, Changsha, Sunny. 10 a.m., Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center. Stepping into the conference room of the research center complex, a huge picture comes into view, and the golden rice ears are "lined up one after another", which is very dazzling. The photo has such an inscription: "Hunan Pupu first mu yield exceeded 1000 kg Yuan Longping 2014, 10, 10." In our expectations, academician Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice" with great spirits, walked forward in a healthy stride. After taking his seat, between chatting and laughing, Academician Yuan gave wonderful answers to the issues of craftsman spirit, scientific and technological innovation, and reading and studying.
The development of science and technology is endless, and the task is heavy and the road is long! It's a lot of difficulty, but I'm happy to take it
Secretarial work: Academician Yuan, Hello! Thank you for taking an interview with us. We have been thinking about a problem: as the "father of hybrid rice" known at home and abroad, you have been constantly challenging yourself, and China's super hybrid rice research has achieved the goal of increasing the yield from 700 kg per mu to 1000 kg. What supports you to break through one scientific research difficulty after another? Is it the unchanging dream, the encouragement of honor, the charm of science, the feeling of serving the people, or...?
Yuan Longping: You must know that my work and the topic of my research are the most important matter that has a bearing on the national economy and the people's livelihood -- the food issue. You are young and have not experienced food famine. Around 1960, our country suffered three years of difficulty, a great famine, and people starved to death. This made me deeply appreciate what is called "the people take food as the sky", no food is too terrible! As an agricultural science and technology worker, I have a responsibility not to let the people go hungry. So, my work is very meaningful, it's one. Second, theoretically, the potential for rice yield increase is great, as long as you work hard and keep up with other conditions, the yield per mu can reach 1500 kg. The pursuit of higher yields and higher yields is an eternal theme of our agricultural research. We set up a project in the Ministry of Agriculture, and the research of super hybrid rice was divided into four periods: the first phase of 700 kg/mu, the second phase of 800 kg/mu, the third phase of 900 kg/mu, and the fourth phase of 1000 kg/mu. We have now produced 1,000 kilograms per mu, which is the average yield of 100 mu of land, not one mu and two mu of land. We are now working towards 1100 kg/mu, with a total of five points, distributed in Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Henan and Shandong. The potential is still very large, the country attaches great importance to it, the people are also very supportive, and we are very confident. And then there's one thing, which is that I'm physically fine. I will soon turn 88 years old, although I am "post-80s", but my health is not bad, especially my brain is not confused, and others say that I don't look like "post-80s". I was in a very good shape, the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences held a swimming competition, and I was the champion, and no one could swim me. The body is the first, it is the cost, without a healthy body, what work is not easy. Some old cadres, after retiring, have no work, and the brain melons are not used, and they are slowly demented, so they still have to have work.
I often say that I have two dreams: one is the dream of cooling down the grass. Our hybrid rice is getting better and better, and one day the rice grass will be as high as sorghum stalks, the ears will be as long as brooms, and the grains will be as large as peanut rice, so that my colleagues and assistants and I can cool off under the rice. The second dream is the dream of hybrid rice covering the world. There are 150 million hectares of rice fields in the world, and if half of them are planted with hybrid rice, the yield will increase by 2 tons per hectare, which can increase the yield of 150 million tons of grain per year, which can feed an additional 400 to 500 million people. This is not only a contribution to world food security, but also can enhance China's international status and bring considerable economic benefits. There are more than 6 million acres of hybrid rice in the United States, and we transfer technology to the United States, and they give us commissions every year, and they pay us intellectual property fees. If there were 1.2 billion acres of hybrid rice in the world, I would have calculated that at least $8 billion a year would be gained.
Another way to increase grain production is to expand the area of arable land. There are more than one billion mu of saline-alkali land in China, including tidal flats, of which more than 100 million mu can grow rice. We are now studying seawater rice, and it is possible to increase the area planted with seawater rice by 100 million mu in the future. Therefore, expanding the area of cultivated land has the potential to be tapped, and the red line of 1.8 billion mu of cultivated land can be maintained. According to the minimum yield of 300 kilograms per mu, 100 million mu can increase production by 30 billion kilograms, which is equivalent to the total grain output of Hunan Province throughout the year. The development of science and technology is endless, and the task is heavy and the road is long! It was very difficult for me to take on this burden, but I was very happy.
I admire the Communist Party and do good deeds for the Party, and I feel very honored
Secretarial work: At present, "craftsman spirit" has become a buzzword, advocating and promoting the spirit of craftsmanship, which is the consensus of everyone. Scientific research is characterized by high precision, but it is also inseparable from the "craftsman spirit". Does your experience in scientific research also reflect this?
Yuan Longping: It is very hard to engage in hybrid rice research, the sun and rain, the temperature like today (the maximum temperature is 39 ° C), or go to the field, sweaty, very hard. But there is one thing, we are dedicated and happy, and every time we make a little progress, we are happy from the heart. Also, you can't back down when you encounter difficulties. Those who are afraid of failure should not engage in scientific research, and those who are afraid of failure should not engage in scientific research. There's an old saying that "failure is the mother of success", a hundred experiments, it is good to have two successes. You are always afraid of failure, you are afraid of losing face, you are afraid of losing your official position, you are afraid of losing your hat, and this will not work. I do my scientific research, and what I pursue is not enjoyment, not promotion, what I pursue is high productivity. So, it's a little bit hard, but I enjoy this kind of work, and I enjoy it in the pain.
I also have a lot of flaws. When I graduated from college, my classmates gave me an appraisal, saying that my hobby is freedom, my specialty is looseness, and it adds up to freedom and looseness. That's my trait and my flaw. It is also said that freedom and looseness are not disadvantages, and if conditions put people to death and the mind is bound, then nothing can be done.
At a forum of non-party personages held not long ago, I made a remark that was welcomed by everyone. I said: I worship the Chinese Communist Party, not only love, but worship, a higher level. Why? Under the leadership of the Communist Party, china has changed from a backward, poor, and beaten country everywhere into a country that is thriving and strong in national strength. Before 1949, we had two Olympic Games in China, the Berlin Olympics in 1936 and the London Olympics in 1948, and our athletes came back with "duck eggs" on their backs. That's why foreigners call us "sick men of East Asia." In the sixties and seventies of the last century, we were still very backward, and we were all looked down upon when we went abroad. Now it's different, I went abroad to visit, very respected, foreigners say Chinese great. We are now the second largest economy in the world, surpassing Japan; We are also a sports powerhouse, and the number of gold medals won at the Olympic Games is straight after that of the United States. The first time I went to the U.S. in 1980, when I saw Americans going to work, everyone came in with a car and wow, that's awesome! Now we're all driving to work. These great things were all done under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, so I worship the Communist Party. I feel honored to do good deeds for the party.
Innovation is the soul of scientific research, foreigners do not have, history does not have, contemporaries do not have, you come up with, is innovation
Secretarial work: Innovation ranks first among the five major development concepts and is also an inexhaustible driving force for economic and social development. There are many examples of innovation success, so please talk about your understanding of innovation in the light of your own experience.
Yuan Longping: Innovation is the soul of scientific research, foreigners do not have, history does not have, contemporaries do not have, you come up with it, it is innovation. For example, Japan is a technologically advanced country, but they mainly run after others and play the role of catching up behind others. What is truly innovative, we must have new breakthroughs on the basis of others. We have a lot of things that are innovative, like our hybrid rice.
Of course, innovation is not an easy task. First of all, the general direction should be right. The direction is right, the future is bright, as long as you persevere, you can succeed. The direction is wrong, the future is dark, and you go to a dead end, and no matter how hard you try, you will be in vain. Secondly, when this road does not work, we must consider another road. Sometimes something seems to fail, but there is actually a success factor in it. After failure, we must be good at summarizing and learning lessons, think about how to adjust the direction of our efforts, and find a new way. We do hybrid rice research, and we often encounter this situation.
I'm often asked, what's the secret to success? In fact, there is no secret, my experience is that the eight words "knowledge, sweat, inspiration, and opportunity" are very important. The first is to have knowledge. Knowledge is the foundation of innovation. Now that technology is so advanced, if you are illiterate, you cannot succeed. The second is to sweat. When I train students, the first requirement is to go down to the experimental field. That's the minimum requirement, you can't grow rice in books, you can't grow rice in computers. Now I often gather my assistants to discuss, and when I encounter difficulties, I stimulate everyone to think, so that I can continue to increase my knowledge and talents. Third, be inspired. When I found that the rice plant that stood out from the crowd, the idea of "natural hybrid rice" suddenly appeared, which was an inspiration. This inspiration is the result of years of constant search and reflection. To engage in innovation, to be a "person with a heart", to capture the spark of thought in time, otherwise it will be fleeting. Fourth, we must seize the opportunity. The discovery of wild rice "wild defeat" has played an important role in our research. It was a small probability event, but this miracle happened. Opportunity favors a prepared mind, and chance often contains necessity, and people with hearts see it and can quickly understand and grasp it.
I'll tell you two stories. In 2013, the International Hybrid Rice Conference was held in the Philippines, Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer and other large companies have shown their hybrid rice varieties, there are about forty varieties, each variety can be tried to plant 1000 square meters, that is, 1.5 acres of looks, the results of the top three are our Chinese varieties. Our yield is probably more than 10 tons per hectare, and their best varieties are only seven or eight tons per hectare.
Our super rice not only yields high yields, but also tastes very good. There is a famous rice in Japan called "Yueguang", which is the pride of the Japanese people and sells for 80 yuan / catty in supermarkets in Beijing. Last year, three Japanese rice merchants came to visit us, and I asked them to try our super rice. They were surprised and said that the taste was completely comparable to that of "Yueguang". This year, two experts from Niigata and Kyushu in Japan also tasted our super rice and were equally praised. Now that the standard of living has improved, people not only have to eat enough, but also eat well. We have a principle: not at the expense of production to seek quality, but under the premise of high yield. We did it. The yield of "Yueguang" is 800 or 900 catties per mu, and we are 1000 kg per mu. The Japanese are very arrogant, but their professors and businessmen are subservient to our rice. "Super hybrid rice" was first proposed by the Japanese, with the goal of reaching a yield of 800 kilograms per mu, but it has not yet been realized; We came in second, far ahead.
Brain melon seeds are the first, engaging in innovative brains should be flexible, rigid is not enough. Therefore, we must learn from the good experience of others, read more books, and do not build cars behind closed doors
Secretarial work: Not long ago, a video of you sharing your dream of "hybrid rice" with the world in English attracted attention, and netizens praised your profound knowledge. Now that the pace of life and work is faster than before, many people obviously feel that there is less time to study. Can you share your experience in reading and learning?
Yuan Longping: Reading and learning, we must live to learn from old age. Be a little more knowledgeable, well-read. Some books are shoddily made and cannot be read; Some books are very good, read like a spring breeze, and give people spiritual food. Now our publishing career is developed, there are books and magazines everywhere, there are many, but there are not many good books. All kinds of books have to be read, otherwise you are lonely and ignorant, engaged in innovative research, that is not OK. To engage in innovation, the brain should be flexible, and it is not okay to be dull. Therefore, we must learn from the good experience of others, read more books, do not build cars behind closed doors, and live to learn from the old.
I love to read books, foreign books, literature and history books, geography books, about three days a week to read business books. Looking at business books, I have selective, need to see, interested in looking, mainly related to work, such as books related to new developments in super hybrid rice, new trends I read. On the basis of mastering basic knowledge, there must be some expertise and hobbies, there is a direction for expertise, and having hobbies not only enriches your world, but also "hybridizes" with each other on the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual levels and inspires each other. "Hybridization" exists not only in nature, but also in human society and the field of thinking.
People are often limited by their own profession, and their vision is relatively narrow. To break through this limitation, in addition to mastering more knowledge in relevant fields, we should also learn some philosophy and learn to look at problems from a dialectical point of view. In the past, although I learned Mao Xuan relatively superficially, I still had a good understanding on the basis of combining practice. The Theory of Contradictions and the Theory of Practice were of great help to my way of thinking.
When you are a secretary, the pen holder is very important, the brain melon should be flexible, and it should follow the times
Secretarial work: Can you say a few words to the secretarial workers and give them some advice?
Yuan Longping: My father was also a secretary, he was a liberal arts student, a penman, but I didn't know much about secretarial work. I feel that as a secretary, the pen holder is very important, the brain should be flexible, and it should follow the times. I think that doing a good job as a secretary is not only about being the pen, but also about observing things. A lot of things, the leader doesn't have time to think about it, it depends on the secretary. Secretaries must not only do a good job in service, but also be good staff assistants and "think tanks" to assist leaders in accomplishing things satisfactorily. Working around the leader, the opportunity is rare, how long to see and experience, in order to be better qualified for their own work.
It was nearly noon and the interview was coming to an end. In the course of more than an hour, we deeply felt the fearless spirit of Academician Yuan Longping in scientific research and serving the country. "When old and strong, it is better to move the heart of the white head; Poor and strong, do not fall into the ambition of the clouds. "That should be the best portrayal of him." We sincerely wish academician Yuan's two great dreams to be realized at an early date.
Source: Secretarial Work. 2017,(09)
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