From right, the photo is of Yang Zhenning, Li Zhengdao, and their friend Ling Ning (a cell biologist).
In the summer of 1947, three young men drove around the United States.
They traveled west from Chicago to Seattle, and then south along the Pacific coast to pick up Ling Ning's younger brother Ling Rong.
Who would have thought that this thrilling and unbridled journey story would change its flavor after 65 years.
The biography of Yang Zhenning, published in 2011, mentions this trip.
"One year during the holidays, Yang Zhenning, Li Zhengdao and Ling Ning bought a car together, which was a light green Chevrolet."
Li Zhengdao bluntly said that the narrative was not true, and the car was bought by himself, not by three people.
He also pointed out that the book was full of inaccuracies, which attracted public opinion.
In 1946, Lee Jeong-do, who had only a sophomore degree, as a probationary student at the University of Chicago, ranked first in the final exam of that year and was directly awarded the "University Scholar" and the "University Scholarship $1500".
No need to pay tuition, you can also get a double scholarship between China and the United States, and you are the "richest man" among international students!
Immediately after receiving the scholarship, he bought a second-hand car for eight hundred dollars.
That car is the car in the photo.
The license plate and insurance policy of the car belong to Lee Zheng Dao, which cannot be faked.
The reason for the "Biography of Yang Zhenning" is unknown, but it can be roughly said that the content of the book is indeed inaccurate.
When it comes to the entanglement of Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao, it is far more complicated than we think.
The cooperation between the two began in 1948 and ended in 1962, intermittently for 14 years.
They went to meet Einstein together and ascended to the podium of Nobel together, but finally broke up completely, and there was no contact in this life.
What happened in their three-in-three days?
Where did Li Zhengdao go after he left Yang Zhenning, and how is his life now?
Yang Zhenning, who is 4 years older than Li Zhengdao, had a brief intersection during their studies in the physics department of Southwest United University, but they did not know each other at that time.
In September 1946, Lee came to the University of Chicago, met Yang Zhenning, who had enrolled at the beginning of the year, and quickly became a close friend.
In the second half of 1948, Lee completed the first paper of his academic career, which was also the first collaboration between the two.
The paper was co-authored by Li Zhengdao, Rosen Bruce, and Yang Zhenning, and signed [Li-Luo-Yang1] in alphabetical order.
Just before Christmas, Professor Fermi suddenly told Lee That he had just received a paper for him to review, which was about the same topic as Lee Jeong-do's research.
Fermi asked Li Zhengdao to immediately write the existing results into a paper and submit it for publication as soon as possible.
Li Zhengdao was very anxious, but he could not find two partners for a while, so he had to write a short article about the work he had done, sign the names of three people, and send them to the "Physical Review" magazine.
Although the essay ended up two months behind Hui-Ti's paper, it was amazing enough for three fledgling PhD students to stand with two physics masters.
For the statement of this matter, Yang Zhenning has another opinion.
In the Selected Writings of Yang Zhenning, he wrote:
This research work was basically completed in mid-December.
The holidays began with Rosen Bruce and I taking a coach to New York City... When I returned to Chicago in January 1950, Fermi suggested that we write a short article on the results of the study.
So the question is, is this short article written by Lee Jung-do? Or did Yang Zhenning write it?
In fact, in the paper published by [Ti-Hui] on January 1, 1950, it is mentioned that he received a preprint of the paper of [Lee-Luo-Yang].
So how could this paper have been written by Yang Zhenning after returning to Chicago in January?
From the analysis of the time of publication of these two papers, the writing of the paper has nothing to do with Yang Zhenning.
Moreover, [Ti-Hui] added a footnote to the first page of the paper:
When the article was finalized, we received a newsletter from Lee Jeong-do, Rosenblue, and Yang Zhenning to the Physical Review.
They also discussed the same issues as in this article.
Yang Zhenning did not mention The-Hui's paper or the footnotes in the paper.
This shows that he is not aware of Lee Jeong-do's discussion with Professor Fermi, or deliberately concealed.
Obviously, the process of publishing the paper in Yang Zhenning's mouth is not in line with the facts.
Li Zhengdao believes that in the "Selected Works of Yang Zhenning", there are many serious fabrications of facts and deliberate demeaning remarks, which breaks the agreement that "gentlemen will never make evil friends" when they broke up.
This selection of articles is also the main reason why the differences between the two have gradually become public.
The second collaboration between the two was three years later.
During this period, Lee published five papers, all of which were signed by himself.
Yang Zhenning published six articles, three of which were signed by himself and three in collaboration with others.
In terms of quantity and quality, the two have made comparable progress in their careers.
In the summer of 1951, Yang Zhenning's thesis [Yang 11] was completed and published in March of the following year, with great influence.
Li Zhengdao found Yang Zhenning and tried to push forward on the basis of [Yang 11].
The two argue and ignite a spark of each other's thoughts.
In just half a year, they completed two far-reaching papers and made major breakthroughs.
The first article is signed as [Yang-Li 2]
The second article is signed as [Li-Yang 3]
It was these two papers that directly alarmed Einstein.
Einstein took the initiative to invite the two to his office for an interview.
They will never forget this meeting.
That day, they walked into Einstein's office and saw the Physical Review spread out on Einstein's desk, next to a manuscript full of arithmetic papers.
That's the calculation he was checking Li Yang's paper.
Einstein was 75 years old, and he was a hero in his twilight, but he saw the spark in two young people.
Einstein passed away two years later, and the whole world was grieving.
Einstein
The two papers ,[Yang-Li 2] and [Li-Yang 3] are sister works by Li Zhengdao and Yang Zhenning.
However, the previous one was signed Yang Li, and the latter was Li Yang.
The reason for the ranking was difficult to figure out at the time, and it wasn't until many years later that Lee Jung-do gave the mystery.
Li Zhengdao said that after the completion of the first paper, Yang Zhenning suddenly attacked and demanded that Yang Zhenning's name be placed in front of Li Zhengdao, on the grounds that Yang Zhenning was 4 years older.
It is only natural that the papers of the cooperation are ranked according to the norms, and Yang Zhenning's request surprised Li Zhengdao, but considering the friendship between the two, he did not express objections, which was tacit consent.
Of course, this is only Li Zhengdao's unilateral statement.
The second cooperation between Li yang and Li Yang was short, only half a year.
Li Zhengdao explained that Yang Zhenning's unreasonable demands on the ranking of papers left a shadow on him.
In order to avoid the recurrence of this embarrassment, he decided not to cooperate unless Yang Zhenning offered to cooperate and was fair and reasonable in the ranking.
Of course, the two have not yet torn their faces, and the superficial relationship is as friendly as ever.
In the fall of 1953, Lee left the Institute for Advanced Study to teach at Columbia University in New York, and his family moved away from Princeton.
Li Yang held hands for the third time in 1955.
Yang Zhenning visited Li Zhengdao in New York, saw that Li Zhengdao was writing a thesis, and argued with him.
After a heated discussion, the two offered to cooperate.
It was this perfect collaboration that allowed them to reach the apex of the physics community.
At the beginning of the new year in 1957, Columbia University press conference opened the prelude to the first year of Yuwei and ushered in the peak of Li Yang's academic career.
On that day, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao were on the podium of the Nobel Prize together, and the media from all over the world, no one aura and honor flocked to it.
That year, Yang Zhenning was 35 years old and Li Zhengdao was 31 years old.
Two years later, Lee moved to Princeton and lived next to Yang's family.
Li Zhengdao and Qin Huixuan (jùn) had two sons, and Yang Zhenning and Du Zhili had two sons and a daughter.
Children of similar ages go to school together and play together, and get along well.
Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao's family
The whole physics community is envious of the academic environment of Li Yang and Li Yang, and is looking forward to their more fruitful cooperation results.
Who would have guessed that just two years later, the two close friends would part ways and turn against each other.
This matter also begins with a physicist named Bernstein.
He was not only engaged in physics research, but also good at literature, writing for 35 years and publishing several biographies.
In May 1962, he published an article in the People section.
This article describes Lee Jung-do's path of physics research.
The article focuses on the dramatic process of Li Yang's paper being ridiculed by many masters, then confirmed by experiments, and finally winning the Nobel Prize.
After Yang Zhenning saw the proof, he found Li Zhengdao and asked that his name must be placed in front of the two places where he won the Nobel Prize.
After the signature of the paper [Li and Yang], a note should be added to indicate that this is in the order of the first word of the surname.
Judging from the article finally published by The New Yorker, the editor met Yang Zhenning's request.
The nobel prize mentioned at the beginning of the article used the full names of two people, in the order of "Yang-Li".
At the end of the article, when mentioning the award, [Li-Yang] was used.
It is this popular science work that looks ordinary, which has become the fuse for Li Yang and li Yang to break up.
Yang Zhenning was very dissatisfied with the chaotic arrangement of the names of the two men, and even felt embarrassed.
Yang Zhenning suspects that there are some places in the article that deliberately pun, alluding to his struggle with Li Zhengdao for fame.
Because the author has a close relationship with Lee Jung-do and has interviewed Lee Jeong-do in advance, he thinks that the two have discussed it to satirize him.
Regarding the seating at the award ceremony, there is actually controversy
The size of a scientist's achievement is a matter of course, and the order of thesis's signature is not so important.
The controversy of two scholars' collaborative publications because of the ranking order is extremely rare in the history of science.
Li Yang's situation is a little special.
Lee L, ranked twelfth in the English alphabet.
Yang Y, ranked twenty-fifth.
A total of 25 papers were jointly signed by the two, and according to the custom, the papers jointly cooperated by the two should be Signed by Li in the front and Yang in the back.
Therefore, except for the first byline order is [Yang-Li], the remaining 24 are "Li-Yang".
Such a ranking order of papers has become Yang Zhenning's heart disease for many years.
He has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with this ranking, but Lee Zhengdao chose to turn a blind eye.
The Selected Works of Yang Zhenning mentions their final showdown on April 18, 1962.
On that day, Yang Zhenning talked about the friendship and cooperation between the two for more than ten years, which made the emotions of both of them very excited.
But Yang Zhenning did not give a specific reason for their decision to break up, but said:
"It was a cathartic experience, and then I felt relieved and relieved.
However, the reconciliation did not last. A few months later we broke up completely. ”
In his memoirs, Lee Jung-do also mentions that day and titles the chapter "The Rupture of Friendship".
Mr. Lee said Mr. Yang walked into his office that day and again pestered the New Yorker's rankings.
Yang Zhenning said that the problem of sorting names made him more and more annoyed, and it was difficult for him to bear the fact that he was always arranged in the alphabetical order of his surnames.
Li Zhengdao only replied to this:
"It's boring! Do we want to continue to cooperate? ”
In the decades that followed, Li Zhengdao always repeatedly stressed that he did not care about the front and back of the ranking, saying that he insisted on "Li-Yang" for fear of being ridiculed by his peers and appeared very innocent.
But his argument doesn't hold up at all.
Peers and the world will not laugh at who comes first, but only at those who have completely broken up for the sake of competition!
To put it simply, they broke up because of this kind of thing, which is really not very good!
But perhaps, the specific truth of the matter is much more than that.
In May 1962, Li Yang stopped cooperating, and they no longer co-signed papers, and tried to avoid appearing on the same occasion.
Friends who were close to the two of them tried their best to reconcile the two, and even when Wu Dayu and Premier Zhou came to broker, the two were not moved, and even after decades, it was a pity that they would have created a tit-for-tat situation in which the enemy met.
Li Yang and friends in the field of physics
In fact, Li Yang and Li Yang are inseparable from each other.
They can debate and inspire each other, which is conducive to expanding horizons, colliding with ideological sparks, and greatly improving the efficiency of overcoming difficulties.
Such a long, almost exclusive collaboration between two high-level academic leaders is unique in the history of science.
Their physical achievements are there for all to see, and it is unnecessary to argue about the true meaning of the ranking order.
If they continue to work together, the results may be immeasurable.
Life always has to go on.
After the two broke up, they continued to move forward in their respective physical fields and reached the peak of their respective stages.
In 2003, the 81-year-old Mr. Yang Zhenning returned to China, and immediately married the 28-year-old wife Weng Fan's major social news, which made him instantly enter the public's vision, but the name Li Zhengdao gradually faded.
Professor Yang Zhenning's retirement ceremony at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
In fact, in the past few decades, Li Zhengdao's mixing is not bad.
He continued to work in the direction of opening up new fields of physics until his retirement at the age of 85, when he was the chief scientist in the theory group at Columbia University.
In 1998, in honor of his deceased wife Qin Huixuan, Li Zhengdao established the "Qin Huichen - Chinese University Students Internship and Training Fund" to support students from many colleges and universities to carry out scientific research.
Li Zhengdao and his wife Qin Huixuan
At the same time, he donated his life's research manuscripts, letters, medals, certificates, as well as his calligraphy and painting works, books in his collection and ancient Chinese cultural relics (including precious works donated to him by famous Chinese calligraphers and painters such as Wu Zuoren, Li Keyan, Huang Yin, Hua Junwu, Wu Guan, etc.), all of which were donated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
These materials are now on display at the Lee Jeong-do Library.
Li Zhengdao Library, Shanghai Jiaotong University
In November 2011, at the age of 85, Mr. Lee stepped down as a professor at Columbia University and left New York three years later to accompany his family in San Francisco.
Living alone in old age, he can only write and paint in memory of his beloved wife.
He often strolled by the sea, bathed in the brilliant sun, but he was alone and slightly depressed.
A few days ago, Mr. Yang Zhenning had just celebrated his 100th birthday, and Mr. Li Zhengdao was also 96 years old.
The two magnificent lives gradually returned to tranquility, and I don't know if in their lifetime, they can usher in that century of great reconciliation!
At this moment, only Du Fu's verses are more suitable for writing at the end.
Pushing the physics must be fun, what is the floating name trip.