Text/Pan Caixia
On March 4, 2000, physicist Sheheed died of breast cancer. Before dying, she left a will: "Donate my body to The Cause of Medical Care in China." "It was her agreement with her late husband.
Although known as the "mother of Chinese semiconductors", the first female university president in New China, and the honor of countless books, Xie Xide said: "The greatest happiness in my life is to have a husband who is full of love and a happy and warm family." ”
Her husband is the famous biochemist Cao Tianqin.
Sheheed and Cao Tianqin
Born in 1921 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, xiehide followed her father to Beijing when her mother died of illness when she was a child. His father, Xie Yuming, returned from his stay in the United States and taught in the Physics Department of Yenching University.
Soon, the father remarried, and fortunately, the stepmother was very fond of Sheheed. With a warm family and a family background, Sheheed grew up in the study and was brilliant. Growing up in the era of warlords and warlords and the people's livelihood, her family always gave her the education of reading well, and knowledge was always useful.
After entering elementary school, Sheheed's grades ranked first, and it was not until 1932, when he was admitted to yenching University High School, that the status of "first grade" began to be threatened.
The other party's name is Cao Tianqin, and his father is a teacher in the chemistry department of Yenching University. The fathers were colleagues, and the two "competitors" naturally approached. At the time when the Japanese invaded China, in addition to studying, they participated in the anti-Japanese fundraising together and talked freely about their ambitions to save the country.
Teenage Shaheed
In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, Xie Xide bid farewell to Cao Tianqin, fled with his father, and finished high school in Changsha.
Life was turbulent, physical diseases also took the opportunity to attack, hunan university admission letter arrived, 17-year-old, unfortunately suffered from femoral tuberculosis. There was no antimicrobial, no specific drug, and the treatment method at that time could only be tied to a plaster cast to let the germs die. Xie Xide had no choice but to take a leave of absence and was ill in Guiyang.
Reading became a cure, and in her hospital bed, she read a lot of English novels. What made life burn was Cao Tianqin's letter. At that time, he had been admitted to Yenching University.
In the letter, Cao Tianqin encouraged her to recuperate in peace. In the reply, Xie Xide was positive and optimistic, without any depression, indomitable and willful to impress Cao Tianqin. Letters and letters, each other is more sympathetic.
Relying on tenacious perseverance and the strength of love, after 4 years of fighting against the disease, Xie Xide finally walked out of the sickbed and was admitted to the Physics Department of Xiamen University by self-study. Unfortunately, due to the damage to the femoral joint, the right leg could not be bent, and he has been disabled for life.
In the fire of war, the feelings are ripe. In 1946, Cao Tianqin went to England for further study, and before leaving, he formally proposed to Sheheed. Although she had difficulty walking, in his eyes, her character and sentiments were unmatched.
When they were separated, they met, and she tried to go to the United States to study and serve the country together in the future.
Engagement photos
After graduating from university, Sheaid was admitted to the Smith Women's College of Arts and Sciences in the United States, where he worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Physics while pursuing a master's degree.
In the classroom, in the lab, she raced against the clock to sleep and forget to eat. Sandwiched among students of different skin colors, this thin, quiet, studious Oriental girl was deeply loved by the professors.
In 1949, after receiving his master's degree, Shahid successfully entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pursue a doctorate.
Soon, the news of the founding of New China came, and she was extremely excited, and behind a campus single photo, she excitedly wrote: "Who are you waiting for on campus?" ”
She was waiting for Cao Tianqin, and she was also waiting for them to finish their studies. The newborn motherland is in urgent need of talents, and it is incumbent upon us to serve the motherland.
School photo of Sheheedd
In 1951, both Sheaid and Cao Tianqin received doctorates, gave up high-paying positions, and put plans to return to China on the agenda. Years later, Shaheed recalled his mood at the time:
"I feel like a goose, I had to leave my homeland in the harsh winter, and now that spring is back on the earth, I must fly back to the homeland of the motherland, to cultivate, to struggle!"
The passion for serving the country was difficult to suppress, but the way back was unexpectedly blocked - after the outbreak of the Korean War, as the momentum of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea grew, the Truman administration announced that Chinese students studying science and engineering in the United States would not be allowed to return to China.
At that time, Shaheed's father was seeking a job in the Philippines, and for the sake of his future, he urged his daughter to stay in the United States. On the one hand, the opposition of her father, on the other hand, the call of the motherland, in the face of the dilemma, Shehid chose the motherland, she decided to "curve back to China".
With the help of a friend, Sheheed got a special "travel permit" on the pretext of going to England to get married. After arriving in England, she and Cao Tianqin had a simple wedding, after which they boarded the ship back to China in August 1952.
Decades later, a student asked her: "In the 50s, what force made you break through the obstacles and resolutely return to China?" Sheheed's answer, soft and powerful, she said word for word: "I love China!" ”
The price of patriotism is that until her father died, he did not want to write to her and meet with her, which became her lifelong regret.
Wedding photos in the UK
After returning to China, Cao Tianqin was hired as a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xie Xide taught in the Department of Physics of Fudan University. Every night, the couple sat opposite each other across the desk, buried their heads in a book, and the years were quiet.
In the blink of an eye, When Sheheed's birthday came, Cao Tianqin gave her a German version of Theoretical Mechanics, and on the title page, he inscribed: "Virtue: Be a model people's teacher." ”
With her husband's hopes, Sheheed threw himself into his work with enthusiasm. Without teaching materials, she wrote them herself, and in just a few years, she opened seven or eight courses successively, laying the foundation for the development of the disciplines in the Department of Physics.
In 1956, the small family ushered in a new life, and this year, the couple joined the party on the same day. Later, Sheheed said in a reminiscence: "These are unforgettable days for both of us, and from then on we are not only partners in life, but also comrades who will fight for the cause of the proletariat all our lives." ”
When his son was 5 months old, Sheaid was sent to Beijing to participate in the preparation of a joint semiconductor professional group. Cao Tianqin did not complain and took over the burden of raising the child. In his spare time, he took a lot of pictures for his son and wrote letters to report to relieve the pain of Sid's thoughts.
Once, in a photo sent, Shahid saw that her son's shoelaces were not fastened, and in her reply, she joked that "Daddy has failed in his duty."
Love, to the fullest, those support and encouragement, so that the heartache and toil disappear.
Sheehid and his son Cao Weizheng
In the two years of Beijing, Xie Xide and the famous physicist Huang Kun co-authored the "Semiconductor Physics" came out, which attracted great attention from the international scientific community; the more than 300 semiconductor talents they trained also filled the gap in China's semiconductor industry.
After returning to Fudan, Sheheed continued to expand at the forefront of physics, and Cao Tianqin also served as deputy director of the Institute of Biochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Just as they were burying their heads in scientific research, misfortune quietly came. In 1966, Sheheed was diagnosed with breast cancer.
During that time, Cao Tianqin took his son to the hospital every day to see her, because he was far from home, he had to change buses three or four times along the way, and on the way home, his 10-year-old son often fell asleep in the car.
Fortunately, the cancer did not metastasize and recovered well after surgery. Soon, however, an even greater catastrophe struck, and overnight, both husband and wife became "American and British agents." The home was raided, Cao Tianqin was put in a "cowshed", and Xie Xide was also quarantined for review.
Under the double torture of spirit and body, the cancer returned. The husband is not around, the children need to be taken care of, and Shahid can only be strong. She wiped away her tears and said to her son, "Although we don't know when your father will come back, he will come back one day." I must be cured and see your dad back! ”
With the power of faith, Sheshid endured the pain of radiation and chemotherapy to defeat the disease again.
Mr. and Mrs. Sheheed
Two years later, Cao Tianqin finally returned. Although far away from the laboratory and the pulpit, love is the best refreshing agent. They go to the bookstore together during the day and share a desk at night, and the world under the lights is warm and happy. It was during that time that Shahid unveiled the mystery of superficial physics.
In 1976, the two finally returned to work. In Fudan, Xie Xide established a modern physics institute with surface physics as the focus of research, and she led the team to participate in international conferences many times, opening the curtain of exchanges between Fudan University and the international academic community.
In 1983, she was appointed president of Fudan University, the first female president of New China at that time.
The burden on his shoulders was heavier, and Sheheed worked hard for the sake of science and education. At this moment, life has taken another serious blow -
In 1983, Cao Tianqin suddenly collapsed when attending a conference abroad, unfortunately paralyzed in bed, mentally degraded, and could not even speak clearly.
This time, she was replaced to take care of him. In addition to his busy work, Xie Xide insisted on arranging recipes for Cao Tianqin, chatting with him, and dragging his disabled legs to help him do rehabilitation. And she herself, due to a recurrence of her condition, is also in chemotherapy.
Xie Xide and Yang Zhenning
This care was 8 years, and in 1995, Shaheed lost the love of his life. "Why is my life so bitter?" Never compromising in the face of fate, she couldn't help but cry bitterly.
The day after the memorial service, her students received a letter of recommendation for studying abroad written by her.
In 1998, the relentless cancer struck again, and the ward became a reception room and office, and Shahid was still busy. But this time, the miracle did not happen, and the disease prevailed.
In her final days, she endured great pain with amazing perseverance, never shouted a word, and was called "the most tenacious and unguarded model patient" by doctors and nurses.
At the age of 79, Shaheed has completed a difficult and splendid life, and she is going to another world and a beautiful appointment.
Physicist and educator Sheheed