Scholar Huang Zuqia: Why paint Lin Ge
Reporter/Angel Bao
Published in China News Weekly on July 12, 2021, No. 1003
For many years, Huang Zuqia has been haunted by two lingering problems. One is, why is there no him on the list of "two bombs and one star" founding fathers? The other is, why did he choose to teach in his later years, and he went to Beijing Normal University, a place where he had no connection with him?
Many people complained about him, and often people couldn't help but ask him in person, expressing regret for both.
It is not surprising that people have such thoughts. Many of his comrades who fought alongside him held important leadership positions. Four of the famous "eight directors" of the theory department of the former "Ninth Academy" (now the China Academy of Engineering Physics), in addition to him, three other than him, Deng Jiaxian served as the president of the Ninth Academy, Zhou Guangzhao served as the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yu Min served as the vice president of the Ninth Academy and the director of the Ninth Institute, and all of them were listed as the founders of the "two bombs and one star".
Huang Zuqia was photographed on November 5, 1997. Photo/Courtesy of respondents
In this regard, Huang Zuqia mostly laughed and said nothing. He wrote in the "Shu Huai": "The mountain flowers are in full bloom now, why should we paint the Lin Pavilion." The second and third sons of the apricot altar are also dancing. (The Lin Pavilion, also known as the Qilin Pavilion, was a place where the Han Dynasty enshrined the Eleven Heroes.) ）
In 1964, Liu Jixing graduated from Peking University and was admitted to the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and became a graduate student of Huang Zuqia. Once he made a reading report on English literature, and when he talked about huang zuqia, he interrupted him, saying that he was "wrong", and he insisted that he was right, and Huang Zuqia said that he read the original text first and then discussed with him. He had already heard people warn that his mentor had a great temper and should not casually raise different opinions, so he was uneasy in his heart. After a week, the mailroom handed him a letter with only one sentence: "Liu Jixing, you are right, I am wrong." Huang Zuqia. ”
He felt that these 12 words were the best portrayal of Huang Zuqia's scientific spirit throughout his life.
"Probably you're right"
He Zuoxiu and Huang Zuqia have known each other for nearly 70 years and are also Huang Zuqia's introduction to the party.
In September 1947, He Zuoxiu passed the examination and was transferred to the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University to study in the second year. Shortly after entering the university, Professor Zhou Peiyuan gave an academic report on Einstein's special theory of relativity in the Tsinghua Auditorium. He Zuoxiu couldn't understand why the clock became slower and the ruler became shorter, while a classmate next to him occasionally issued heartfelt praise, praising "Teacher Zhou spoke very well today", which greatly stimulated him. After the report ended, he stopped the classmate to ask for his name, and it turned out that he was Huang Zuqia.
Huang Zuqia was admitted to the Physics Department of Southwest United University in 1944 with the first overall score, and returned to the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University in 1946 to continue his studies. Some people recall that he was famous in Tsinghua at that time and was called "a rare Tsinghua talent in 20 years".
He Zuoxiu was then the secretary of the branch of the School of Science of Tsinghua University, an underground communist party, and one of his tasks was to recruit party members among Tsinghua teachers and students. He said that an important experience at that time was to strive for the best talents in his homework, and Huang Zuqia naturally became the focus of his development. Usually, this kind of top student has a higher willingness to participate in social activities and is easier to fight, but Huang Zuqia's mind is academic. At that time, the Kuomintang government was corrupt and unpopular, and they put a lot of effort into doing their work, and finally impressed huang Zuqia, who was a decent person, from these aspects.
In January 1950, through the introduction of He Zuoxiu and others, Huang Zuqia joined the party. In August, he graduated from Tsinghua University as one of the first batch of graduate students in New China and was assigned to work at the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was first established in May of that year, and was later renamed the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wu Youxun served as the director, Qian Sanqiang took over as the director, and Wang Ganchang and Peng Huanwu served as deputy directors. At that time, there was a saying in the academic community that the science of atomic energy was the center of physics. The Institute of Atomic Energy is full of talents and thrives.
In 1955, the Soviet Union agreed to aid the construction of a Chinese "reactor" (atomic reactor) and a "reactor" (cyclotron), which is a key facility for the development of atomic energy science. Qian Sanqiang led a "thermal work internship group" of nearly 40 people to the Soviet Union to study, and Peng Huanwu and Huang Zuqia were in the reactor group.
During the study period, Huang Zuqia found a problem in the other party's design plan. Soviet experts calculated that the reactor needed 63 uranium rods to reach a critical size, while he calculated 56. Reactors that are supercritical will cause accidents. After repeated calculations, the Soviet expert finally said helplessly: "Maybe you are right." ”
When the reactor was actually built in 1958, only 56 uranium rods were used. The results of the critical start experiment also proved that Huang Zuqia was correct.
"Semiconductors"
One day in December 1960, Liu Jie, minister of the Second Machine Department, and Qian Sanqiang, vice minister and director of the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, sat together to discuss how to start the development of hydrogen bombs first. Liu Jie is ready to let the "Nine Institutes" (that is, the Nuclear Weapons Research Institute) of the Second Machine Department concentrate on the development of atomic bombs first, and put the task of hydrogen bombs one step ahead to the Atomic Energy Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He asked Qian Sanqiang if he still had the strength to do this in terms of theory of atomic energy, and Qian Sanqiang said that there was.
Qian Sanqiang is known for his scientific planning and organizational skills. He led atomic energy all the reputation of "full of filial piety", and he successively recommended Zhu Guangya, Deng Jiaxian, Peng Huanwu, Wang Ganchang and other key posts in the "Nine Institutes", all of whom later became the founders of "two bombs and one star".
Now, Qian Sanqiang is going to be a point again. His first choice is Huang Zuqia.
Qian Sanqiang was originally Huang Zuqia's graduate supervisor at Tsinghua, when he was busy preparing to prepare for the establishment of the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (later the Institute of Atomic Energy), and just when Peng Huanwu had just returned from England and was hired by Tsinghua, he recommended Huang Zuqia to Peng Huanwu as a graduate student.
In the Institute of Atomic Energy for ten years, Huang Zuqia has been engaged in the research of nuclear reactor theory, and has become one of the founders and pioneers of China's nuclear reactor theory. Together with Peng Huanwu, he trained the first generation of nuclear reactor theoretical research team for the country, which some people called the "Huang Zuqia Corps".
In December 1960, a "Light Nuclear Reactor Theoretical Exploration Group" was established under the four rooms of the Atomic Energy Institute, referred to as the "Light Nuclear Theory Group", with Huang Zuqia as the leader. At this time, He Zuoxiu returned from the Soviet Union's Dubna Joint Nuclear Research Institute and was also transferred to the light nuclear formation as a backbone member. In January 1961, Yu Min was transferred as the deputy team leader.
At that time, Huang Zuqia spent half of his time in the light nuclear theory group doing hydrogen bomb pre-research, and half of the time to the nine institutes to participate in atomic bomb development. At that time, the regulation was that the work of the Atomic Energy Institute was open to the Nine Institutes, but the work of the Nine Institutes was strictly confidential to the Atomic Energy Institute, so Huang Zuqia was jokingly called "semiconductor".
At that time, Huang Zuqia, Yu Min, He Zuoxiu and Saben Hao and others were in one office. He Zuoxiu recalled that he and Yu Min sat at the front and back tables, and he always turned around and discussed with Yu Min as soon as he had the inspiration. Huang Zuqia does not like to discuss with people, and always thinks quietly alone.
In 1962, Liu Gongliang graduated from the Department of Engineering Physics of Tsinghua University and joined the light nuclear theory group.
Atomic energy is all a tradition, and new college students have to re-defend their graduation thesis once. When Liu Gongliang replied, Huang Zuqia, Yu Min, and others sat down. Liu Gongliang's paper involved fluid mechanics, and Huang Zuqia asked him to follow his own project. Huang Zuqia told him that in addition to nuclear physics, he also needed to understand fluid mechanics.
The design of the atomic bomb was more or less helpful by Soviet experts, but the design of the hydrogen bomb was completely groped from scratch. In search of useful clues, they searched through the New York Times since 1945 and examined the testimony of the United States in the case of Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, and found nothing.
He Zuoxiu said that the hydrogen bomb is the entire theory and technology developed independently and completely by Chinese from the "first principle", that is, from the basic theory of physics. He said that the characteristics of Chinese are that they can make up for each other's shortcomings with collective strength.
"Three Signatures" and "Three Drawers"
On October 15, 1964, the day before the successful explosion of China's first atomic bomb, Liu Jie, minister of the Second Machine Department, came to the Theory Department of the Ninth Yuan (in February 1964, the Ninth Academy was formed on the basis of the merger of the Nine Institutes and Bureaus) to find Zhou Guangzhao, the first deputy director of the Theoretical Department who remained in Beijing, and asked him to give an argument on the probability of the spontaneous fission of uranium 238 and uranium 235 producing neutrons and triggering a nuclear explosion early (which would reduce the explosive yield and fail to achieve the expected purpose).
Zhou Guangzhao summoned Huang Zuqia, who grew up in neutron theory, and qin Yuanxun, a mathematician, to make calculations together. In the evening of the same day, Zhou Guangzhao came to Liu Jie's office and submitted a research report signed by the three of them: "It has been estimated that the probability of the success of China's first atomic bomb test is more than 99%. ”
In June 1992, zhou fenglin (left), Huang Zuqia (center), and Yu Min, three directors of the theory department of the former Ninth Academy, gathered at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Photo/Courtesy of respondents
Huang Zuqia recalled to his eldest daughter Huang Meng and student Liu Jixing in 2012 that this problem was easier for him to solve. The "ignition" of the atomic bomb is his responsibility, and the key data here is the probability of early neutron attack, and the other is how much time is compressed to the supercritical time. He looked up the probability of spontaneous fission, calculated it, and came to a conclusion.
After the successful explosion of the atomic bomb, in May 1965, Huang Zuqia, who worked part-time, was officially transferred to the "Ninth Academy" of the Second Machine Department, and 31 scientific researchers from the light nuclear theory group such as Yu Min were also transferred, and the two teams converged on the main battlefield. Huang Zuqia and Yu Min were appointed deputy directors of the Theory Department, and the "Eight Directors" of the Theory Department gathered together. More than a dozen other people in the light nuclear theory group, including He Zuoxiu, who went to Henan to participate in the "Four Qings," remained at the Atomic Energy Research Institute.
Every night, the scientific research building of the Theory Department is brightly lit. At that time, the atmosphere of academic discussion was very active, and almost every week there were colloquiums and concerts, and everyone had a voice regardless of qualifications.
At that time, the goal of hydrogen bomb development was to break through and master the basic principles of light weight and high power thermonuclear weapons, and the first step was to strive to complete the theoretical design of the thermonuclear warhead with a bomb weight of about one ton and a TNT equivalent of 1 million tons, which was referred to as "1100" at that time.
Presided over by Peng Huanwu, three plans were arranged, and Zhou Guangzhao, Huang Zuqia, and Yu Min, three deputy directors of the theoretical department, each led a way to tackle the key problems, which was equivalent to preparing three "drawers." While working in Dublin, Peng Huanwu asked the Nobel laureate in physics Schrödinger about scientific research methods, and Schrödinger's answer was: divide and conquer. Today, he implements exactly that strategy.
Huang Zuqia was responsible for starting from the direction of the reinforced atomic bomb, in fact, the original atomic bomb was made into a very large one. Peng Huanwu was more sure of this direction, and once said that if those two were not good, Huang Zuqia could also go up.
But the result of the exploration is that in order to be powerful, the weight must go up; and the "fusion ratio" (the proportion of the energy of the fusion reaction in the entire nuclear reaction) cannot increase with the increase of power. The conclusion is that this path is far from the goal of "1100".
In the end, it was Yu Min who "kicked at the door", and the hydrogen bomb broke through the willow dark flower. This story is very familiar to everyone.
In 1982, "Mathematical Theory Problems in Physical Mechanics in the Design Principles of Atomic Bomb Hydrogen Bombs" won the first prize of the National Natural Science Award, and the completers were Peng Huanwu, Deng Jiaxian, Zhou Guangzhao, Yu Min, Huang Zuqia, Qin Yuanxun, Jiang Zepei, and He Guilian.
Later, there was also a storm about the "right to invent" hydrogen bombs in the Ninth Yuan. At the Light Nuclear Theory Group of the Atomic Energy Institute, a young man surnamed Shen was a part-time confidentiality officer who also participated in research work. Liu Gongliang recalled that at that time, Yu Min and He Zuoxiu were always discussing and always having ideas, and the young man was listening and pondering some ideas. Later, the young man surnamed Shen went to the Ninth Academy with the light nuclear theory group, and after the breakthrough of the hydrogen bomb, he insisted that the success of the hydrogen bomb should be credited to him.
In the 1980s, Deng Jiaxian, then president of the Ninth Academy, went to He Zuoxiu's house to learn about the young man's participation in the pre-research of the hydrogen bomb during the light nuclear theory group, and He Zuoxiu believed that he was not involved in substantive work.
Huang Meng told China News Weekly that around 2000, the Ninth People's Procuratorate investigated the matter again and found Huang Zuqia. Huang Zuqia responded that he admitted that the young man had come up with some ideas, but these were only simple ideas, and verifying these ideas required a deep foundation in physics and mathematics, which was beyond his level. Huang Zuqia also said: "Whether what you mention is reasonable or not, there is no reason for you to fight, what do you want to fight for in this matter of ours?" ”
"Old Yellow"
When the hydrogen bomb broke through, the "Cultural Revolution" had arrived. At the end of 1969, Huang Zuqia's family was transferred to the Henan May Seventh Cadre School.
After the summer vacation that year, Huang Zuqia's eldest daughter Huang Meng was promoted to the third grade, and the classmates in the class followed the family one by one, and there were fewer and fewer people. Not long after entering the winter, her mother solemnly told her: "We are going to Henan Wuqi Cadre School, and it is not certain whether we can come back in the future." She felt as if it were something she had expected.
Huang Zuqia's family lives in the kitchen of a farmer in Xiadi Han Village, Shangcai County, Zhumadian, Henan Province, and dogs and pigs come in at any time. Huang Zuqia was assigned to raise pigs, usually feeding pigs and cleaning pigsty, and also doing farm work growing crops. His profession was a little deserted, but his health was getting better.
Things are changeable. After the Spring Festival in 1972, Huang Zuqia returned to the Ninth Courtyard after several tosses. A newly divided college student who had recently arrived at the Ninth Academy had seen him for the first time.
In addition to calling Peng Huanwu "Peng Gong", the other leaders of lao jiu were called "old Deng" (Deng Jiaxian), two "old Zhou" (Zhou Guangzhao and Zhou Yulin), old Huang (Huang Zuqia), old Yu (Yu Min), and old He (He Guilian)... This is called the old nine cultures. The name "Lao Huang" has long been thunderous. He listened to the old comrades say that Lao Huang was well-educated, well-versed, and not an idle person, but he spoke harshly and showed no mercy, so that some people were "respectful and fearful," so he was put on the hat of "reactionary academic authority" and assigned to go to a cadre school.
The "102 Group" to which Zeng Xiancai belonged undertook the secondary theoretical design task of the Dongfeng series of nuclear weapons, and for several years in a row, almost every year, thermonuclear tests were conducted, and theoretical plans were submitted every year. Every once in a while, the business leaders of the institute will come to the group to listen to the report and make a decision.
Huang Zuqia came to listen to the report for the first time after returning from the cadre school, and Zeng Xiancai recognized him almost at a glance. Old Yellow medium-sized, brain door, slightly bald, a pair of highly myopic glasses on the bridge of the nose, dark skin, slightly ruddy, smile, and shake hands with old comrades one by one. Zeng Xiancai felt that at this time, he was not so much like a university scholar as he was already a bit like a farmer.
Later, after more contact, Zeng Xian gradually discovered that Lao Huang was not as harsh and intimidating as some people legend. Many Lao Jiuso people also felt that when they worked with him or asked him for advice, he could wait for people equally, give him serious advice, and have a great sense of humor, and sometimes the words came out, which was hilarious.
For a while, he was reading the book "Neutron Transport Theory" translated by Huang Zuqia, doing exercises while reading, there was a problem he couldn't understand, after asking several masters for advice, he still didn't know much, so he went to consult Lao Huang. Unexpectedly, Lao Huang only said a few words to let him open up and explain his doubts. Zeng Xian only heard Zhou Yulin say that after Lao Huang returned from the cadre school, he said that his brain was rusty, and he redone the exercises of advanced mathematics, "He just has this energy."
But the edges and corners of the old yellow, Zeng Xiancai also quickly saw.
After the reform and opening up, Huang Zuqia applied for the first time to participate in the International Nuclear Parameters Conference abroad. After the application report was submitted, there was still no news until the end of the meeting. One day a high-ranking official talked to him and said, "Don't worry, we are studying about your going abroad for a meeting." Old Huang Qi did not fight and said unceremoniously: "What official do you give me?" This meeting has already opened today in the middle of the month! If you can't even figure out which 1 and 2 are in front and which is in the back, it will not be tolerated! ”
For subordinates or students who do not understand the business and do not use merit, Lao Huang also speaks mercilessly. Sometimes in academic discussions, he would smile and ask: Even you don't understand this? Do you want me to tell you about elementary mathematics?
In 1979, the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Sciences resumed its activities and added its members. This is the first time since the existence of the Faculty that the Faculty members have been democratically elected. In November 1980, each faculty voted by secret ballot on the recommended list, resulting in 283 faculty members with a majority of the votes, including 51 members of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science. Four physicists Deng Jiaxian, Zhou Guangzhao, Huang Zuqia, Yu Min, and He Zuoxiu, who was then at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, were elected as members of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics.
In May 1980, the leadership team of the nine institutes changed shifts, and Huang Zuqia was transferred away from the nine institutes.
Zeng Xiancai recalled that he was deeply sorry for Lao Huang's transfer. He said that Lao Huang had made outstanding achievements in developing two bombs, but he had lost touch with the founder of the "two bombs and one star," and many people in the Old Nine Institutes felt regretful, and both Lao Zhou (Zhou Guangzhao) and Lao Yu had personally said to him when talking about this matter: Some have been treated badly to Lao Huang.
Talking about his evaluation of Huang Zuqia, He Zuoxiu told China News Weekly: "His biggest characteristic is that he is still a 'nerd', full of bookish anger. Although he knows a lot of things very well, his whole interest is in science, not people who play politics. ”
"Good as water"
On May 1, 1980, Huang Zuqia was transferred from the Ninth Institute to Beijing Normal University and served as a professor and director at the newly established Institute of Low Energy Nuclear Physics. As a result of his arrival, the Department of Theoretical Physics of Beijing Normal University was approved as the first batch of doctoral programs in theoretical physics in China in 1981.
Feng Shiping became Huang Zuqia's second doctoral student in March 1984, and after graduation, he stayed in the Department of Physics of Beijing Normal University and is now a professor in the Department of Physics of Beijing Normal University. He felt particularly fortunate that he had worked under the guidance of Huang Zuqia for nearly 30 years.
He said that even if there was a period in the 1980s and 1990s when the environment for basic research was not very good, Huang Zuqia still did his best to create a relatively good academic environment. For academics, he could not tolerate the slightest mistake, and he could not rub any sand in his eyes.
While studying for his PhD, Feng Shiping, along with another graduate student, Lu Yannan, went to Huang Zuqia's home at Least twice a week in Tower Courtyard Building 5. The Huang family has three rooms, one of which is the larger one that is both Huang Zuqia's study and his bedroom, and there is a blackboard hanging on the wall. They arrived around two o'clock in the afternoon, and Huang Zuqia guided them one-on-one. Earlier, Peng Huanwu would also come to participate in the discussion. At six o'clock, he stayed at Huang Zuqia's house for dinner, and was still discussing it during the meal.
Peng Huanwu and Huang Zuqia often traveled with their students, and the two elders either memorized poems together or joined poems with each other. Feng Shiping felt that both masters had the typical Chinese traditional knowledge molecules who promised the country by example and worried about the country and the people. In 2007, Peng Huanwu died, and Huang Zuqia gave him a poem, which read: "Shangshan is like water, and the first merit is not lived."
When Huang Zuqia first arrived, he only supervised master's and doctoral students. In 1999, Beijing Normal University approved that the Institute of Low Energy Nuclear Physics could recruit undergraduates, and since then Huang Zuqia has given freshmen basic courses and opened "Selected Lectures on the Frontiers of Modern Physics".
A semester of 15 lectures, the classroom of 140 people is always full. He said in his first lecture that for young people who want to understand physics, it is important not to know many advanced mathematical formulas that describe the details of the frontier problems of modern physics, but to understand how many of these problems we have solved in physics today, and what questions need to be continued to work. That is to say, when you are faced with a large field of physics, it is still necessary to have a bird's eye view of the general situation of the reclamation of this field as soon as possible and where the frontier is.
Feng Shiping said that Huang Zuqia was always thinking about how to teach this lesson well. Sometimes after listening to academic reports all over the country, he will send e-mails to the speaker's speeches and integrate some of the interesting content into the PPT of the courseware. If there was any problem with computer operation, he asked the graduate student to come and assist.
In 2001, Song Haibo obtained a master's degree from the Institute of Low Energy Nuclear Physics of Beijing Normal University and stayed in the institute to teach, while pursuing a doctorate on the job, as An assistant to Huang Zuqia, serving as an assistant professor of "Selected Lectures on the Frontiers of Modern Physics". She said that more than a hundred students' homework and papers, Huang Zuqia are very careful and careful to correct, not a single symbol error or typo is not spared.
Ma Yuhan entered the Department of Physics of Beijing Normal University in the fall of 2011 and attended Huang Zuqia's "Selected Lectures on the Frontiers of Modern Physics" as a freshman. He felt that the lectures of "Grandpa Huang" made the knowledge in the books three-dimensional. The two cornerstones of modern physics, relativity and quantum mechanics, are new disciplines that have emerged in the past 100 years, and the period from development to maturity is exactly the era of Huang Zuqia's growth. Sometimes Huang Zu would talk about his experience of studying at Southwest United University with Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao, and everyone felt that he was like a living history.
In 2000 and 2002, Huang Zuqia was awarded the "Top Ten Most Popular Undergraduate Teaching Teachers" by Beijing Normal University, which is an award voted by students. Huang Zuqia took this award very seriously, and was very happy after being elected, having said it to Feng Shiping many times.
In 2003, Zhu Bangfen served as the director of the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University, organized a series of lectures on "Face to Face with the Master", and invited Huang Zuqia to give a lecture.
Huang Zuqia said in the lecture that the teachers of Southwest United University and Tsinghua University did not talk much or deeply in class, but they encouraged some outstanding students to learn on their own after class, and he benefited greatly from such an environment. Professor Wang Zhuxi encouraged him to teach himself French, taught him some pronunciation rules, lent him a grammar book, and after a summer vacation, he could read the original academic works in French.
Every time he went to Tsinghua To celebrate, Zhu Bangfen often encountered Huang Zuqia, who had an alumni red cloth strip hanging on his chest, wandering around the campus, or with his teachers and friends, or alone. Huang Zuqia greatly admired Ye Qisun, who was the former dean of Tsinghua University of Science, and believed that he had made great contributions to Tsinghua physics, Tsinghua science and technology, and often said to Zhu Bangfen with a heavy heart, we should learn more about Mr. Ye Qisun's methods and spirit of running the old Tsinghua Physics Department. Zhu Bangfen said that he felt that Huang Zuqia and another "Mr. Huang", a physicist from the Southwest United University, Huang Kun, had a lot in common: he was low-key, serious in his work, meticulous, extremely strict with people when he was young, and much more tolerant after the "Cultural Revolution".
Zhu Bangfen once asked Huang Zuqia why he chose Beijing Normal University instead of returning to his alma mater, Tsinghua, in 1980, and Huang Zuqia earnestly said that Tsinghua's conditions were better, and he could play a greater role in going to Beijing Normal University.
Zhu Bangfen wrote in the reminiscence article that for various reasons, Huang Zuqia did not win the "Two Bombs and One Star" Founding Medal, and many people complained about him. For such a huge scientific and technological research project as the "two bombs and one star", it is extremely difficult to select 23 founders, and it is impossible to be absolutely fair, and 23 people can only be understood as the representatives of this heroic group.
On June 26, 2014, Huang Zuqia was admitted to Beijing 301 Hospital and spent the last time of his life. One night he was feverish and delirious, and kept shouting, "Explosion, everybody run!" The nurse at the bedside couldn't help but ask him, "Why don't you run?" He said, "I'm okay, I'll stay here, let's run!" ”
On September 7, 2014, Huang Zuqia, 90 years old, passed away. In June 2019, his statue was inaugurated in front of the Physics Building of Beijing Normal University.
After the completion of the Science and Technology Building of Beijing Normal University in 1999, Huang Zuqia's office was moved from the Institute of Low Energy Nuclear Physics in the South Courtyard of Beijing Normal University. Feng Shiping's office was next door, and he remembered that Huang Zuqia came to the office at eight o'clock in the morning and left work at six o'clock in the evening, except for activities such as going out for meetings, seven days a week, every day. Today, the door of the 613 office still hangs the name tag of "Huang Zuqia".