"Remembering Elder Yuan, Eternal Light" (1): A seed that changes China and the world

Text/Zhou Jun

The superstar has fallen, and the monument lives on.

Yuan Longping, winner of the "Order of the Republic", academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering and Technology Research Center, and former vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, died in Changsha at the age of 91 at 13:07 on May 22, 2021 due to multiple organ failure.

A seed carries the ardent hope of mankind against hunger; a lifetime of hard work, poured into the most simple pursuit of human beings to eat enough. Yuan Longping, a Pioneer of China and the "Father of Hybrid Rice", passed away unexpectedly, and people mourned. In times of deep sorrow, we can only pay tribute and remember.

In the 1960s, "Yuan Lao" began the research of hybrid rice, opening the story of a seed. Hybrid rice brings more hope to China and even the world. From "Nanyou No. 2" to super rice, from the hybrid rice research "holy land" in The East Mapoling in Changsha City, Hunan Province, to the "test field" of hybrid rice spread everywhere; from the hybrid rice thriving on the vast land of the motherland, to the hybrid rice "taking root and blossoming" in many countries in the world... A seed has changed China and changed the world, and hybrid rice has injected strong scientific and technological power into solving the problem of food shortage in the world. Since then, in the story of grain, the name Yuan Longping has always lived and endured. Bird's eye view of the world, hybrid rice has now been cultivated in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Brazil and other countries.

Scientific and technological innovation is fruitful, and the most exciting breakthrough is exciting. It is hard for us to forget that whenever there is a new breakthrough in mu production, "Elder Yuan" in front of the camera is happy like a child's smile. This smile, the most simple, the most innocent, has only one goal, that is, to make human beings no longer hungry. The years do not live, the seasons are like a stream. At the end of last year, Yuan Longping's team also brought us a new world record of more than 3,000 kilograms per mu, bringing us more exciting moments on the journey of yongpan scientific research peak. At this moment, people miss your smile; in the future autumn harvest and summer planting, we only have to miss.

The "watchmen" in the rice paddies have their faith rooted in the earth. Yuan Longping and his team regard science and technology as the most powerful "weapon", overcome many difficulties, and repeatedly create good achievements in world grain production. From the dream of cooling under the grass, to the grand goal of exceeding 3,000 kilograms of yield per mu, to the dream of hybrid rice covering the world... The dream of "Yuan Lao" continues, and your unfulfilled legacy is continued by your scientific research team and more people with lofty ideals like you who cherish your homeland and care about the people. It is precisely with the succession of "front waves" and "back waves" from generation to generation that China has fed 25% of the earth's population with 7% of the land. This outstanding merit is remembered by the people and stirs up the inexhaustible motivation of people to forge ahead and relay hard work.

With the ambition of "serving the country through agriculture", we will not let the people starve, melt our personal dreams into the national dream, and put them into practice, and constantly achieve self-breakthroughs on the road of pursuing excellence. Such a life is worthy of the heart and the times. "Elder Yuan" personally experienced three years of natural disasters and famines, and the scene of hunger and death in the wilderness made him more determined to "serve the country with grain". Since the beginning of the study of hybrid rice, in the past 60 years, the place where he worked was the field, and as soon as he had time, he rode a motorcycle to and from the test field, using first-hand data to study the growth data and laws of hybrid rice, and interpreting the profound connotation of "hiding grain in the land and hiding grain in technology" with the most vivid actions.

Nowadays, China's grain has achieved "seventeen consecutive years of abundance," and the "grain bag" project is firmly in its own hands. This self-confidence and heroism stems from thousands of field strivers and fighters like Yuan Longping and his team, and from the spiritual inheritance and practical relay that struggles for the "great country".

Today, "Elder Yuan" has left us, but his deeds and spirit will last forever, just like a monument standing between heaven and earth, inspiring us to follow the footsteps of our predecessors and continue to move forward.