Shen Hong is one of the outstanding leaders of China's machinery industry and is known as a "multi-faceted and lifelong engineer". He is also inextricably linked to the birth and development of "Metalworking", and today we will take a look at the outstanding life of this old predecessor.
Bring your own machine to Yan'an to create a machinery industry in the Liberated Zone
When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in 1937, in the face of the cruel reality of the shattering of mountains and rivers and the loss of the land, Shen Hong (see Figure 1), who had a strong sense of national consciousness and patriotic enthusiasm, resolutely destroyed his family and relieved the difficulties, took 10 machines and 7 workers from the hardware factory he founded to the west, and traveled to Wuhan and Xi'an to Yan'an, the holy land of the Chinese revolution, becoming the first and only capitalist to participate in the anti-Japanese resistance in Yan'an.
Figure 1 Shen Hong, an outstanding leader of China's machinery industry
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Shen Hong served as the chief engineer of the Machine Factory in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. At that time, the conditions in Yan'an were extremely difficult, there was a shortage of funds and materials, and in the face of the Kuomintang blockade, he relied on the creed of "designing and manufacturing whatever is needed to resist Japan", because of the ugliness and simplicity, self-reliance, designed and manufactured as many as 134 models, hundreds of sets of machinery and equipment, equipped the border area arsenal and civilian factories, and made special contributions to the creation of the machinery industry in the liberated areas and to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan. In 1942, Chairman Mao Zedong also personally wrote the four characters of "infinite loyalty" for Shen Hong. In 1947, Shen Hong joined the Communist Party of China through the introduction of Liu Ding and Jiang Zaiyu.
Write to Chairman Mao to build a 10,000-ton hydraulic press
After the founding of New China, Shen Hong successively served as assistant minister of the Third Machinery Industry, deputy director of the Motor Manufacturing Industry, vice minister of the Coal Industry, vice minister of the Agricultural Machinery Industry, deputy director of the First Machinery Industry, deputy director of the State Machinery Industry Commission, etc., making outstanding contributions to the development of China's machinery industry, and was known as "the chief engineer of China's machinery industry".
The 10,000-ton hydraulic press is used for forging large forgings, which is the key core equipment of the heavy machinery manufacturing plant and represents the development level of the heavy manufacturing industry in a country. In 1958, during shen hong's attendance at the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he wrote to Chairman Mao Zedong and proposed the construction of a 10,000-ton hydraulic press, which was approved. At that time, China did not have the conditions and experience to manufacture 12,000t hydraulic presses, and Shen Hong led the young people of the design team to run all over the existing hydraulic press workshops across the country.
The biggest problem in manufacturing hydraulic presses is that the workpiece is too large and too heavy, there is no large casting forging, and there is no large lifting equipment. Shen Hong concentrated the wisdom of all aspects, adopted the method of "divide and rule, rule the big with the small", adopted the new process of electroslag remelting and welding to weld the 80t large column and the 200t large beam, and created a series of soil methods such as "ant top Taishan, silver wire turning Kunlun" and "ant gnawing bones". In order to be sure, he also designed and trial produced two simulation testing machines, and put forward the design concepts of "seven things consistent system" and "four to the scene". The first 10,000-ton hydraulic press (see Figure 2) was born at the most difficult time in China, creating a world-renowned performance and opening up a new way to manufacture large-scale equipment.
Figure 2 China's first 10,000-ton hydraulic press
Independent innovation Develop large-scale key equipment
In the construction of new China, in order to break the international blockade, Shen Hong personally presided over major projects, solved engineering and technical problems, and achieved one innovative result after another, so that China basically formed a complete set of machinery manufacturing system.
In the early 1960s, Sino-Soviet relations were unprecedentedly tense, the international situation underwent great changes, in order to study atomic bombs, missiles, aircraft on their own, the central government proposed that the machinery industry supply a variety of new equipment needed to produce new materials, commonly known as the "nine major equipment", Shen Honglin was appointed to preside over the research and development work. There are 840 kinds of "nine major equipment" and more than 1400 units, the project is huge and extremely difficult, it took 9 years to complete, and the "nine major equipment" still plays a huge role in economic construction.
In 1961, Shen Hong was ordered by Premier Zhou Enlai to assist the Ministry of Water and Power in solving the problem of rotor welding of the hydro turbine of the Sanmenxia Hydropower Station. Subsequently, the development of the train wheel wheel hoop rolling mill was completed, ending the era of train wheel hoop dependence on imports. He also solved the design of the locks of Gezhouba and completed the manufacture of large-scale equipment for climbing steel and bengang.
Attach importance to the publishing industry Care about the growth of "Mechanical Worker"
Shen Hong attaches great importance to the popularization and dissemination of engineering technology and is very concerned about the publishing industry. As early as the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he actively recommended the translation of a series of mechanical books such as the "Encyclopedia of Soviet Mechanical Manufacturing". In 1961, Shen Hong was transferred to the deputy director of the First Ministry of Machinery Industry just a few months ago and decided to restore the Machinery Industry Press, and hatched a comprehensive and huge plan for the publication work.
From 1973 to 1982, Shen Hong presided over and organized the compilation of China's first "Mechanical Engineering Manual" and "Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Manual", a total of 25 volumes, 30 million words, and nearly 100,000 sets. In his later years, he resigned from all his positions, but retained the position of honorary president of the Mechanical Industry Press. "This will be my lifelong career," he said.
"Mechanical Worker" magazine is one of the earliest scientific and technological journals in the history of China's machinery industry, founded in October 1950, has played a role in disseminating and promoting the development of China's machinery industry. As a veteran leader of China's machinery industry, Shen Hong has participated in many activities organized by "Mechanical Worker" and has written inscriptions for "Mechanical Worker" many times.
In 1981, shen Hong said when attending the 30th anniversary of the founding of "Mechanical Worker" magazine:
As soon as I walked in the door, I saw a full set of Mechanical Workers from 1950 to the present, a great machine. This machine is not made of steel, it is a big machine forged with the painstaking efforts of many people. The products of this big machine are all over China, and some of them have reached the whole world.
In 1990, on the 40th anniversary of the founding of Mechanical Worker Magazine, Shen Hong wrote an inscription (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 Shen Hong's inscription for the 40th anniversary of the founding of "Mechanical Worker"
In 2008, "Mechanical Worker" was renamed "Metalworking", and in 2020, "Metalworking" ushered in the 70th anniversary of its founding, we will keep in mind the teachings of the old leaders, and push this big machine forged by generations of people's hearts - "Metalworking" to the world!
A history of metalworking
"Metalworking History" takes the record of "MetalWorking" (formerly known as "Mechanical Worker") magazine since its inception in 1950 as the main line, revisits several important events, famous figures and historical fragments in the machinery industry in New China in the past 70 years, focuses on a large number of new technologies and new processes promoted and exchanged by magazines in various historical periods from the "First Five-Year Plan" to the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan", reviews a large number of national famous labor models such as Ni Zhifu and their production practice experience, and at the same time, It shows the contribution of the magazine to the development of the industry and the development process of the magazine.