△ Chongqing Museum of Natural History
Speaking of the Chongqing Natural History Museum, located in The Beibei District of Chongqing, many citizens are very familiar with it. Here, not only can you see a variety of biological fossils, but also a special dinosaur exhibition hall, which can also let everyone see the style of various dinosaur fossils produced in Chongqing.
Since the opening of the Western China Academy of Sciences, the predecessor of the Chongqing Museum of Natural History, to the outside world in 1930, the Chongqing Museum of Natural History has accompanied the citizens of Chongqing for 90 years. On December 25, the Chongqing Museum of Natural History celebrated its 90th birthday.
90 years is not short, but when it comes to the story of this exhibition hall, how much do you know? Today, in the narration of Ouyang Hui, director of the Chongqing Museum of Natural History, the story of this museum, which has become one of the science and technology centers in China and even the world, has once again entered everyone's field of vision.
This was the location of China's first private academy of sciences, during the War of Resistance, China's famous scientists gathered around it, not only researched China's first modern seismometer, but also China's first dinosaur fossil is also here for the first time to stand up and exhibit to the public...
Lu Zuofu established China's first private academy of sciences
△ Former site of the Academy of Sciences of Western China
Standing on the hill of Wenxing Bay in Beibei, a two-story building with flying eaves and a combination of East and West is particularly eye-catching. The white stone walls and red wooden doors and windows make this small building exude a unique charm in the shade of green trees.
If you were just standing in front of this small building and not going straight in, you would have had a hard time guessing that the old building under the cornice had dealt with the words technology and nature for nearly a century.
It is the former site of China's first private academy of sciences, the Academy of Sciences of Western China.
Today, few people know the name of the Academy of Sciences in Western China, even in Chongqing, where the scientific institution was originally founded. However, in the 1930s, the name of the Western Academy of Sciences was very loud, and it was not only the first comprehensive scientific research institution in western China, but also the first private academy of sciences in China.
Ouyang Hui said: The person who founded this private academy of sciences was Lu Zuofu, a famous industrialist in China.
To build an academy of sciences, adequate funding is essential. Ouyang Hui said that at that time, Lu Zuofu was already a celebrity in Sichuan, and the general manager of the well-known Minsheng Company was naturally quite influential, and the affairs of the Western Academy of Sciences were supported by Liu Xiang, Liu Wenhui, and other leaders of the Sichuan Army at the time, and the funds were quickly settled.
The money for the establishment of the museum was in place, and Lu Zuofu immediately began to build a museum for the people. In 1930, Lu Zuofu chose Beibei, which is far from the troubles of the city and has convenient transportation, and is surrounded by mineral-rich mountains and rivers. The "Academy of Sciences of Western China", with the aim of "studying practical science and assisting the development of economic and cultural undertakings in western China", was formally established in The Yue Temple of Shandong Province, Beibei, Chongqing.
At this point, China's first and only private academy of sciences in southwest China was officially established, with four research institutes of physics and chemistry, geology, biology, agriculture and forestry, as well as museums, libraries and schools. During the years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, scientists from all over the country and even overseas, based in Sichuan and southwest China, investigated mineral and geological conditions, proved mineral reserves, investigated the unique customs and ethnic customs of western Sichuan, collected animal and plant specimens from southwest and northwest Sichuan, and cultivated, improved and introduced fruits, trees, vegetables and livestock.
China's first modern seismometer was born here
Today's Chongqing Museum of Natural History contains the rarest and world's earliest fossils of primitive mammals in China; the fossils of the folded scales unique to Sichuan; and the earliest precious fossils of the world's Pleistocene fossils——— the ancient Chinese turtle. It also ranks first among similar museums in the country with more than 70,000 pieces of geological and mineral paleontology, animals and plant specimens, of which rare animal and plant specimens account for more than a quarter of such specimens in the country.
This belongs to the glory of the museum today, but more than 70 years ago, it also became the focus of the country and even the world because of the endless emergence of scientific and technological achievements. Ouyang Hui said that China's first modern seismometer was born here, and his inventor was Li Shanbang, a famous seismologist in China.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, with the help of the Academy of Sciences of Western China at that time, the Central Institute of Geology, which had moved inland, settled in Beibei. In 1943, in order to avoid the chaos of war, Li Shanbang fled from Beijing to Chongqing. Here, he began to devote himself to the development of seismometers Chinese.
Amid the constant roar of enemy planes, Li Shanbang overcame difficulties unimaginable to ordinary people. The lathe has no electricity, so it relies on hand crank. If there is no flywheel, ask the stonemason to hit a stone wheel. In order to correct the accuracy of the instrument, Li Shanbang personally ran to the old goods stall to look for waste, and in the accessories of the machine, he even used shoe polish boxes and tin cans.
In the summer of 1943, the first mechanical record-type horizontal seismometer developed by Chinese was finally introduced. It was a historic moment: In the early morning of June 22, 1943, an earthquake near Chengdu was clearly recorded by Li Shanbang's seismometer.
Subsequently, Li Shanbang built the only seismic station during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beibei, Chongqing, and from the beginning of work to the end of the War of Resistance, a total of 109 earthquakes were recorded here, and the earthquake records were compiled into reports.
More than 70 years ago, China's first dinosaur fossil stood here
△ Xu's Lu FengLong
When it comes to dinosaur fossils in the Natural History Museum, people can be said to be relishing, Hechuan Mamenxi Dragon, Yongchuan Dragon, Dashiba Dinosaur... Their stories always touch people's hearts.
But do you know that more than 70 years ago, China's first dinosaur fossil skeleton was "standing" in the exhibition hall of the Western Chinese Academy of Sciences at that time, which was the world-famous Xu's Lufeng Dragon.
China's first dinosaur fossil skeleton was excavated in 1939 on the east slope of Shawan, Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, and academician Yang Zhongjian, the pioneer and founder of vertebrate paleozoology in China, named it Xu's Lufeng Dragon. At that time, when the official war was raging, in order to protect the safety of these precious fossils, Yang Zhongjian began to move them to Chongqing with them.
In the spring of 1941, Yang Zhongjian wrote and published the first scientific monograph on dinosaurs in Chinese, "Xu's Lufeng Dragon", in Beibei, Chongqing.
According to Mr. Yang Zhongjian's research, we know that Xu's Lu fenglong is about 6 meters long and stands tall by more than 2 meters. It has a small head, a pointed mouth, a regular triangle in the nostrils, and large eye sockets. The bones of the growing teeth are thin and weak, and there are serrations on the front and back edges.
Xu Lufenglong's forelimbs are short, the hind limbs are long and thick, the front and rear feet have 5 finger (toe) heads, the hind foot toe bone is stronger than the phalangeal bone of the forefoot, and the first claw of the front and back feet are developed. It is speculated that it can stand and walk on its hind feet when it is alive, and its tail is dragged to the ground to play a balancing role. It can also land on its forelimbs while foraging or resting.
On January 5, 1941, after the 5th anniversary of Ding Wenjiang's death held by the Geological Society of China at the Wenxing bay geological survey, Yang Zhongjian gave a lecture on "Xu's Lufeng Dragon's Study and Training" and guided the participants to visit the fossil skeleton of Xu's Lufeng dragon. Subsequently, Xu Shilu Fenglong conducted a public exhibition at the Geological Survey Institute.
This was the first public appearance of Xu Lufenglong, and the appearance of this big guy caused quite a stir in chongqing city at that time.
△Hechuan Mamenxi Dragon Field Excavation Site (1957)
△ Yongchuan Dragon Field Excavation Site (1976)
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Chongqing Natural History Museum
Chongqing Museum of Natural History has a rich cultural accumulation, so far has a 90-year uninterrupted history, in the history of China's modern scientific and technological development, museums have occupied an important place in the history of museum development. The museum's predecessors were the "Academy of Western China Academy of Sciences" founded by Mr. Lu Zuofu in 1930, and the "Western China Museum" jointly established by more than ten national academic institutions in 1943.
In 1950, the Academy of Sciences of Western China and the Museum of Western China were taken over by the Southwest Ministry of Culture and Education. In 1952, it was changed to the Southwest People's Science Museum. In 1953, it was merged into the Southwest Museum and renamed the Southwest Museum of Natural History. In 1955, the Southwest Museum was reorganized into the Chongqing Municipal Museum. In 1981, the Sichuan Provincial People's Government added the "Chongqing Natural History Museum of Sichuan Province" sign to the Chongqing Municipal Museum. In 1991, the Chongqing Museum of Natural History was established independently.
Upstream News Chongqing Morning News reporter Li Sheng
Source: Upstream News Bring together the upward forces