The Long March of Ten Thousand Miles, the Resignation of the Five Dynasties Palace Que.
In 1937, during the rumbling artillery fire of the Lugou Bridge Incident, countless universities and scientific research institutions in Beijing moved south to avoid chaos in Yunnan, which is known as the rear area. Yan Keats, 36, also took the staff of the Institute of Physics of the National Beiping Research Institute to bid farewell to the ancient capital of the Five Dynasties in Beijing, and moved south with difficulty. In 1931, Yan Keats, who had just arrived at the age of establishment, became a full-time researcher and director of the Institute of Physics of the National Peking Research Institute. Eager to save the country through science, he took the institute as his home and often worked "5 + 2" and "white plus black". Mrs. Zhang Zongying laughed at him: "In addition to eating and sleeping, I stay in the research institute at other times." ”
It is precisely this kind of life that Yan Keats regards as the most suitable state for scientific research. In his dictionary of life, before the age of 36, there are "uprooted" but no "displacement". But the artillery fire of the Japanese invasion of China forced him to be displaced.
"I know that I have a thing called the country, and the cuteness of the country" "Today's world is aggressive, and there is no way to build a country without science." When he first went to Study in France, he knew the cuteness of the country and the preciousness of peace. At this moment, his idea of saving the country through science and technology is even stronger. In the south of the clouds, Yan Keats is facing a more important topic: how to achieve science and technology to save the country?
Location: Kunming
One of the pleasures: the Black Dragon Pond has to meet the fellow countrymen
In 1937, Yan Keats visited France for the third time, which was also the third time he faced the choice between going and staying.
"The war is raging, what are you going to do?" And what can be done? Knowing that Yan Keats intended to return to China, the teacher and friend did not understand and struggled to stay.
Taking the opportunity of being interviewed by a reporter from a newspaper in Lyon, France, Yan Keats said in his heart: "Although I am a student and cannot contribute to the front, I will immediately return to my motherland and dedicate my modest efforts to the sacred War of Resistance with thousands of Chinese readers..."
What Yan Keats did not know was that his home in Beijing was being monitored by Japanese agents at this time. After he boarded the ship in Marseille, he was recognized by a Vietnamese doctor who was in the same boat and advised him that his home in Beijing was very likely to be under surveillance. Yan Keats disembarked in Hong Kong. During his stay in Hong Kong, he learned that xiong Qinglai, his mentor at the time of "Nangao", had served as the president of Yunnan University, so he took the French colony of Vietnam to Kunming, and after talking with the head of the teacher, he decided to move the Institute of Physics to Kunming, and informed Zhang Zongying to bring his family to Hong Kong to meet.
In the second half of 1938, the Institute of Physics of the Beiping Research Institute was relocated to the Longquan Temple in Heilongtan, a northern suburb of Kunming.
"In fact, LongquanGuan is not the first site of the Institute in Kunming." Chen Xuyang, secretary of the First Party Branch of the Kunming Dongyang Friendship Association, learned after consulting and inquiring from many sources that after the institute moved to Kunming, because Yan Keats temporarily placed his home in the urban area, the office of the institute was also temporarily located in Guanghua Street, Kunming City, and later or because of the small area of the research site, poor conditions and other reasons, it was located in Longquan Temple.
In the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences near Heilongtan, the book "Former Residence of Kunming Celebrities" is preserved. The book records that at that time, after a field investigation, Yan Keats found that although longquan temple was remote, one or two kilometers away from the city center, it was better than qingjing, and there was a central machine manufacturing factory with strong mechanical processing strength nearby, so he selected Longquan temple and moved the research institute over.
In fact, what prompted Yan Keats to move the institute to Heilongtan was Cai Xitao, a fellow of Dongyang and a famous botanist. In 1932, Cai Xitao was sent by the North Nanjing Biological Survey to Collect Tropical Plant Specimens in Yunnan, and in April 1938, he founded the Yunnan Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany. In the days of Yunnan, two Dongyang scientists supported each other and formed a brotherly friendship. In 1991, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Cai Xitao's death, Yan Keats specially wrote an inscription: "During the War of Resistance Against Japan, you and I worked for eight years in two research institutes founded by two Dongyang people across the road from The Black Dragon Pond, east and west of the road, and I am still often in mourning." ”
Longquan Temple is a Taoist temple with a history of more than 2,000 years and is one of the main birthplaces of Taoism in Yunnan. Yang Rui, a confidant of Longquan Temple, introduced that Longquan Temple covers an area of about 30 acres, surrounded by ancient trees and towering trees, and the environment is elegant. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Taoist temple was snubbed, and the temple fell into disrepair for many years, desolate and dilapidated. However, Yan Keats and other scientists are eager to serve the country, and this place has become a "dojo" for devoting themselves to scientific research.
Happy second: the development of the first batch of optical instruments
The working environment by the Black Dragon Pond can be described as "internal and external troubles". Internally, the scientific research conditions are simple, some of the instruments and books in Beiping cannot be carried, and some are lost in the middle of the way, and it is impossible to carry out research; externally, Japanese aircraft bombing is frequent, and scientific researchers often have to avoid.
Cheng Kuizhu, the daughter of Yan Keats's sister-in-law Cheng Pinwen, the principal of his dongyang middle school, lived in the Yan family at that time. She clearly remembered that Yan Keats often returned home in the middle of the night, and when he returned home, he often fell into bitter thinking, and people were obviously emaciated. Later, she learned that Yan Keats was researching applied optics and developing much-needed military instruments for the anti-Japanese resistance," he said, "No matter how talented a person is, if there is no strong country, it is impossible to make science serve the nation and justice." ”
Yan Keats later recalled that under such conditions, it was not only impossible but also meaningless to resume scientific research in Beiping.
Just as Yan Keats was struggling to think about how to open up the work situation, the Military Industry Bureau of the Ministry of Military Affairs proposed to ask the institute to make microscopes, and a nearby radio factory also asked for piezoelectric crystal oscillators. In view of the lack of military equipment and rear medical equipment of the forward troops in wartime, Yan Keats decided to carry out wartime instrument production services and engage in the development of crystal oscillators, ranging mirrors, microscopes, etc. From optical calculations, lens grinding, to assembly and inspection, it's all hands-on.
The famous physicist Qian Linzhao remembered this deeply: "In the case of very difficult conditions and extremely simple equipment, the staff of our institute, under the leadership of Mr. Yan, worked together to grind the lens, measure the focal length, carefully inspect, and carefully assemble... Looking back on that year, although I was still bitter, I couldn't help but once again miss Mr. Yan Keats's sincerity to science and his infinite love for the motherland. ”
Within 4 years, Yan Keats led researchers to make more than 1,000 crystal oscillators for radio transceiver frequency stabilization, more than 300 sets of rangefinders and telescopes for infantry, and 500 1500-fold microscopes.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first batch of optical instruments manufactured by china, and these instruments have to be imported before.
What's more, with the help of this work, Yan Keats not only takes students to do research, but also teaches them foreign languages and professional knowledge. It has cultivated a number of backbones for the research and manufacture of optical instruments and precision instruments. After they were alone, Yan Keats sent them abroad to study. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, this group of people dispersed to the northeast, Xi'an, Shanghai, and Beijing, and became the backbone of the local optical research institute.
In 1943, the Central Committee for Cultural Movements of the National Government awarded Yan Keats a certificate: "Mr. Cha Yan Keats's invention of the new method of grinding crystals has made great contributions to national defense science, and is hereby recommended by the National Defense Science and Technology Promotion Association to give a special award to show encouragement"; in 1946, he was awarded the third-class "Jingxing Medal" issued by the National Government.
Happy Third: The Victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in the Old Home to Friends
In the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is a bungalow built in 1940 with a single brick and wood structure and a fusion of Chinese and Western elements, which is the living and office place of Yan Keats in Kunming. Surrounded by greenery, it's quiet. This is Yan Keats's self-built house.
A search group composed of reporters from the Municipal Rong Media Center and university students from Kunming In Kunming was interviewed at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
It turned out that the so-called rear area was actually not calm, and Japanese aircraft often attacked the urban area of Kunming. Shortly after Yan Keats went to work in Heilongtan, Zhang Zongying moved to the temple with his children. Later, Yan Keats bought land and built a house on a hillside across the road from the Yunnan Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany (the predecessor of the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences).
"Don't look at the good environment now, at that time, the house was surrounded by empty space." Lu Zhengren, secretary of the second party branch of the Kunming Dongyang Friendship Association, sighed that this bungalow with a total of 116.7 square meters was crowded in Yan Keats' husband and wife, parents-in-law, 5 children, and there were often wolves nearby.
Yan Keats heard the news of the victory of the War of Resistance in the United States. In August 1945, at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State, Yan Keats visited the United States as a visiting scholar. Within a week of arriving in Washington, he had heard the news of Japan's unconditional surrender and witnessed the American people welcoming General Eisenhower's triumph in Washington. At that moment, he was eager to fly back to China and preside over the scientific research work to get back on track as soon as possible.
The interview group took a group photo in front of Yan Keats's former residence
When he moved the institute back to Beijing, Yan Keats gave the house to Cai Xitao.
After the establishment of the Kunming Dongyang Friendship Association, the first and second branches will organize party members to visit Yan Keats' former residence every year. While lamenting the strict old life and simple scientific research conditions in those years, everyone also felt that a happy life was not easy to come by. Elder Yan's contribution to the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression made all the people in Eastern Yunnan proud. Lu Zhengren said that they will pass on and carry forward the patriotic feelings of yan lao from generation to generation.
The interior of Yan Keats and Cai Xitao's former residence
In recent years, the renovation of this former residence has been uninterrupted, with the most recent renovation starting in 2018. In the same year, the "Former Residence of Yan Keats and Cai Xitao" was selected as the eighth batch of provincial cultural relics protection units in Yunnan Province.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yan Keats incarnated as a "cultivator" and willingly became an "ascetic monk" in the current situation of Bandang, completing the refinement of the scientist's heart to serve the country in the flames, and realizing the transformation and exploration of the path of science and technology to save the country. On the shores of Dianchi Lake, there will always be his inspirational story!
Si is the Burrow, but Wu Dexin
"Si is a burrow, but Wu Dexin", this sentence is most appropriate to describe Yan Keats's former residence in Kunming, Yunnan. This simple bungalow is not only a place where Yan Keats and his family live together, but also a temporary "trench" for him to lead his team members to overcome technical difficulties day and night. With enthusiasm, they carried out applied optical research in a turbulent and arduous environment, and manufactured the first optical instruments in China, which effectively supported the front-line War of Resistance. Patriotism and the desire to serve the country are admirable.
Li Xue, a staff member of the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is very familiar with Yan Keats, and not only sorts out the relevant written materials, but also takes the initiative to play the role of a docent, telling the fate of Yan Keats and Kunming for a group of visitors. "The staff of our institute all admire Elder Yan and Elder Cai, who are from Dongyang, but they have left a strong mark in Kunming." Li Xue said that Dongyang, a small and medium-sized city in Zhejiang, has produced a large number of outstanding talents from ancient times to the present, and is worthy of the title of "hometown of education."
"I graduated from Dongyang Middle School in high school and had the honor of becoming an alumnus with Elder Yan. Elder Yan's 'Mu Guang' spirit has always inspired the children of Dongzhong To climb the academic peak, such as Pan Jianwei, the father of Chinese quantum and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has also publicly stated that he is deeply influenced by Elder Yan. Jiang Yucong, a college student from Dongyang University of Yunnan University, visited Yan Keats' former residence with the interview group. Previously, he did not know that Yan Keats had carried out scientific research work in Kunming, and this visit gave him a more comprehensive understanding of this history and a deeper feeling for Yan Keats' spirit of serving the country with science and technology.
"Elder Yan is the pride of our Dongyang people! This time I had the honor to participate in the interview group, retrace the road that Elder Yan had walked in those years, and visit his former residence, and I deeply felt the fiery patriotic heart behind Elder Yan's full talent. In front of Yan Keats's former residence, Ge Linxuan, a student from Dongyang of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, firmly said that she would take this outstanding scientist and educator as an example, take every step in front of her, and strive to become a useful person to society.
Author: Chen Linxu Chen Yidian Li Lei Chen Qiaoying Chen Jiao
Editors: Jiang Zhi Wu Meilin