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In October 1955, after being detained by the United States for five years without reason, Mr. Qian Xuesen and his wife were finally returned to China after going through hardships and began to devote themselves to the construction of the modern national defense cause of New China.
At Chairman Mao’s 71st birthday party in 1964, Chairman Mao personally handed Qian Xuesen cigarettes and showed respect for his contributions over the years. However, halfway through the cigarette, Chairman Mao shrank his hand back and said to Qian Xuesen: "Self-reliance."
What does Chairman Mao mean by this sentence? How did Mr. Qian Xuesen understand and practice this sentence?
Tough Journey to Return to China
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was officially announced.
This exciting news spread to the United States across the ocean. Mr. Qian Xuesen, who worked as a professor at Caltech University, heard that he immediately contacted more than a dozen Chinese students and began to plan a trip to return home together. Although
is home-oriented, Qian Xuesen knows how attractive the technology he has studied and mastered over the years has to the US government. Moreover, he has been deeply involved in the military and technical work of the United States, and the United States will never let him leave easily.
But even if there are many difficulties ahead, it cannot stop Qian Xuesen from his determination to return to China.
He first resigned from his job as an advisor in the U.S. Navy department, but unexpectedly, he was blocked in the first step and his resignation application was delayed.
After the outbreak of the Korean War , Qian Xuesen, as the head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology, was directly monitored by the FBI . He was not allowed to participate in confidential research again, and the identity of the person in charge was also deprived.
Qian Xuesen took the opportunity to resign again, but he still did not receive a response.
In May 1950, Qian Xuesen directly approached the US Navy Deputy Chief Daniel.
"I'm here to say goodbye to you this time. I'm going back to China." he said straight to the point.
What Qian Xuesen did not expect was that his words annoyed Daniel, who had always respected him very much.
The other party naturally understands Qian Xuesen's value very well. In his eyes, even if Qian Xuesen cannot be used for his own use, he must stop him from returning to China.
So he immediately contacted the FBI and solemnly told them: "Qian Xuesen knows that we have too many military secrets, so he must not let him go!"
So when Mr. Qian Xuesen and his wife completed all the return procedures, and even checked their luggage at the airport, the Immigration Bureau stopped them and declared:
"Any foreigners who have participated in the development of high-precision weapons in the United States are not allowed to leave the United States."
Qian Xuesen and his wife had to return to Caltech , and all the 800 kilograms of notes and materials he had accumulated over the years were detained by the US Customs.
This was originally a gift he wanted to offer to his motherland, but was confiscated by the Americans using the excuse of "leaving US military secrets". made Mr. Qian Xuesen very angry. But something he couldn't accept is still there.
The FBI labeled him as a "spy from Mao Zedong" and detained him on an isolated island called Telaina Island.
In the half month since then, American agents imposed various cruel punishments on Mr. Qian Xuesen, trying to force him to surrender.
Finally, Mr. Qian Xuesen was released under the protests of many Chinese overseas Chinese and California Institute of Technology teachers and students.
This move by the Americans not only failed to make Qian Xuesen surrender, but instead inspired his determination to return to his motherland and also stimulated the patriotic enthusiasm of a group of Chinese students. Everyone ended their studies early and returned to China.
However, Qian Xuesen was still not free at this time and lived under the surveillance of federal agents every day.
At the same time, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and others in China learned about Qian Xuesen’s current dilemma, and immediately used diplomatic means to negotiate with the US government, hoping to help Qian Xuesen return to China.
At that time, China and the United States had not yet established diplomatic relations. Premier Zhou could only file a complaint for the US government's house arrest in international conferences and asked him to release Qian Xuesen immediately. But the US representative has never admitted the fact that Qian Xuesen was imprisoned.
Until June 1955, Qian Xuesen sent a letter to Mr. Chen Shutong, Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress through his family, expounding the various evil deeds taken by the US government towards him and expressing his strong desire to return to his motherland.
Chen Shutong handed the letter to Premier Zhou. Premier Zhou immediately sent Wang Bingnan, who was participating in the meeting of Sino-US ambassadors, as representative, and ordered him to expose the evil deeds of the US government at the international conference no matter what.
"Since the US government claims that it has not made things difficult for Mr. Qian Xuesen, and has not stopped him from returning to China, why does Mr. Qian Xuesen still write a letter to the Chinese government for help?"
Wang Bingnan held Mr. Qian Xuesen's letter and asked the US representative righteously.
In the face of absolute facts, the US government has no room for quibbling. At this time, the pressure on public opinion in the international community has all come to the Americans.
Qian Xuesen's letter to Chen Shutong
At the same time, in order to welcome Mr. Qian Xuesen back, the Chinese government made a promise to the US government that is willing to exchange for Qian Xuesen's freedom at the cost of 15 captured US military pilots on the Korean battlefield.
After repeated consideration, the US government can only agree to this transaction.
In August 1955, Mr. Qian Xuesen received a message that the US Immigration Bureau told him that he could leave. At that moment, Mr. Qian Xuesen was ecstatic. On September 17 of the same year, he set off and returned home.
After a half-month sailing at sea, Qian Xuesen set foot on the Luohu Bridge in Shenzhen on October 8th and returned to the embrace of the motherland.
Chairman Mao warned: Self-reliance
After returning to the motherland, Qian Xuesen immediately devoted himself to the construction of science and national defense in New China.
In the winter of 1955, Qian Xuesen came to Harbin Military Engineering College to visit . General Chen Geng came to accompany him after learning about it.
When passing by a rocket model test bench at the school, Chen Geng couldn't help but ask Qian Xuesen: "Mr. Qian, can we build rockets, missiles, ?"
"What's wrong with this? Foreigners can do it, we can!" Qian Xuesen replied without hesitation.
Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Facts have proved that Qian Xuesen's words are not a false statement. At the end of the same year, he and Qian Weichang prepared Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences .
In February 1956, he wrote an article on the establishment of the national defense aviation industry, which put forward very constructive opinions and guidance on my country's national defense industry.
Qian Xuesen's series of actions after returning to China strongly demonstrated his enthusiasm for serving the country and the people. Because of this, he was soon received by Chairman Mao.
time on the occasion of the second National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The meeting of the second National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was held, and Qian Xuesen was invited to attend. After the meeting ended, Chairman Mao invited the delegates to have dinner together.
However, when Qian Xuesen was in the seat, there was a problem here, that is, the seat written on his invitation was at 37 tables, but when he got there, he found that his name was not on the table.
Just when he was a little confused, a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Mr. Qian, come here to sit down." The person who greeted him was Chairman Mao.
Qian Xuesen was a little flattered and hurried to the Chairman. Chairman Mao enthusiastically held Qian Xuesen's hand and said happily: "We have been looking forward to you for a long time, Comrade Qian Xuesen."
It turned out that when the staff were making arrangements for the banquet, Qian Xuesen was indeed arranged to sit at 37 tables.
But Chairman Mao happened to see the seat table. When he glanced at Qian Xuesen's name, he immediately wrote Qian Xuesen's name next to his seat.
It was like this. Qian Xuesen sat next to him for the first time when he met Chairman Mao, which made him a little flattered.
Faced with Chairman Mao’s warm hospitality, Qian Xuesen was even more at a loss, and of course he was a little surprised.
He did not expect that less than a year after returning to China, he was successively received by Chen Geng, Ye Jianying, Nie Rongzhen and other revolutionary meritorious generals, and now he was pulled together by Chairman Mao.
Qian Xuesen felt infinitely moved in his heart, and at the same time he made his determination to build the scientific national defense cause of his motherland more firm. During the meal, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and others chatted and laughed, mixed with some humor and wit. The atmosphere was quickly motivated, and Qian Xuesen gradually relaxed and began to talk to everyone about the development and construction of the motherland.
Since then, Qian Xuesen has devoted all his body, mind and energy to his work. According to his suggestion, Premier Zhou personally presided over a meeting of the Central Military Commission and decided to establish our own missile research institution.
On October 8 of the same year, the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defense was established. Not long after, Qian Xuesen immediately joined the missile development work.
At this time, China and the Soviet Union had a good relationship, so the first missile was imitated on the teaching and models provided by the Soviet Union. Of course, it is not easy to just work like this.
There are generally lacking in relevant professional talents in China, and there is a serious problem of language barriers. Qian Xuesen can only organize personnel to digest the drawings and materials provided by the Soviet Union bit by bit.
It is worth mentioning that Qian Xuesen did not fully follow the guidance and drawings provided by Soviet experts, but instead optimized and transformed it on its basis.
Because of this, when all Soviet experts withdrew from China, Qian Xuesen was still able to complete the next development task with confidence.
took 4 years. After unremitting efforts, my country's first "Dongfeng 1" missile was successfully launched.
Early in the morning of November 5, 1960, the first missile roar sounded at the Jiuquan Missile Launch Base, and " Dongfeng 1 " jumped into the sky, and China has since entered the ranks of military powers for independent research and development of missiles.
Watching the missile cut through the sky and into the sky, Qian Xuesen felt indescribable pleasure and pride. and then he immediately invested in the research and development of medium-range surface-to-ground missiles. The research on the
medium-range missile is undoubtedly more difficult. It is not only because of the higher technical level requirements, but more importantly, it does not have the guidance experience of Soviet experts.
But in this difficult environment, Qian Xuesen still led the team and successfully developed my country's first medium-range missile in 1964, which also means that my country has completely escaped from the Soviet Union's technological blockade.
At the end of the same year, Chairman Mao rarely held a birthday party in Zhongnanhai to celebrate his 71st birthday.
said it was Chairman Mao’s birthday party, but his purpose was to take the opportunity to reward the scientific researchers who contributed to the modernization of the motherland. Qian Xuesen, as the founder of China’s missile industry, was naturally also invited.
After arriving at the banquet, Chairman Mao met Qian Xuesen, who had been missing for a long time.
While walking towards him, Chairman took out a cigarette from his pocket and acted as he wanted to hand Qian Xuesen the cigarette.
But who knew that before Qian Xuesen could reach out to pick it up, the chairman shrank his hand back and said to Qian Xuesen with a smile: "It's better to be self-reliant, I won't give you cigarettes!"
As soon as this said, it immediately attracted laughter from everyone.
And Chairman Mao’s words are actually quite meaningful.
After the Soviet Union suspended the provision of assistance from all parties to China, my country's research in many fields once stagnated.
Fortunately, Qian Xuesen did not copy the Soviet missile technology at that time, but instead studied and studied. so the missile could be successfully launched after the Soviet experts evacuated.
The Chairman obviously knew about this matter. So Chairman Mao said to Qian Xuesen that "you need to be self-reliant." actually praised his outstanding achievements and forward-looking vision in the missile industry.
At the same time, he was also warning him to insist on taking the independent route in the future and avoid being controlled by foreigners. Qian Xuesen also heard the meaning of the Chairman's words and kept it in mind.
From the great innovation of China's " two bombs and one satellite " cause, Qian Xuesen has always been practicing the instructions of the Chairman.
Practice the Chairman's teachings
On October 20, 1966, the Central Military Commission held a special meeting in Great Hall of the People . The topic was about a vision proposed by Qian Xuesen: the combination of missiles and atomic bomb .
Qian Xuesen plans to load the atomic bomb onto the missile, borrowing the speed and accuracy of the missile to achieve atomic bomb drop, thereby perfectly releasing the power of the atomic bomb.
If this plan can be realized, China's military strength will surely reach a new level.
actually proposed this possibility a long time ago. With the advent of the Dongfeng series of missiles and the successful explosion of the first atomic bomb in in , this idea finally has a technical basis to become a reality.
conducts a combination of two bombs tests, which is undoubtedly dangerous. In order to ensure that the test does not harm the people as much as possible, Premier Zhou specifically pointed out: must solve the safety problems, and complete the two studies on insurance measures and safe self-destruction before the experiment.
Qian Xuesen spent a lot of effort on this. He went to , the Jiuquan launch base, many times, and personally directed the missiles for experimental flights.
Qian Xuesen was guiding his work
At that time, he would always carry a notebook with him wherever he went. The table clearly lists each detailed step of the two bomb experiment, as well as the operating methods and components used at each location.
With the leadership of Qian Xuesen and the concerted efforts of everyone, the insurance and self-destruction procedures of the two bomb experiments were finally developed. Next is the most important experimental process.
In October 1966, Qian Xuesen and Marshal Nie Rongzhen went to Jiuquan to command and dispatch the final launch test on the spot.
On the morning of October 27, the Jiuquan launch area was covered with clouds and strong winds, but none of this could prevent the missile from taking off. At 8:50 am, the missile was launched into the preparation procedure.
vertically, test, and raise. At that moment, Qian Xuesen called "ignite!" came, and the Dongfeng missile shone a dazzling white light and roared towards the destination.
After a few minutes, the missile successfully carried the nuclear warhead over Lop Nur and exploded accurately at the predetermined location. The test of the two bombs of was a complete success. The combination of
missile and atomic bomb is another great breakthrough in China's aerospace and missile industry, and China has become the fifth country in the world to independently control the combination of the two bombs.
Chinese people have once again achieved the goal of making the whole world stand out through self-reliance.
. Mr. Qian Xuesen, the biggest contributor to this achievement, did not have the ambition to do so. After that, he turned his attention to the artificial satellite field.
As early as 1958, Chairman Mao proposed at the CCP meeting: "We also need to build artificial satellites!"
10 years later, the Central Military Commission and the State Council finally passed the approval of the establishment of the Space Technology Research Institute , and appointed Qian Xuesen as the director of the institute, and carried out the research work on artificial satellites.
If you want to successfully launch satellite , the first thing you need to solve is the power problem. For this reason, Qian Xuesen developed the "Long March 1" launch vehicle based on the "Dongfeng 4" missile. During the
process, Qian Xuesen always visited the experimental site and solved many technical problems. He said:
"China's rocket engine is completely born from our own self-reliance. Without the help of foreigners, it is not a copy of others, but a crystallization of Chinese people's own wisdom."
Dongfanghong-1 launch platform
Time came in late April 1970, Qian Xuesen once again visited the Jiuquan launch site, but this time the protagonist was replaced by satellite.
At 21:35 pm on April 24, a loud bang suddenly came from the vast desert, and " Long March 1 " held " Dongfanghong-1 " slowly took off. In a blink of an eye, the two disappeared into the vast night sky. 210 minutes later, the inspection department heard from: "The rocket and the satellite have separated! Dongfanghong successfully entered the track! "
At that moment, the launch site suddenly became boiling, and the audience around the radio and TV jumped up. The wonderful music of "Oriental Red" spread throughout the land of China...
Oriental Red No. 1
Conclusion
Mr. Qian Xuesen never forgot Chairman Mao's teachings of "self-reliance". And Mr. Qian Xuesen has made great contributions to China's aerospace industry.
update It is gratifying that batches of young talents have emerged in the land of China.
They have caught up with the footsteps of their ancestors with their extremely high patriotic enthusiasm and upward fighting spirit, and are constantly carrying out the unfinished careers of their predecessors.
"Self-reliance" The four words "Self-reliance" are Mr. Qian Xuesen's lifelong pursuit and the goal of thousands of Chinese children fighting for their whole life.
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