When he was a child, he studied civil engineering and railway at Yale University in the United States. He had good moral character and excellent academic performance; he broke the Westerners' wild claim at that time that "Chinese engineers who can build Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway have not yet been born", presided over and led the Chinese people He built the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and many other railways; he established many rules and regulations for my country's railway construction and devoted his life to my country's railway industry. He is the "glory of the Chinese people" praised by Premier Zhou Enlai and the founder of my country's railway industry, Zhan Tianyou, whose ancestral home is Wuyuan, Jiangxi. Not long ago, the author had the honor to visit the Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall located on the Badaling Great Wall in the suburbs of Beijing and the Qinglongqiao Railway Station not far away, and I felt even more awe-inspiring for Zhan Tianyou.
Study in the United States and learn both good character and learning
On April 26, 1861, Zhan Tianyou was born outside the west gate of Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture (now part of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province). 100 years before he was born, that is, in 1761, his great-grandfather Zhan Wanbang took his family from Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, and moved to Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture to run a tea business. Zhan Tianyou attended a private school when he was young. In August 1872, when he was only 11 years old, he and 29 other children were among the first batch of children sent by the Qing government to study in the United States. In 1878, he was admitted to the Department of Civil Engineering of Yale University to study railway engineering with outstanding results in graduating from Hill House High School in New Haven, USA. Whether in his hometown or in the United States, he studied very hard and achieved excellent results. In June 1881, he graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. His graduation certificate reads: "Zhan Tianyou is the first-class candidate to obtain a university degree. He was honorably awarded the title of Bachelor of Philosophy; and as usual, he received all the rights and reputations that a person promoted to a bachelor's degree should enjoy." Although The international students overcame various difficulties to learn advanced scientific and technological knowledge from the United States. However, due to the closed-door policy adopted by the Qing government, they decided to withdraw the students from studying in the United States. At that time, Yale University President Porter spoke highly of Zhan Tianyou and others and warmly invited him to stay. Among the Chinese students studying in the United States at that time, Zhan Tianyou was undoubtedly the leader. Only two people obtained university diplomas, one was Zhan Tianyou and the other was Ouyang Geng who later became a diplomat. Despite this, due to the insistence of the Qing government, Zhan Tianyou and others had to return to China early in the summer of 1881.
He made great contributions to railway construction. In Zhan Tianyou's railway construction career, his most outstanding contribution was that he led and directed the Chinese to independently design and build my country's first railway trunk line - the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou . This railway is an important trade channel between China and Russia, and also an important transportation artery in mainland my country. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, which was started in October 1905 and fully opened to traffic in September 1909, starts from Liucun, Fengtai, Beijing, Juyongguan, Badaling, Shacheng, Xuanhua and Zhangjiakou, with a total length of 201.2 kilometers. The difficulty in construction lies in the Guangou section (from the south entrance to the fork road city ) with crisscrossing ravines and steep slopes, such as tunnel excavation in Badaling and other places. At that time, some people in Western countries attacked Zhan Tianyou for being "arrogant" and "overestimating his own capabilities." Zhan Tianyou ignored this sarcastic interference and said: "Our country has a vast territory and rich resources, but we must rely on outsiders for work along the way, which is a shame!" In order to overcome the large slope in the section of Guangou , he cleverly designed a new building to the west of Qinglong Bridge. A "herringbone"-shaped switchback climbing route (also called a "zig-zag" route in engineering), the train departs from Beijing, the two locomotives pull forward and push back, starting at Qinglongqiao Station, the front of the car changes to the rear, and the rear of the car changes to the front. Departing from the Badaling Tunnel to reach Zhangjiakou, the slope is reduced by extending the length of the line, solving the problem of the train crossing the Guangou section and crossing the mountains. He used the vertical shaft method and explosive construction methods to open the Juyongguan Tunnel (366.98 meters long), Badaling Tunnel (1091.18 meters long), Wuguitou Tunnel (45.72 meters long), and Shifosi Tunnel (141.12 meters long). In order to save the cost of purchasing steel beams from abroad, 13 of the 20 bridges from Nankou to Badaling are concrete arch bridges, which are durable to this day. At that time, the influence of feudal customs and the entrenchment of feudal forces were also obstacles to the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and other railways.When the railway was being built, the residents were so superstitious that every time they entered a village or moved a grave, there would be disturbances. When passing through land owned by powerful people, the interference was even more serious, and work had to be stopped for a long time. Zhan Tianyou led his employees to do everything possible to negotiate and persuade and overcome obstacles before work could continue.
After many difficulties, Zhan Tianyou not only completed the task of building the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway two years ahead of schedule, but also saved about 290,000 silver taels. Its construction cost was the lowest among railways of the same level in the country at that time. The successful completion of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway inspired the national spirit and promoted the development of self-built railways in various provinces. Hebei, Sichuan, Hubei, Guangdong and other provinces successively invited Zhan Tianyou to take charge of the construction of commercial railways. While he was in charge of the construction of the Zhangsui Railway, he was invited by Henan Province to serve as the Luotong Railway Engineering Consultant of the Henan Commercial Office; at the invitation of Sichuan Province, he served as the chief engineer and deputy director of the Sichuan-Hankow Railway of the Sichuan Commercial Office; as recommended by Guangdong Province, Served as the president and chief engineer of Guangdong Commercial Office Yuehan Company. He worked on four railway lines and held six positions at the same time. From 1909 to 1911, he was an extremely busy period building roads for the country after the completion of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. His footprints have spread all over the north and south of the Yellow River and both sides of the river.
Attaching importance to standards and touching style
Zhan Tianyou attaches great importance to the standardization of railway engineering. He presided over the preparation of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway standard map, which included 49 standards such as Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway bridges and culverts, tracks, lines, caves, locomotive depots, water towers and cranes, houses, passenger cars, and vehicle boundaries. It was the first set of railway engineering standard maps in my country. He took advantage of his positions as a road councilor in the Ministry of Commerce of the Qing Dynasty, a road councilor in the Ministry of Posts and Communications, a second-class consultant in the Ministry of Posts and Communications, the General Office of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and the first technical supervisor of the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of my country government. Detailed and clear standards are stipulated for the weight of the bridge's pressure, the size of the hollow hole, the height and width of the vehicle roof, the hook style, the track and bridge and roadbed construction, and the selection of engineering and technical personnel. In 1901, when Zhan Tianyou was sent to Jiangxi to supervise the construction of the Pingli Railway (Pingxiang, Jiangxi to Liling, Hunan), he insisted on using the standard gauge of 4 feet 8 inches or 1.435 meters. This laid the foundation for my country's future use of standard gauge to form a trunk line railway network. Base.
Although he made great contributions to the railway construction and held some official positions in relevant departments of the Qing government, Zhan Tianyou was not complacent and always treated others with humility. When anyone came to visit, whether he was an official or a civilian, he would personally go to the door of his house to greet and see them off. When the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was being built in 1906, Zhan Tianyou, who served as the chief engineer, rented a private house in the Shifosi village in Badaling as a residence for directing the construction of the railway. The landlord, Mr. Ji, thought that Zhan Tianyou was knowledgeable. When he was blessed with his grandson, he said to Zhan Tianyou: "You are knowledgeable and knowledgeable. Please give my grandson a name." Zhan Tianyou agreed immediately. After some thought, Said: "Let's call it Yunshan, which means looking up at the white clouds, overlooking the mountains, and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Guangou." Everyone thought this name was good. One day at noon, Zhan Tianyou saw old man Ji hoeing the ground, sweating all over his face, and asked: "It's hard work hoeing, why don't you buy a cow? There is a cow that can both cultivate the land and give birth to calves." Old man Ji said: " Although you don't do farm work, you are good at talking. But how can your family have money to buy cows?" Zhan Tianyou immediately took out some silver coins and said, "These silver coins will be given to you to buy cows!" Mr. Ji was very grateful. . Since then, his family's financial situation has been getting better and better, and one of his descendants has a famous Chinese medicine doctor. In the 1980s, before his death, Ji Yunshan repeatedly said to his family: "Never forget God's blessing, Lord Zhan!" A society of engineers should have been established, but it was not realized due to lack of human and material resources. After the Revolution of 1911, Zhan Tianyou, who served as the Prime Minister of the Commercial Railway of Guangdong Province, founded the Guangdong Chinese Engineers Association in Guangzhou in February 1912 and was elected as the president. Subsequently, the association, the Shanghai Engineering Society and the Shanghai Road Engineer Association jointly formed the Chinese Engineers Association (renamed the Chinese Engineers Association in July 1915), and Zhan Tianyou was still elected as the president. The Chinese Institute of Engineers is an academic organization and stipulates eight majors in the drafted 30-article charter: civil engineering, hydraulics, machinery, electrical machinery, mining, metallurgy, ordnance industry, and shipbuilding.Later, four majors were added: kiln industry, dyeing and weaving, applied chemistry, and aviation. These 12 majors have basically covered the professional scope of my country's early engineering undertakings. In 1916, Zhan Tianyou delivered a written speech at the 4th Annual General Meeting of the Society, saying: “Since the purpose of our Society is to develop the engineering industry and enhance social happiness, we must observe the trend of the times and seek policies that benefit the country and the people. Our country's mineral resources are abundant, but the sources of profit have not yet been developed; ships and armaments are left to outsiders. Transportation is inconvenient, and there is an urgent need to build more road construction; manufacturing is not yet refined, so it is appropriate to establish machine factories. All these figures are based on engineering scholarship. This association should urgently conduct practical research in the hope of making contributions to the country and establishing a foundation for prosperity." The association regularly holds academic exchange activities and publishes books and journals. Books include "New Chinese and English Engineering Vocabulary" and "Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway Engineering Chronicle" edited by Zhan Tianyou, and "Road Engineering" and "Practical Curve Measurement Method" edited by Director General Zhao Shixuan.
Zhan Tianyou believes that the most important thing in developing my country's engineering industry is to cultivate young engineering and technical personnel. When he presided over the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and other railways, he imposed strict requirements on young engineering and technical personnel and gave practical guidance so that they could be trained and improved in practical work. He published an article titled "Advice to Young Engineers", hoping that young people can: 1. Study academically intensively in order to invent; 2. Advocate morality and have high personality; 3. Advance in an orderly manner without going beyond the scope; 4. Prepare for The painting must be detailed and careful when dealing with situations.
In order to encourage young engineering and technical personnel to pay attention to writings, Zhan Tianyou advocated academic research and exchanges, personally formulated a 14-article article collection regulation, and launched an article collection activity. The "Journal of the Chinese Society of Engineers" published every month includes excerpts from Zhan Tianyou's "Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway Project Chronicle", Vice President Chen Xilin 's "A Summary of the Places Passed by the Jiangxi-Guangdong Route", Vice President Wu Jian was awarded a doctorate by Shanghai St. John's University in his speech, and Honorary President Zhang Jian's "A Proposal for the Establishment of a River and Sea Engineering Surveying and Mapping Development Institute", "A Brochure of the River and Sea Engineering Surveying and Development Institute" and many other award-winning works. There are many outstanding personnel in the Chinese Engineers Association. Zhang Jian is a famous industrialist and educator in modern my country, and once served as the president of the National Water Conservancy. "Journal of the Chinese Society of Engineers" also published some valuable articles. For example, the article "The Function of Steel Sleepers" believes that although steel sleepers are more expensive than wooden sleepers, , the former can be replaced every thirty years, while the latter must be replaced every three years, so steel sleepers are actually cheaper than wooden sleepers. Subsequently, steel sleepers were increasingly widely used in railway construction.
Dedicate yourself to future generations and never forget it.
In early 1919, Zhan Tianyou, who was the technical supervisor of the Ministry of Transportation and chairman of the Railway Technical Committee of the Republic of China at the time, was ordered to represent China on behalf of China to Harbin and Vladivostok to attend the International Regulatory Far East Railway Conference, despite suffering from severe dysentery. The Far Eastern Railway refers to the Siberian Railway and the China-Eastern Railway (formerly known as the Eastern Qing Railway, which is the Eastern Qing Railway) jointly organized by China and Russia at that time. International supervision is an action by the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and other countries to take advantage of the outbreak of the Russian revolution in 1917 to seize Chinese territory along the route in the name of protecting the road. With his firm attitude, quick thinking, deep understanding of railway business and technical issues, and especially his honest way of dealing with people, Zhan Tianyou has won awards from the famous American engineer and director of the technical department of the International Regulatory Far Eastern Railway Commission Steven etc. With the respect and support of the people, the Chinese army obtained the road protection rights of the Middle East Railway , shattering Japan's attempt to use the road protection rights to send troops to occupy Chinese territory along the Middle East Railway and then invade China.
On April 24, 1919, Zhan Tianyou died in Hankou, Wuhan at the age of 58 due to heart failure caused by overwork day and night and severe dysentery. When the news came, the whole country was shocked. Many celebrities have called or written poems to express their condolences. Public memorials were held in Beijing, Hankou, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin and other places where he had worked. On April 28, 1919, Yan Deqing, director of the Hunan-Hubei Line of the Han-Guangdong-Sichuan Railway, and 525 colleagues, while deeply mourning Zhan Tianyou, submitted a letter to the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of China government, requesting that a statue of Zhan Tianyou be erected in a shrine.Then, Kuang Sunmou, president of the Chinese Society of Engineers, and Ding Shiyuan, president of the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway Associates Association, led their subordinates and also submitted a petition to build a bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou in Badaling. In 1922, a bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou was built at the Qinglongqiao Railway Station in Badaling on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.
In the 1950s, the famous geologist Li Siguang, then chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said at a conference to commemorate Zhan Tianyou: "Mr. Zhan Tianyou demonstrated the creative ability of the Chinese people with his hard-working achievements and contributed to At that time, the Chinese people, who were deeply invaded and discriminated against by foreign powers, breathed a sigh of relief, which inspired the self-confidence and self-improvement spirit of the Chinese nation." This evaluation is appropriate.
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