Zhang Hongzhao took a photo at Juyongguan after inspecting Badaling (1916)
Zhang Hongzhao was the founder of China's geological cause and the founder of modern Chinese geology. He was born in Huzhou, Zhejiang in the spring of 1877. Zhang Hongzhao was very smart when he was young. He began to study the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" at the age of 5, and was able to recite a large number of ancient poems and poems at the age of 12. When he was 17 years old, Zhang Hongzhao gradually developed a strong interest in arithmetic. After continuous study, he actually compiled a book "Preliminary Comprehensive Calculation" four years later.
In 1904, Zhang Hongzhao got the opportunity to study abroad in a government-sponsored program. With the purpose of "focusing on practical knowledge for future use", Zhang Hongzhao went to Japan to study geology under the tutelage of Bunjiro Kotō, the founder of Japanese geology. His grades have always been excellent.
During the writing of the thesis, in order to obtain accurate first-hand data, Zhang Hongzhao spent several months visiting famous mountains and rivers in Zhejiang while visiting relatives and returning home, starting from the northwest of the lower reaches of the Qiantang River to East Tianmu Mountain and West Tianmu Mountain , and finally completed the "Geology of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province". Many years later, this paper was praised by later generations as "a representative of the scientific papers written by Chinese geologists who investigated China's regional geology". After returning to China after graduating from
, Zhang Hongzhao was invited to serve as a geology lecturer at the Beijing Normal University and became a geological educator. In 1912, he published "Private Discussions on the Chinese Geological Survey" and called for the establishment of a "geological survey talent reserve school." The following year, with his hard work, the Institute of Geology, the prototype of China's geological education academic circle and the earliest geological college in my country, was finally established in Beijing.
As a scientific researcher, Zhang Hongzhao knows that the key to educational level lies in teachers and courses. To this end, he not only personally wrote lecture notes for students and taught subjects such as general geology and mineralogy, but also went out of his way to recruit good teachers, bringing together many experts and scholars in different research fields such as Zhang Yiou, Zhang Jingguang, and Li Bin for the school.
Due to the particularity of geological research, Zhang Hongzhao believes that students should have the ability to integrate theory with practice. Therefore, in addition to book knowledge, he also attaches great importance to students' ability to work in field geology. In the past three years, he has led students on more than ten field geological internships, traveling to Xishan, Nankou, Badaling, Shandong Tai'an and other places in Beijing. Each visit ranged from a few days to more than a month. After each internship, in addition to making the collected geological samples into specimens, he also required the students to write detailed field internship reports and personally review them, and never missed one.
In 1919, the headquarters of China Science Society held its fourth annual meeting. Among the 604 members, the number of mining and metallurgy alone ranked first among all disciplines. From a handful of geological talents in 1913 to accounting for half of the scientific community six years later, China's huge transformation from nothing to a large number of geological talents in just a few years is inseparable from the unremitting efforts of Zhang Hongzhao and others.
When he devoted himself to geological education, Zhang Hongzhao never stopped his academic research. He published a large number of academic works throughout his life in many fields such as geology, petrology , mineralogy, and the history of geological development. For example, in terms of rock and mineral research, Zhang Hongzhao has published many important papers such as "The Origin of Zinc in China", "Revisiting the Origin of Zinc Use", "A Study of the No Rhinoceros in the History of Northern China", and has completed three masterpieces: "Ancient Mine Records", " Chinese Hot Spring Collection" and " Shiya ". In the book "Shi Ya", he started from gems, jade, stones and gold, quoted from many sources, researched the evolution of mineral names in ancient Chinese books and their corresponding mineral names, studied the history of utilization and development of China's mining resources, and provided future generations with a large amount of precious information on cultural exchanges between China and the West.
In 1921, Liang Qichao listed "Shi Ya" as an important reference book in the "Chinese History Research Method". Ding Wenjiang, one of the founders of China's geological undertakings and a famous geologist, Ding Wenjiang even praised it as "a treasure house that can provide a large amount of enlightening materials for students studying history and archeology."At the same time, Joseph Needham, a well-known British modern biochemist and expert on the history of science and technology, also spoke highly of this book, believing that "among Chinese documents, the most important one is Zhang Hongzhao's "Shi Ya". This book comprehensively discusses some important minerals mentioned in Chinese documents, and also touches on various aspects of naming debates."
In terms of geological theory, Zhang Hongzhao also made considerable achievements. After returning to China, he published "Review of the Trends and Periods of Crustal Movements in China after the Late Mesozoic Era and New Understanding of the Sinian Direction" and "Differences between China's Crustal Movements and Sinian Movements in the Early Mesozoic Era". Points" and other papers. In these articles, he not only focused on the crustal movement mode in China since the Mesozoic Era, but also pioneered the term "Shenian Movement" for the first time to distinguish it from the "Yanshan Movement" commonly used in academic circles at that time.
In January 1922, The Chinese Geological Society held a preparatory meeting in Beijing. At the membership meeting in February, Zhang Hongzhao was elected as the first president, which also made the Chinese Geological Society the earliest society established among the societies in my country.
In 1946, the 69-year-old Zhang Hongzhao wrote a seven-line "Autobiography". It only takes a few words, but it is the best portrayal of Zhang Hongzhao's lifelong pursuit of the truth, not afraid of difficulties, and clear conscience:
There is no smooth road to study, and there are many twists and turns.
It is not allowed to stop the horse when approaching the cliff, but it is still necessary to stand proudly when the day comes.
The tiger searched thousands of holes, and the pearls were hidden behind thousands of waves.
If God comes to complain because of your sincerity, I will sing songs for a long time while leaning on my sword.
Text and pictures/Wang Xueying
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