Today is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Yang Shixian , the pioneer and founder of pesticide chemistry and elemental organic chemistry in my country. Yang Shi was a master of my country's chemistry, a pioneer and founder of pesticide chemistry and elemental organic chemistry; he was also a master of the education industry. His teachings were spread all over the world, and he cultivated several generations of pillars for the country, including more than ten selected as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Yang Shixian returned from studying in the United States in 1923 and entered the Nankai University chair. In his early years in Nankai, he served as a professor in the Department of Chemistry and later as the dean of the School of Science; during the period of Southwest Associated University, he served as the director of the Department of Chemistry and Normal University, and later as the dean of the Academic Affairs Committee. After the founding of New China, he served as the chairman, vice president, principal and honorary president of the Nankai University Affairs Committee, and taught for 63 years, serving and dedicating to Nankai for life. In the country, Yang Shixian may be the president of a university with the longest term and wide influence since the founding of New China. At Nankai University, like the famous patriotic educator and founder of Nankai, he is an inseparable historical idol who lives with the school and influences generations of Nankai people.
Yang Shi first experienced the most ups and downs in the history of Nankai University, and played an important or irreplaceable role in every key historical node.
has been teaching for 63 years. Those who know Nankai know that there is Yang Lao
When Yang Shixian was young, he witnessed the poverty and weakness of the country and made a volunteer to "use education and science to rebuild the family and rejuvenate the motherland." In 1918, he completed his studies at Tsinghua University with excellent results, went to the United States to study, focusing on agricultural science and chemistry. After completing his studies, he chose to return to China to teach in the Department of Chemistry of Nankai University, and embarked on the road of education to save the country. During this period, he politely declined the Nobel Prize winner Professor Wilander's request to stay in Germany, and gave up the opportunity to stay in the United States. He said, "My country needs people more, and I want to devote my knowledge to the motherland."
In order to improve the academic level of the Department of Chemistry of Nankai University, with the support of the department chair Qiu Zongyue , Yang Shi first hired several professors from abroad to teach, laying the initial foundation for the Department of Chemistry of Nankai University to form its own advantages and characteristics. In the 1920s and 1930s, Nankai University, which was less than two ranks, achieved great success. One of the reasons is that all departments have master-level professors playing a leading role. In the Department of Chemistry, Yang Shixian and Professor Qiu Zongyue, the head of the department, worked together to plan to plan organic chemistry, which has a wide connection with the national economy and people's livelihood, as the key development direction, and to use experimental teaching as an important link in strengthening students' scientific training, and strive to be comparable to some famous universities after several years of hard work. Living up to expectations, in the process of long-term historical accumulation, they finally made organic chemistry a world-recognized Nankai advantageous discipline, making it a tradition of Nankai’s teaching for decades.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yang Shi was first a historical witness of the brutal bombardment of Nankai by the Japanese army, and was also one of the meritorious figures in Southwest Associated University's creation of the glorious history of China's higher education. During the summer vacation of 1937, Principal Zhang Boling went to Lushan and Nanjing for meetings. At this time, Yang Shixian and Nankai Secretary-General Huang Yusheng saw Japanese soldiers coming to the school to disturb them frequently, and premonitioned that the situation was in crisis, so they organized teachers and students to transfer valuable materials from the school to the British Concession. When the Japanese army bombed Nankai on July 29 and 30, they led the teachers and students who stayed at school to evacuate in the direction of Heilongtan (now the Water Park) regardless of their personal safety. Two months after Nankai was bombed, the Ministry of Education decided that Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai would form a temporary university in Changsha. Yang Shi first went south and then headed west to participate in the group preparation work. In January 1938, the school moved to Kunming and was renamed the National Southwest United University. Yang Shixian, on behalf of Nankai University, Qin Zan and Professor Wang Mingzhi of Tsinghua University, first entered Yunnan to survey the campus site and arrange the relocation of the school. At the UN General Assembly, Yang Shixian held important leadership positions and was highly regarded by everyone with his extremely high credibility. At that time, the UN General Assembly implemented a leadership system of three standing committee members composed of principals of three schools to discuss and comprehensive science schools all major matters. Since Zhang Boling is stationed in Chongqing, Yang Shixian and Huang Yusheng jointly acted on Nankai's affairs at the United Nations.The UN General Assembly has become famous at home and abroad for its outstanding academic performance, and has made great contributions to my country's education, science and culture. Yang Shixian and Huang Yusheng, as the most authoritative representative figures in Nankai, played an important role in it that is indelible.
Mr. Yang has studied overseas three times and has the opportunity to stay every time, but he has returned to China three times and never gave up his ideals and responsibilities of saving the country through science and education. He is a typical Chinese "scholar" across two eras, and is also the greatest practitioner and inheritor of the Nankai spirit.
After the founding of New China, Yang Shixian served as the chairman of the Nankai University Committee and served as the principal in 1957. Apart from the 10 years of the "Cultural Revolution", Yang Shixian was in charge of the school's administrative work for more than 20 years. During this period, he regarded cultivating high-quality talents as the fundamental task of the school, pointing out that "the quality of students trained by universities determines the success or failure of the school's work." In the early 1960s, in order to correct the tendency to ignore teaching quality, he firmly supported the formulation of the "Nankai School Rules", rectify teaching order, and standardize teaching management, and its positive impact has continued to this day. He actively advocated that universities should undertake the dual tasks of teaching and scientific research, and formed a consensus in the higher education community later that universities should be established as two centers of teaching and scientific research.
While doing a good job in school management, Yang Shi first focused his main energy on scientific research. In 1956, he participated in the formulation of my country's first scientific and technological development plan under the leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai. He was commissioned by Premier Zhou and resolutely gave up on the medicinal chemistry research that had been engaged in more than ten years, began the task of pesticide development, and led scientific researchers to develop pesticides such as phosphorus 32 and herbicide No. 1 after hundreds of experiments. In order to ensure stable grain production in my country, a solid foundation has been laid. His later proposition of "developing academics and prospering the economy" is exactly the idea that he has gathered to summarize his scientific research practice and explore the ideas that scientific research work has served the national economic construction. Yang Shixian's influence is nationwide. He has served as the chairman of the Chinese Chemistry Society for four consecutive terms and vice chairman of the second National Association for Science and Technology; he has participated in the preparation of my country's education and science and technology development plans as the leader of the chemistry group many times, and has become an outstanding organizer of my country's chemistry research.
17 years before the "Cultural Revolution", Nankai University has achieved unprecedented development and improvement in both scale, teaching quality and scientific research level, and has become an important backbone force in my country's education and scientific research system.
During the Cultural Revolution, Yang Shixian was slandered and attacked by "falsely", but he insisted on the truth and despised the strong and powerful, showing the noble character of an intellectual who upholds his moral mission.
In 1979, he was re-appointed as the president of Nankai University. At this time, he was already 82 years old. His personal prestige was the invisible power that he felt most lacking at the time. After Yang Shixian was re-elected as principal, he felt that the most serious problem at that time was the crisis of the gap between talents, especially high-end talents. In order to make up for the talent losses caused by the ten-year catastrophe, he spared no effort to build the teaching staff. He not only worked hard with the school leadership to plan various measures, but also took the initiative to implement measures such as sending teachers to study abroad, striving for overseas scholars to work at the school, restoring international academic exchanges, recalling outstanding teachers in Nankai who have been lost in various places, and spared no effort. Such an elderly man over 80 years old still does not avoid difficulties in reproduction and concentrates on his work. This loyalty to his career and his responsibility to Nankai have moved everyone.
In Yang Shixian's teaching career for more than 60 years, he has cultivated a large number of top talents in the field of chemistry for my country. He has also introduced experts and scholars such as Chen Shengshen and Ye Jiaying to Nankai University, leading Nankai University to quickly reach the forefront of the country.
In 1980, Yang Shixian responded to the call of the Party Central Committee and took the lead in making a request to resign from his position as principal, which had a great impact on the national higher education community. In 1981, the Central Committee accepted his request and appointed him as the honorary president of Nankai University.
Followed Zhang Boling, Yang Shi first became another creator of the history of Nankai University. Over the past decades, he has been working hard and persevering, and has won universal respect and praise from people for his career success and personal charm.Yang Shixian's successor and former principal Teng Weizao once said: "Those who know China know Nankai, and those who know Nankai know that there is Mr. Yang. Mr. Yang is the incarnation of Nankai."
is a teacher, and his behavior is a world-class model, which includes his strong feelings and great loyalty to the country and career, as well as his personal moral cultivation, which is the world-class model.
Yang Shixian respects and relies on teachers in his long-term school management, loves and serves students, and takes it as his responsibility to win talents in the world and teach them. He has always advocated selecting experienced teachers to teach basic courses or offer high-level courses. He often goes deep into the teaching and research department to investigate and research, and then sorts out the opinions he listens to for reference. He is full of love for students. He does not care about his busy work and receives visiting students in the office or home. He also inspects students' clubs in person to learn about students' cultural and sports activities and encourages students to develop comprehensively in morality, intelligence and physical fitness.
Whether in Nankai or Southwest Associated University, Yang Shixian always insisted on teaching basic courses himself until he was in a high position in the school. Academician Shen Panwen recalled that Mr. Yang took every class seriously, first pointing out the focus of the course, then laying out the lectures, and then supplementing with demonstration experiments. In addition, his rigorous appearance, concise language, and precise lecture rhythm attract every student and has a high classroom effect. Academician Tang Aoqing commented that Mr. Yang's class was "rich in content, clear explanation, and inspiring."
Yang Shi first had a few different watches. Every time he was in class, he held a gold-shell pocket watch in his small pocket for suit vest, and also had a watch on his wrist. In order to master the rhythm of lectures, he sometimes looked at the pocket watch, sometimes he stretched his arms to look at the watch, and sometimes he took out a pocket watch without a chain from the pocket of the suit pants and placed it on the desk. This incident has also been a beautiful story among students. Every time he attends class, he has a roster. He makes three rules with the students in the first class, ranks the chairs the students sit on, and everyone has a fixed seat. Whoever doesn't come to class can tell at a glance that time will not be spent too much time.
Yang Shixian cares and cares for students very much. During the UN General Assembly, when some students were facing financial difficulties, they either provided funding or recommended part-time jobs, or even went to Chongqing to seek government loans for students from poor families. In addition, when some students who were preparing to study abroad asked him for advice, he gave detailed guidance on how to choose schools, tutors, courses, and even foreign customs and etiquettes. Not only in school, he always gives selfless care to young people who have no connection with them in society. Especially in his later years, he received letters from all over the country and even overseas almost every day. Some asked questions, asked for information, and asked for help, and some reported the situation or greeted him. He personally responded to some of the important letters, either to give advice or to lend a helping hand. Learning to be a teacher and behave in the world, Yang Shixian showed the perfect image of an educator to the world.
Yang Shixian is open-minded, neutral and polite, and is fair and selfless in dealing with people. He has a kind of peace that is tolerant and great. During the Southwest Associated University period, the three schools had different school styles and teachers had different academic origins. In the Department of Chemistry, Peking University and Tsinghua University have many famous professors with integrity. Yang Shi first can eliminate his views, and it is not easy to be a good director of the department. "If you want to achieve success, you will be able to achieve others." Yang Shi first acts generously, tolerantly and courteously, and is deeply loved by everyone with his academic reputation and moral cultivation. At that time, in order to correct the prejudice that some professors only teach professional courses, he took the lead in offering basic courses such as general chemistry and advanced organic chemistry. When some teachers are reluctant to go to the engineering school to attend classes because of the long journey, they set an example and went to teach in person. Seeing that the department chair took the lead in demonstration, no one would shirk responsibility. In addition, under wartime conditions, he tried every means to improve the experimental conditions and received praise from teachers and students. In 1981, Academician Zhang Qinglian, then director of the Department of Chemistry at Peking University, once wrote a poem saying: "One to three households, we are two heroes, stable and united, and rely on the public to fight against each other"; "The sky opens the clouds, and the flowers compete for beauty, and all walks of life in chemistry hold the ears of the bull."The poem praises Yang Shixian's historic role played by taking charge of the Department of Chemistry of UNU and the Chinese Chemical Society after the founding of New China.
After the founding of New China, the university leadership system has changed several times, and has successively implemented the "school committee responsibility system", "school committee responsibility system headed by the principal" and "principal responsibility system" under the leadership of the Party Committee. Under any of the above systems, Yang Shixian is the highest administrative leader of the school. Yang Shixian never pursues personal power, and his influence and appeal are beyond power. No matter what leadership system he implements, he always adheres to the spirit of mutual respect, unity and cooperation, aims to run Nankai University well, examines the problems from a global perspective, and exercises his powers in accordance with leadership relations and democratic procedures. When his principal duties conflicted with the scientist's responsibilities, he recommended Teng Weizao and Wu Daren to assist him in the school affairs. During Yang Shixian's tenure, the school leadership team never had unprincipled disputes and formed a relatively harmonious whole.
Yang Shixian's strict self-discipline in his personal cultivation has always been his life goal of focusing on his persistence. His learning and morality are mutually representative, and his inner spirit and external behavior are harmoniously dependent.
Getting closer to Yang Shixian's daily life world, you can feel his elegant temperament from his appearance, conversation, behavior, and dealing with people. He dressed properly and neatly, spoke gentlely, spoke without slow speed, sat upright, walked calmly, had regular daily routines, had punctual communication, lived a simple life, had no bad habits, and was rigorous, low-key, restrained and not ostentatious. Taking punctuality as an example, some leaders regard lateness as a symbol of showing their status, while Yang Shixian believes that this is a disrespectful act of being disrespectful to others. Therefore, no matter whether he holds a meeting or attends an appointment, he is one step ahead and never comes late. He presided over the meeting with a clear intention, so he should not be bothered, hold the meeting on time, and leave the meeting on time, and never hold a "marathon" meeting. In other work and life details, he also showed integrity and politeness. If you answer a call, he always politely says to the receiver, "Yang Shi is listening to the phone first." Whether it is official or private matters, he immediately made a brief record on the notes to be processed. He has the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. Teachers and students often queue up to buy breakfast, and everyone respectfully asked him to buy it first. He always refuses everyone's courtesy. No matter what he does, he abides by the rules and tries not to cause inconvenience to others. All of this is a natural expression of his inner cultivation.
Yang Shixian has no sense of privilege and strictly controls and disciplines himself in his work and life. As the head of a school, he has never required himself to equip himself with a special official car. He sometimes takes a hard seat car when he goes to Beijing for a long time, and travels from a long distance to economy class. In 1980, he was physically weak due to illness, and his heavy work made him feel very tired. At the strong request of the school party committee, he reluctantly agreed to go to Yunnan for a short rest after refusing. There were very few flights at that time. I had to spend the night in Beijing the night before when I went to Yunnan, and I took the flight the next morning. When he entered the Capital Airport Hotel, he learned that the overnight stay was 70 yuan, so he murmured and complained that the hotel was quarrel, and said to the accompanying staff: "A bed is safe, why waste it!" When he returned, he had to choose to spend the night at the Ministry of Education's guesthouse. When returning to Kunming's hometown, local leaders of brother colleges and senior alumni of the United Nations came to visit and reminisce about the past, and they were inevitably arranged for banquets. Yang Shixian didn't like dinner parties and socializing. Except for Liu Piyun (Vice Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Nankai University) who greeted him with a bowl of cross-bridge rice noodles and a few plates of side dishes on the day he arrived, there was no banquet or table in Kunming for a month. Yang Shixian had a clear distinction between public and private affairs, and was almost harsh. His private letters were all made of envelopes and letter papers he purchased. He posted them with stamps and sent them to someone else. He never took the easy-to-use "subsidy payment". The matter of using public instruments for private use has nothing to do with him.
Under the historical conditions at that time, Yang Shixian's family's life should be said to be prosperous, but he was not rich. He has no real estate, and the housing is distributed uniformly by the school. His family lived in No. 43, Dongcun. This is a slightly simple and clean red brick bungalow, which is adjacent to dozens of ordinary teachers and staff. Over time, the house has become old. Although the housing was not very abundant, he also accepted three professors: Zheng Tianting, , Zhu Jianhan, and Zhong Zhensun, who had been boarding at his house for many years.He had no expensive furniture in his home, no collection of cultural relics, and his bank savings were not much, and his children donated his deposits as scholarships after his death. At a time when the values of wealth and desire are prevalent, Yang Shi first sets up his own self-discipline moral integrity and the state of life that regards frugality as beauty, especially his personality and spirit are tall.
Yang Shixian’s private life has a very high style. Classical poetry is the habitat of his soul. He especially likes Song Ci. He always has a collection of stringed lyrics on his desk, and he doesn't forget to keep them with him when he goes out for meetings. He has no habit of taking lunch breaks. He either reads the book with his spare time or contemplates the book, and sometimes even writes it. In addition to wandering in classics, he also expresses his love to garden. Gardening is another lifestyle he cultivated since childhood. He has a very profound knowledge of gardening, and he knows it clearly in his heart regardless of botanical name, habits, planting methods, or flowering period. In front of his house were planted several juniper plants, several green bamboos, clusters of roses and roses. No matter whether his flowerbed is green in spring, autumn, yellow in autumn, it blooms one by one, and the clusters of flowers often attract passers-by to stop and enjoy it. Someone praised it in the poem "Remembering the Rose of Yang's House": "Looking at the gods and forgetting the vulgar flowers" and "light yellow and light white jade without flaws." This is the noble character of Yang Shixian who uses the simple and elegant beauty of flowers to compare with the noble character of Yang Shixian.
Strict management of the family and a positive family tradition. When you approach the Yang family, you will feel a calm and harmonious atmosphere, and you will do your own things quietly, both young and old. This family style was formed under the subtle cultivation of Yang Shixian and his wife by example. They require their descendants to respect virtue and politeness, and to live in a regular and orderly manner. Yang Shixian attached great importance to cultivating the sense of independence of future generations. On major life issues such as their study and employment, he only put forward guiding suggestions. How to choose their own life path depends entirely on their respective interests and efforts. He never uses his power and prestige to protect his descendants. What he left behind his family is not the material inheritance, but the spiritual wealth of self-reliance, honesty and dedication.
In his 80s, Yang Shixian was still busy seeking United Nations loans to purchase advanced instruments and equipment from abroad, improve the pesticide research system, and personally train graduate students. He worked for more than ten hours a day until in February 1985, when he unfortunately passed away due to a heart disease at the age of 88. Years later, his ashes were scattered in the Horseshoe Lake that had accompanied him almost his whole life.
The man has passed away, but his loyalty to the country, faith, and career, and his admirable personality will be worthy of being remembered by history forever. In November last year, the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and other units selected 12 "backbone of the Republic", and Yang Shi first was selected.
This article was originally published in the third edition of "Nankai University Journal" on December 30, 2016, author Wang Wenjun. There were slight changes when Tianjin Radio was published.
