Zhou Peiyuan: Defining the coordinates of life based on national needs

Zhou Peiyuan is one of the founders of modern mechanics and theoretical physics in my country, and is also known as one of the four world masters of fluid mechanics in the 20th century. He has been engaged in higher education for more than 60 years, and has trained several generations of well-known mechanics and physicists. He is known as "a master with many students". He led the establishment of the first mechanics major in my country, laying an important foundation for the construction of "new engineering" at Peking University. He actively advocated world peace and was known as the "old man of peace" and "an outstanding folk diplomat".

Zhou Peiyuan's Former Residence

Zhou Peiyuan's former residence is located in Houcun Village, Fangqiao Street, Yixing City, Jiangsu Province. It is the ancestral home of the Zhou family and has a history of more than 100 years. In 1986, Zhou Peiyuan and his two sisters donated it as a science popularization activity station in Fangqiao Township.

Exterior view of Zhou Peiyuan's former residence

The former residence is a typical Ming and Qing dynasty hallway style building. Entering the gate is the courtyard, in which there is a colored bust of Zhou Peiyuan. On the walls on both sides are six enlarged photos of Zhou Peiyuan at different ages, which make people feel solemn and friendly. On the front wall of the second floor hangs a picture of pine and a couplet, which reads: Dedicate yourself to the cause of science and cultivate new talents.

Bust of Mr. Zhou Peiyuan

In 2022, in conjunction with the celebration of the 120th anniversary of Zhou Peiyuan's birth, the residential houses to the west of the former residence will be comprehensively renovated, and new functional carriers such as the Peiyuan Taoli Pavilion and the public science area will be added.

After two “humiliations”, we are determined to become a strong country in science and technology

The Boxer Protocol was signed in 1901. The following year, Zhou Peiyuan was born in an enlightened gentry family in Yixing, Jiangsu. At the age of 16, he went to study at the Affiliated High School of St. John in Shanghai. One day, he and his classmates were walking on the grass of the Bund, and were kicked out by a foreign guard and told: "One day when China becomes strong, you can walk on it." This made Zhou Peiyuan extremely angry but helpless. The following year, the May Fourth Movement broke out, and he joined the parade and petition team without hesitation, posting slogans, shouting slogans, and always rushing to the forefront. He was expelled for this and had to return to his hometown to study by himself. By chance, he saw an advertisement for Tsinghua School (the predecessor of Tsinghua University) recruiting transfer students, so he was able to continue his studies.

In 1948, Zhou Peiyuan, who was already internationally famous, was invited to attend the International Conference on Applied Mechanics in the UK. As a representative of the victorious country in World War II, the Council arranged his seat at the last and second to last during the meeting and banquet. He felt deeply that without the strong support of the motherland, equal scientific and technological exchanges would be a luxury.

His daughter Zhou Ruling once asked him why he switched from studying the theory of relativity to studying "turbulence". He replied that the theory of relativity could not directly serve the war of resistance. As a scientist, facing a powerful enemy, he had to use science to save the motherland, so he chose fluid mechanics.

The needs of the motherland are the inexhaustible motivation for him to endure humiliation and move forward without stopping to strive for self-improvement.

Peking University Zhou Peiyuan Scientist Spirit Education Base

In order to vigorously promote the spirit of scientists, the School of Engineering of Peking University and other on-campus units have held a series of activities to promote the spirit of scientists such as Zhou Peiyuan. The base has built a 500-square-meter scientist spirit education space in the new engineering building to display the personal deeds of famous scientists such as Zhou Peiyuan, Wang Ren, Yu Min, Wu Daguan, and important cultural relics that carry the spirit of scientists. It can accommodate 200 people for visits and study at the same time. A full-time and part-time teaching team including academicians such as Chen Shiyi and Wei Yueguang and a student volunteer team of nearly 100 people have been formed to regularly carry out business training, ideological and political education, and study the spirit of scientists; Zhou Peiyuan Party Member Science Popularization Propaganda Team has been established to regularly preach the spirit of scientists to students and organize learning and exchange activities.

On June 1, 1992, Zhou Peiyuan spoke at the International Symposium on Fluid Mechanics and Theoretical Physics held for his 90th birthday (front row from left: Yang Zhenning, Zhou Peiyuan, Wu Dayou, Li Zhengdao)

Conducting lectures and other activities

Focus on "double basic" education to help students move forward

When Zhou Peiyuan taught, he only wrote a few large characters on the blackboard, like a galloping wild horse, and then he talked endlessly about the easy parts, but only briefly mentioned the difficult parts. According to Chen Yaosong (a professor at Peking University), he did not understand it when he was a student, and it was not until he became a secretary in the teaching and research department that he realized that Zhou Peiyuan's teaching method of focusing on the basics had an important role.

His unconventional style was also reflected in exams. Qian Weichang (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and He Zuoxiu (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) both wrote articles recalling that Zhou Peiyuan often asked interesting physics questions in exams. By discussing problems such as monkeys climbing pulleys and solving the total distance traveled by pigeons flying back and forth between two trains moving in opposite directions, he allowed students to grasp the essence of physics problems through surface phenomena.

However, Mr. Zhou's homework was not easy to pass. Cai Shutang (a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China) once showed Zhou Peiyuan a turbulence calculation formula with corrections. Zhou Peiyuan directly criticized him, saying that he could still understand it clearly today, but in two years he would not even recognize it. From then on, Cai Shutang developed the habit of carefully copying the calculation draft.

"Zhou's teaching method" will bring students to the forefront of subjects that are not in textbooks. Hu Ning (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) humorously compared it to this: Mr. Zhou's teaching is to help students run as fast as they can, while current teaching is to let students line up and march in step.

Zhou Peiyuan (third from right) with his family and students, Qian Xuesen (fourth from left) (Photo from the Internet)

He also attached great importance to basic theoretical education, teaching students that only by mastering the basic laws can they come up with their own insights into analyzing and solving practical problems. In 1972, he wrote in Guangming Daily that it was ignorant and shortsighted to ignore science education and basic theoretical research. For example, calculus was not invented directly for production needs at the time, but today, 300 years later, it is used everywhere in production. This caused a huge social response at the time.

1980 Guangzhou Particle Physics Symposium, front row from left: Peng Huanwu, Li Zhengdao, Zhou Peiyuan, Yang Zhenning, Zhu Hongyuan. (Picture from the Internet)

“This is not what I’m pursuing in my life.”

In 1973, Zhou Peiyuan accompanied Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to meet Yang Zhenning. He said that he had taught Yang Zhenning before and now wanted to learn from him. Mao Zedong asked with a smile: "Are you lagging behind now?" Zhou Peiyuan smiled and said: "I am very backward, and the latecomers are ahead."

On July 17, 1973, Zhou Peiyuan (second from left) accompanied Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to meet with Yang Zhenning (first from right) (Photo from the Internet)

Zhou Peiyuan was a man who regarded science as his life, and he never thought that social activist would become an important part of his life.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he had made remarkable achievements in the international scientific community. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he successively served as Vice President of Peking University, Vice Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Peking University, Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society, etc. He participated in various domestic and international conferences and activities. Some people even joked that he was the "President of Foreign Affairs". Too much administrative work and social activities consumed a lot of his time and energy. This was a need of the country, but it was a loss for his personal scientific pursuit.

In his later years, he said: "This is not what I have been pursuing in my life."

On the morning of November 24, 1993, he got up as usual, practiced Tai Chi, did morning exercises, and talked with his wife about some old friends. Then he said that his heart was not feeling well, and went back to the bedroom to rest. In that long dream, he returned to the three-foot-high podium and told students about new scientific discoveries. (Guangming Daily Omnimedia reporter Zhang Xiaohua)