Ocean Figures | Liu Ruiyu: Candlelight illuminates the ocean lighthouse and brightens the way forward

|Liu|Rui|Yu|

He is rigorous in science and indifferent to fame and fortune; he is generous to others and has no demands for himself.

His mind and realm are as broad and vast as the sea, and the precious academic and spiritual wealth he left behind will always inspire future generations.

Liu Ruiyu (1922-2012) was a marine biologist and crustaceanist, the founder of China's marine benthic ecology and a pioneer in crustaceanology, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Born in Leting, Hebei Province, he graduated from the Department of Biology of Fu Jen Catholic University in Peking in 1945.

He has served as a researcher and director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as honorary president of the Chinese Society of Oceanology and Limnology, honorary president of the Crustacean Branch, member of the China Endangered Species Scientific Committee, member of the National Committee for the Approval of Scientific and Technological Terminology, honorary president of the International Society for the Study of the Yellow Sea, director of the International Society of Crustaceans, and advisory member of the China National Committee of the International Biodiversity Project.

He has been engaged in scientific research for 65 years and has made great contributions to my country's marine biology and aquaculture research. He has published more than 200 papers and 21 monographs.

He has won more than 30 awards, including the National Science Conference Award, the National Natural Science Award, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Major Scientific and Technological Achievement Award, and the World Crustacean Society Outstanding Research Contribution Award.

Promote the establishment of my country's first specialized marine management agency

The 29 experts who proposed the establishment of the State Oceanic Administration. Liu Ruiyu is the fourth from the right in the first row.

On May 6, 1963, Liu Ruiyu and other experts from the then State Science and Technology Commission's Ocean Professional Group jointly put forward "Several Suggestions on Strengthening Ocean Work."

On January 4, 1964, the State Science and Technology Commission wrote a report.

On February 11, 1964, the report was approved: it was agreed to establish a Marine Bureau directly under the State Council, which would be managed by the Navy.

He and 28 other experts jointly proposed the establishment of the State Oceanic Administration, which promoted the establishment of the national marine administrative department.

Broadly observe and learn from experience

Leting is an unknown small place on the Bohai Sea in Hebei Province.

In 1922, a turbulent era of warlords, a boy was born here in the winter of that year. The boy's father was a manager of a knitting factory. Although he had a good income, he was away from home all year round and could not take care of his family or his children. The boy's mother took care of the housework. Although she was illiterate, the boy's academic performance was exceptional and he became the pride of his family. No one expected that he would become a great man in the future, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with outstanding achievements and international reputation.

He is Liu Ruiyu.

In 1936, after graduating from LeTing County No. 1 Primary School, Liu Ruiyu entered Baoding Yude Middle School to study in junior high school.

July in Bohai Bay is the golden season for shrimp growth. Liu Ruiyu loves to watch the sea and the shrimp farmers busy harvesting. He sits quietly on the rocks, letting his imagination run wild, letting the sea breeze blow freely, and the surging waves crash against the rocks to create thousands of waves.

He longs for the sea. "The earth is almost an ocean planet. There are more than 170,000 species of animals and more than 25,000 species of plants living in the sea." This is what my teacher told me when I was in elementary school. In Liu Ruiyu's view, the charm of the sea is not only because it creates a magnificent blue and vast landscape, but also because it breeds endless treasures and wonders. That is the sea in his heart.

At that time, it was still an era of political turmoil and frequent wars. The slogans of saving the country through politics, industry and literature were heard everywhere. During his study at the Beiping Provincial Senior High School from 1938 to 1941, Liu Ruiyu developed a strong interest in biology through the lectures and experiments of biology teacher Chen Xiwu. Perhaps it was the fish and shrimp playing in the Bohai Sea, or perhaps it was the wonderful and colorful world of life seen through the microscope in the laboratory class in high school. The charm of life science was implanted in Liu Ruiyu's heart from then on.

Therefore, when he graduated from high school, the 19-year-old Liu Ruiyu applied for the Department of Biology of Fu Jen Catholic University in Peking and the Department of Medicine of Peking University. When he received both admission letters, he was in a dilemma: of the two schools, the latter was the choice preferred by his family, while the former was what he wanted. In the end, Liu Ruiyu chose the Department of Biology of Fu Jen Catholic University.

Beijing Fu Jen Catholic University was a famous university during the Republic of China, and many celebrities emerged. Liu Shaoqi's wife Wang Guangmei once studied at this school. Liu Ruiyu's teaching assistant when he was studying here was Wang Guangmei's younger brother Wang Guangying. He still remembers the lectures of the German teachers at that time, and even more remembers the demeanor of the teaching assistant Wang Guangying. Their erudite and profound scholarly demeanor left a deep impression on Liu Ruiyu. Studying here laid a solid foundation for his future scientific research.

Afterwards, with the help of Mr. Yang Fuqing, Liu Ruiyu entered the Institute of Zoology of the National Peking Research Institute as an assistant, studying under the famous crustacean scientist Professor Shen Jiarui, and became interested in crustacean studies.

Save the world and the country

In 1950, in order to develop marine science research in New China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to establish the Qingdao Marine Biology Laboratory. Liu Ruiyu responded to the call and set foot on the hot land of Qingdao. The marine crustacean species to which the "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" belong is one of the biological groups with the highest species diversity among marine animals, and it is also a blank area in marine zoology research. Engaging in marine zoology research has brought Liu Ruiyu into a vast world, and this new research field has become his lifelong career.

In the 1950s, Liu Ruiyu brought his own luggage and dry food every time he went to the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea to the Hainan coast. He often rode in a bullock cart when he went out to sea to investigate in Hainan. He often got up in the dark or in the middle of the night to catch the tide, but he never complained. After that, Liu Ruiyu led and participated in many marine investigations and accumulated a large number of specimens.

Since the 1970s, under the leadership of Liu Ruiyu, the research team has conducted all-round coastal collection along China's maritime borders, from the Yalu River estuary to the Xisha and Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. Their footprints can be found in many national surveys such as the National Marine Survey, the implementation of multiple international cooperation projects, and the current deep-sea survey.

In view of the inherent deficiency of my country's marine fishery resources, and in the face of years of overfishing and environmental pollution, Liu Ruiyu called for the rational development and protection of marine resources. He pointed out that my country's sea areas lack oceanic resources, and there are few large fish populations with an output of more than one million tons. Only local hairtail, anchovy and offshore migratory mackerel have an annual output of hundreds of thousands of tons. This is limited by natural conditions. The reason is that my country's sea areas are not in the biologically active area where cold and warm ocean currents meet, and the reserves of biological resources cannot form a macroclimate.

The seriousness of the problem lies in the fact that we not only fail to reasonably develop and protect these limited resources, but also seriously overfish them. In addition, blind reclamation, factory sewage discharge, and environmental damage have caused many marine organisms to face a catastrophe. The famous Cangkou muddy beach in Jiaozhou Bay has a high biodiversity. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were more than 100 benthic animals. However, after the 1980s, the environment was damaged and only four or five species remained. The output of economic species also dropped sharply. This is mainly because reclamation and pollution have caused many shellfish to lose their homes for survival and reproduction. In the past, a large number of mole cricket shrimps could be caught on the beach, but now they have become a rare species. Overfishing is even more devastating to the resources of my country's endemic species, such as large yellow croaker, Chinese shrimp, and small yellow croaker...

The speaker is sincere. The old man who has been working for the ocean cause for more than half a century, with an indelible complex for the ocean, issued a cry of "Give me back the blue sea". Since 2000, Liu Ruiyu has devoted himself to the research of marine biodiversity and its protection.

Today, people are increasingly aware of the value of ocean development, utilization and protection. However, marine scientific research has a long cycle, high investment, difficult conditions and is difficult to produce results. Academician Liu Ruiyu has a love for marine scientific research that is integrated into his blood, a pursuit that does not seek fame, and has also gained a vision that penetrates history. This is the spiritual wealth that Liu Ruiyu left to people.

Follow the trend and devote your whole life to it

Room 417 of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Museum of Marine Biology was once Liu Ruiyu's office. People who have been there still remember that the floor, desk, and chair were all piled with books. There was a sofa against the wall, also filled with books. Liu Ruiyu once sat on this sofa, writing at his desk and typing on his small computer.

Diligence is the most appropriate footnote to Liu Ruiyu's life. When he was in charge of the Institute of Oceanology, he was the director who had the most comprehensive grasp of all the business of the institute. Involving the intersection of multiple disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, and geology, he used his spare time to study hard and update his knowledge. He never spoke in layman's terms, which made his collaborators admire him. When there were new books in the library, he was always the first to borrow them to learn about the latest research trends and achievements in marine science.

Liu Ruiyu's assistant Guo Lin said: "It is common to see Mr. Liu lying on the sofa while working. If he is sleepy, he will lie on the sofa for a short nap, and then continue working after waking up." For Liu Ruiyu, the most precious thing is time. There are no holidays or weekends, and he often works overtime until 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. Many young people feel inferior to him.

It was in this environment that Liu Ruiyu wrote more than 200 papers and 21 monographs word by word. He has won more than 30 awards, including the National Science Conference Award, the National Natural Science Award, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Major Science and Technology Achievement Award. Among them, the International Crustacean Society awarded Liu Ruiyu the "International Crustacean Society Outstanding Research Contribution Award". This award represents the highest honor in crustacean research and is a lifetime achievement award. Liu Ruiyu became the first Asian scientist to receive this award.

In 1952, under the advocacy and suggestion of Professor Tong Dizhou, Liu Ruiyu and developmental biologist Wu Shangqin began to study the life history and artificial breeding of Chinese shrimp, and for the first time figured out the spawning habits and life history of Chinese shrimp. This research promoted the development of artificial breeding of Chinese shrimp and aquaculture and animal husbandry.

Transforming science and technology into productive forces, serving national needs, and benefiting the people's livelihood is Liu Ruiyu's lifelong goal.

In Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, the blue sea sparkles. A beige speedboat carrying technical personnel is heading to the shallow waters in the west of Jiaozhou Bay, where they are preparing to release shrimp for reproduction. Before the speedboat arrives at the test area and stops, technical personnel are busy on the deck, carefully releasing shrimp seedlings into the seawater...

This was a scene of the first Chinese shrimp release and reproduction experiment in Jiaozhou Bay in June 1983. The person in charge of the release experiment was Liu Ruiyu, deputy director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was over 60 years old. Looking at those "young shrimps" jumping and dragging signs, diving underwater in groups and settling in Jiaozhou Bay, Liu Ruiyu's eyes were full of hope...

Under the guidance of Academician Liu Ruiyu, in 1981, my country realized the mass production of shrimp seedlings in factories, which led to the second wave of marine aquaculture in China, centered on shrimp farming, and created the world's first in shrimp farming output, export volume, and seedling volume. In 1988, the annual output of shrimp farming in mainland my country reached 200,000 tons, ranking first in the world. Shrimp became a delicacy on the tables of ordinary people, and Liu Ruiyu's wish of "letting people have more marine protein on their tables" came true. At the same time, this achievement also won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2008.

While Liu Ruiyu was conducting research in the field of shrimp, my country's first marine research vessel, the Venus, was put into service, but the ship lacked professional benthic biological research personnel. According to national needs, Liu Ruiyu presided over and participated in marine scientific surveys many times.

As a pioneer in China's marine biological taxonomy, Liu Ruiyu has a comprehensive understanding of the species composition, geographical distribution and faunal characteristics of shrimps, cirripedes, mysids and stomatopods in China's coastal waters. He has discovered more than 40 new species and 3 new genera, filling the research gap in mysids and cirripedes in my country.

Consider the overall situation and strive for excellence

Research on marine biodiversity and endangered species assessment and protection runs through Liu Ruiyu's scientific research career. In addition to compiling the marine invertebrate section of the "Red List of Chinese Species", he also registered marine organisms and compiled "biographies". He worked with national experts to compile the "List of Chinese Marine Organisms", which records the names and distribution of all 22,629 species of marine organisms in 46 phyla, truly reflects the current status of China's marine biological diversity, and finds out the status of my country's marine biological resources. From the Bohai Sea in the north to Hainan Island in the south, Liu's research footprints are all over the coast of the Chinese Sea, and are praised by international authorities as a "milestone work" in biodiversity research.

Liu Ruiyu also paid great attention to the research on the production and sustainable use of marine organisms, in order to understand the production potential and explore ways to increase the number of fish and shrimp resources. In his later years, Liu Ruiyu was still very concerned about marine biodiversity and its protection. He often mentioned that "the resources of Chinese shrimp and yellow croaker were very large in the past marine resource surveys, but now they can't be caught, so they must be protected."

"From crustaceans and benthic organisms to coastal and marine resource surveys, and then to biodiversity and its protection, every change made by Mr. Liu Ruiyu was for the needs of the country and the well-being of the people," said Song Linsheng, the current president of Dalian Ocean University. "And he has achieved perfection in every field."

Talking about his dedication to work, Liu Ruiyu's old partner, Qin Yunshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, once recalled such a story: "I remember once when we were having a meeting in Beijing, a lampshade suddenly fell and hit him on the head, and the meeting was suspended. But after wrapping his head with gauze in the hospital, he was unwilling to go back to Qingdao early and insisted on finishing the week-long meeting with the gauze on his head."

From 1984 to 1987, Liu Ruiyu served as the director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and had certain rights to allocate resources. Some researchers engaged in marine biology repeatedly suggested that Liu Ruiyu expand his "backyard" and use more resources for the development of marine biology.

But Liu Ruiyu rejected these proposals. He said: "Physical oceanography is a basic subject. Changes in seawater temperature, salinity and ocean currents will cause changes in marine life. We are still weak in this area, so we must strengthen the physical oceanography of the Institute of Oceanology!"

In 1987, Liu Ruiyu guided Xiang Jianhai, who later became the director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to apply for the first batch of National Natural Science Foundation to carry out molecular biology research. Although the funding was only 10,000 yuan and the researchers could only buy an old microscope, this enabled their marine biological research to move from descriptive research to experimental research, achieving a historic leap.

Since the 1950s, Liu Ruiyu has participated in international scientific research cooperation and exchanges many times. His active efforts over the years have made significant contributions to improving my country's marine biology research level and its position in international scientific cooperation and exchanges.

Life is like a stream, and time is like a song. Monographs stand like peaks in front of Liu Ruiyu's study, reflecting his nearly century-long struggle. He was a great oceanographer who lived with shrimps and fish for 65 years. When he was 90 years old and had only a few dozen days left before his death, he still traveled alone to several cities with a backpack to attend academic conferences.

From crustaceans and benthic organisms to coastal and marine resource surveys, to biodiversity and its protection, every exploration of Liu's scientific field was for the needs of the country and the well-being of the people. He achieved perfection in every field, and his papers and monographs were regarded as reference books, textbooks and milestone works.

Cultivate talents by doing everything yourself

For a period of time, due to adjustments in marine basic discipline projects and funding, there was a gap in marine biological taxonomy talent. The original technicians had retired, but a new generation of young people had not been trained. Mr. Liu saw this and was very worried.

To recruit graduate students, you need to have a project, so he went to Beijing to participate in the project review. On December 8, 2006, at the application meeting for the important direction projects of the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the project review expert committee saw the 84-year-old Liu Ruiyu and asked in surprise: "You are here to review the project too?"

"No, I'm here to defend my thesis." Liu Ruiyu replied with a smile.

"You are so old, yet you still come to apply for a project..." As I spoke, the committee members looked at me with admiration.

Also going to Beijing for the defense with Liu Ruiyu was Xu Kuidong, a researcher at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. They were both chief scientists of the project "Structure and Diversity Characteristics and Evolution of Cold Water Benthic Biological Communities in the Yellow Sea."

The cold water mass of the Yellow Sea once hosted cold-water benthic animals that were unique to the Chinese seas. These animals were the natural food for major economic fish species in the Yellow Sea, such as Pacific herring and cod. Liu Ruiyu conducted a survey on the cold-water benthic animals in the Yellow Sea in 1957.

"More than 50 years have passed. Against the backdrop of global warming and severe overfishing, what changes have taken place in the organisms here?" Xu Kuidong said. Based on the strategic needs of ensuring the country's supply of aquatic products and people's lives, Academician Liu decided to conduct research on the evolution of biodiversity in this typical sea area. On the one hand, he hopes to provide advice and suggestions to relevant departments, and on the other hand, he hopes to cultivate and train young scientific and technological talents through the project.

So why did the elderly senior academician defend his thesis and fight for the project? It turns out that marine biological taxonomy is a basic subject, just like the "archaeology" in oceanography, and the work is very boring. In the 1990s, domestic research once fell into a low ebb, and there was a lack of young scientific researchers. Liu Ruiyu personally recruited graduate students. He said: "The younger generation is pushing the older generation forward. The thriving growth of a group of young scientific and technological talents is the future and hope of my country's marine industry."

Song Linsheng was a postdoctoral fellow co-supervised by Liu Ruiyu and Xiang Jianhai in 1995. Song Linsheng said: "It is almost unbelievable for an 80-year-old and prestigious academician to start recruiting graduate students again."

In fact, Liu Ruiyu hopes that his students can grow up quickly and take over the marine scientific research as soon as possible.

After successfully applying for the project, Liu Ruiyu and Xu Kuidong formed a research team of old, middle-aged and young people to conduct research on the species composition and diversity characteristics of the cold-water benthic flora of the Yellow Sea. Four years later, the project was successfully completed, training 13 doctoral students and 5 master students, successfully reserving reserve forces for various disciplines of marine biology in the Institute of Oceanology.

The old horse is in the stable, with a clear and strong character

In the process of cultivating talents, Liu Ruiyu set an example for his successors and guided young people with his words and deeds.

Li Chaolun, current director of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recalled: "Whenever he was invited to attend a young person's paper defense, Mr. Liu Ruiyu would be very happy. He would tell the other party to show him the paper a week in advance. For a 150-page paper, as long as you give it to him a week before the defense, he would return it to you two days before the defense, and he would personally revise it word by word."

"In 1990, I participated in the 'China-Germany Joint Hainan Island Marine Biological Survey' project hosted by Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu took us out to sea at 4:30 in the morning. It was still dark. The dock was several meters away from the boat. The boat was swaying. We looked at each other and didn't dare to get off the boat. 'What are you waiting for? Jump!' With a 'dong', Mr. Liu jumped down first." Liu Jing, a student of Liu Ruiyu and a researcher at the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, still cannot believe it when she recalls it. At that time, Liu Ruiyu was already nearly 70 years old.

Liu Jing visited Liu Ruiyu in the hospital six times. Each time, he told Liu Jing earnestly: "Fish science is very important, you must support it..." "Now, every time I walk to the door of his office, I stop, and the teacher's advice is still ringing in my ears." Liu Jing said.

Sun Song, former director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, still feels ashamed of one thing. He was giving an international academic report on behalf of China and asked Liu Ruiyu about marine crustaceans and benthic organisms in advance. Liu Ruiyu answered without hesitation that it was no problem. The next day, he handed Sun Song a slide file he had made by hand, and then said, "I won't talk to you more today. I worked until 3 o'clock last night and I have to go back to sleep for a while." "Mr. Liu was already 85 years old at the time. His attitude and seriousness towards academics are really worth learning from!" Sun Song said with emotion.

Sha Zhongli, deputy director of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was also deeply influenced by Liu Ruiyu. Liu Ruiyu helped him step by step, and often taught him by example at work, reminding him that he should be modest and prudent in his scientific research; he should conduct in-depth research and have a more comprehensive perspective; he should have a big picture view, not just limit himself to one species, but also consider the impact of the ecological environment, etc. Sha Zhongli said sincerely: "I often review Mr. Liu's teachings at work, and every time I think of it, I feel that I have a deeper understanding. As I grow step by step on the road of scientific research and gain a certain amount of accumulation and scientific research foundation, I can gradually understand the old man's foresight and vision in different dimensions."

Xiang Jianhai, who succeeded Liu Ruiyu as the director of the institute, recalled that when he first came to the institute, he heard that there was a village of "fishermen" here, and the "village chief" was Liu Ruiyu. "Benthic organisms are all in the mud. When the net is pulled up, Liu Ruiyu takes the lead in sorting out the specimens in the sun or in the cold wind. Once, Liu Ruiyu took a few doctoral students to catch the tide at 4 a.m. The dark dock was still a long way from the boat, and Liu Ruiyu took the lead and jumped in first. He was 68 years old that year."

Mr. Liu has been engaged in scientific research for decades and has almost no holidays. He goes to work almost every day and starts working at his desk as soon as he enters the office. He goes to meetings and returns on the same day. In life, Liu Ruiyu is very frugal. Even at an advanced age, he always flies economy class on business trips. Because he is tall and has bad knee joints, he often has difficulty walking after getting off the plane. Even if he occasionally takes business class, he only reimburses the economy class fare and makes up the difference with his own money.

He was famous for his thriftiness. When he was nearly 90 years old, he was reluctant to bring assistants with him every time he went on a business trip, and he took care of himself. If he went on a business trip with graduate students, he insisted on living in the same room with them. On weekdays, the lights in his room were rarely turned on. He often said, "Just enough is enough." But he was not stingy with his colleagues, friends and students. He always paid the bill for every meal together. He donated tens of thousands of yuan to the Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes and various donation activities.

He was a great oceanographer who lived with shrimps and fishes for 65 years. When he was 90 years old and had only a few days left before his death, he still traveled alone to several cities with a backpack to attend academic conferences. He was an academician and a fighter in life. He was never willing to take off his academic "armor".

Willing to be a stepping stone for others and encourage those who are less advanced

Liu Ruiyu once said: "Time waits for no one. As long as we are alive, we should work hard to do something useful for the people. For the future of the country's marine industry, all I want to do is work hard."

At the age of 84, Liu Ruiyu personally recruited graduate students in marine biological taxonomy; at the age of 85, Liu Ruiyu was still busy with international academic reports and worked until three in the morning; at the age of 88, Liu Ruiyu insisted on writing his own report on benthic organisms in the "International Marine Biological Survey Program". This report was highly praised by the program committee, who believed that "this is a great contribution of China to marine biodiversity"; at the age of 89, Liu Ruiyu led more than 40 experts to revise the "List of Marine Biological Organisms in China". This 1,627-page "List" records 22,629 species of marine organisms in 46 phyla, providing all mankind with a reliable and latest "household register" of Chinese marine species.

Liu Ruiyu continued to write until the last moment of his life.

This is how he spent his last three months: In mid-to-late April 2012, Liu Ruiyu, who was in the late stage of cancer and was already very weak, attended four academic conferences in Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and other places in a row within seven days: At the end of April, due to poor health, he was forced to be hospitalized for six days by the doctor. He asked his students to bring their graduation theses to the ward and revised each paper.

On May 20, Liu Ruiyu attended the thesis defense of his three doctoral students. His hands and feet were swollen and he had to rely on support to stand up. On May 29, the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a symposium to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tong Dizhou's birth. He insisted on attending the meeting and gave his last speech. When he came out, he was carried to the hospital by two students...

In June, Liu Ruiyu, who was already lying on the hospital bed, held the hand of the staff around him and said weakly: "You must tell me how much time I have left, I still have a lot of work to arrange..." These are the words he repeated over and over again when he was critically ill.

Lying on the hospital bed, he insisted on reviewing academic papers for students despite the doctor's repeated warnings. His hands had turned purple due to long-term infusion. He had an infusion tube on his left hand and carefully revised the manuscript with a pen in his right hand.

When his colleagues visited him, Liu Ruiyu's first question was about the progress of his research. When he talked about work, he was still energetic and talked freely.

Later, Liu Ruiyu, who was emaciated and almost in a coma, still kept his instructions while lying on the hospital bed. He told Song Linsheng who came to visit him: "There are 28 species of shrimp, and the living habits of some species have not been figured out yet. There is a species on the west coast of North Korea... The population in the South China Sea has disappeared, so we must find out..."

"In mid-June, Mr. Liu had difficulty speaking. When we went to visit him, he uttered the words 'large benthic fish research group' intermittently. What he meant later should be 'we must persevere and cannot give up'," Liu Jing recalled.

Later, the seriously ill Liu Ruiyu knew that he did not have much time left. He wanted to realize his long-cherished wish at the last moment of his life - to donate all his savings of 1 million yuan to establish the "Liu Ruiyu Marine Science Award Fund" at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to reward students who have outstanding achievements and important research progress in the field of marine biology.

On June 14, he signed his name on the "Liu Ruiyu Scholarship" donation entrustment agreement with trembling hands while lying on his hospital bed, and wrote "anytime" on the donation time, thus fulfilling his last wish in life.

The leadership team and colleagues of the Institute of Oceanology were not surprised to hear Liu Ruiyu's decision. It can be said that everyone knew that this was a wish that had always been in the old man's heart.

The 1 million yuan is "packed" in a cowhide envelope, with an old passbook and many years of deposit receipts... The "Liu Ruiyu Marine Science Award Fund" established by Mr. Liu will be used to reward graduate students who have made outstanding achievements and important research progress in the field of marine biology. Liu Ruiyu has drawn a perfect picture with his life's research - from living by the water and getting close to the sea, to devoting his life to the research of Chinese marine life, and finally, we are more willing to believe that he will return to the ocean and be remembered forever. His life story shows the demeanor and character of an old scientist.

That afternoon, he had a rare good night's sleep. The weight of his heart fell to the ground, and he felt completely at ease.

During his 65-year scientific research career, Liu Ruiyu put into practice his sacred promise of "devoting himself to the development of the country's marine science and dying with no regrets". At 5:45 am on July 16, 2012, Liu Ruiyu passed away in Qingdao at the age of 90.

Take faith as the rudder and be loyal to the Party;

Take scientific research as your boat and work hard at your desk;

Take the journey as your sea and keep your country in your heart.

Mr. Liu Ruiyu practiced the principle of "working day by day" and dedicated his entire life to the marine science cause of his motherland.

Mr. Li spread his teachings, and the waves behind him pushed forward, and the breeze blew over the hills. Like Mr. Li, we should keep working hard; we should be determined in the professional field we love. In the future, scholars who work hard in the field of marine biological science will inherit Mr. Li's legacy and continue to write new poems!

Information sources:

This article is reproduced from Liao Yang. Carrying forward the spirit of scientists | Liu Ruiyu: Candlelight illuminates the ocean lighthouse and illuminates the way forward [EB/OL]. WeChat public account of "Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences", 2022-12-10.