Tong Dizhou was born in a small village in Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province. His family life is very poor. He has no money to go to school, so he has to do some farm work at home and learn some culture from his father. It was not until 17 years old that he entered Ningbo Normal University with the help of his second brother. However, the average score of the first semester exam failed, and the school asked him to drop out of school or be demoted. After Tong Dizhou's repeated requests, the school reluctantly agreed to try it out for half a year. Tong Dizhou vowed to catch up with her grades. Tong Dizhou insisted on tenacious study. Finally, we achieved good results. After entering Fudan University, he studied harder, and by the time he graduated, he had become the high flyers of Biology Department. Tong Dizhou realized that there is no genius in the world, and genius is bought with labor. To climb the peak of biology, you need to work harder.
1930, with the support of relatives and friends, Tong Dizhou crossed the ocean and came to brucellosis, the capital of northern Europe. He studied embryology under the guidance of Professor Blanchett, a famous European biologist. At that time, he found that some overseas students held a contemptuous attitude towards China people and thought that "China people are nationals of weak countries". An international student who lives with him publicly said, "China people are really stupid." Hearing this, Tong Dizhou could no longer hold back his anger and said to the foreigners, "All right, let's have a competition. You represent your country, and I will compare with you on behalf of my country to see who gets the doctorate first. "
Tong Dizhou, who was breathless with anger, wrote his oath in his diary: "China people are not stupid, they should come up with something to win glory for our nation!"
To study embryology, it is often necessary to peel off the egg membrane Once in an experiment, the professor asked the students to try to peel off the membrane of frog eggs. This is a very difficult operation. The frog egg is only the size of a small grain of rice and is tightly wrapped by three layers of soft membrane like protein. Because the egg membrane is thin, the operation can only be performed under a microscope. Many people have failed. As soon as they peel off the egg membrane, they tear the frog eggs apart. Tong Dizhou was the only one who finished the experimental task quietly.
When Professor Blanchere knew this, he specially arranged an observation experiment for all the students to see. The experiment began, and Tong Dizhou walked unhurriedly to the microscope and operated it skillfully. People see him as careful as a clockmaker, as dexterous as an embroidered mother, and as meticulous as a clever surgeon. Under the microscope, he first pricked a small hole in the egg with a steel needle, so the swollen frog egg immediately relaxed and became oblate, and then gently picked both sides with steel tweezers, and the egg membrane of the frog egg fell off the egg smoothly. He does it quickly and neatly.
"It worked! Success! " The students rushed to congratulate, and Professor Blanchett was even more excited. This is a project that he hasn't done for years! Unable to restrain his inner joy, he praised again and again: "Tong Dizhou is really good! How nice of China people! " The success of peeling frog egg membrane in Tong Dizhou shocked the biological community in Europe. Four years later, through the defense, the Belgian Academic Committee decided to award Tong Dizhou a doctorate. At the conference to get the degree, Tong Dizhou said excitedly, "I come from China, and some people say that people in China are stupid. I have obtained a doctorate from your country, which at least shows that China people are never more stupid than others. " The professors present nodded in succession, and some even held out their thumbs. But that foreign student doesn't even have a thesis, let alone a doctor.
1937 when War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out, Tong Dizhou refused to be retained by experts and classmates, and resolutely returned to the disaster-stricken motherland. He came to teach in a village in Yibin, Sichuan. In the intense teaching, I have never forgotten to engage in scientific research. But without scientific instruments, even a microscope, there is no way to continue embryology research. An unexpected discovery brought him hope: they saw an old microscope at a flea market in a small town, but the asking price was too expensive. At that time, the couple had used up all the money in their pockets, and it was not enough to borrow some from others. Finally, they had to pawn their clothes and finally bought back the old microscope.
With a microscope, but without the necessary lighting, it is still impossible to operate. They had to move the microscope outdoors to take advantage of the weak reflection of snow in winter. He forgot the cold and was absorbed in his work. In the hot summer sun, sweating profusely, although the sweat dripped on the mirror and blurred the vision, or the wind blew a small grain of sand into the container and even occupied the whole field of vision ... Tong Dizhou persisted in tackling the problem. Generally speaking, each test data should be repeated once or twice, and he often repeats it five or six times. However, under this humble microscope, in this low hut, Tong Dizhou wrote a series of papers with academic value, which shocked scholars in the field of biology at home and abroad.
From 65438 to 0973, under the cordial care of Premier Zhou, Tong Dizhou and his partners began the study of cytogenetics. In dissecting microscope, he used a glass needle thinner than an embroidery needle to inject the genetic factors in the egg cells of crucian carp into the fertilized eggs of goldfish. Goldfish eggs are not as big as millet. How difficult it is to do such an experiment! However, Tong Dizhou succeeded. As a result, among the hatched young fish, one fish was covered with golden scales and had a single tail like crucian carp, indicating that the genetics of crucian carp played a role in the golden fish eggs. This kind of fish was created by Tong Dizhou, so people call it "giant salamander". Tong Dizhou's experimental results have made great contributions to biology.
1978, Tong Dizhou gloriously joined China. Although he is 76 years old, he still devotes himself to his work with the vigor of a young man. He personally made a scientific research project plan and drew a beautiful blue map. 1979 In March, on the platform of Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, he suddenly felt dizzy and never got sick again. In order to revitalize the scientific cause of the motherland, he practiced his oath: "I am willing to serve the old cow and die for the country!" " "