19 19 after returning to China, he clearly knew that as a plant taxonomist at that time, he must use his own scientific research practice to promote the change of this backward state. Therefore, he spared no effort to grasp the three key points of collecting plant specimens, searching books and materials and cultivating talents all his life, and gradually carried out scientific research work. He has served as a professor at Jinling University, National Southeast University and Sun Yat-sen University. While teaching, he devoted himself to the investigation, collection and taxonomy of plants. During his teaching in Southeast University, he became close friends with Zou Bingwen, Bing Zhi, Hu Xiansu, Qian, Gillian Chung, and other six well-known scholars who returned to China, and jointly cultivated students, thus creating the earliest modern botany and zoology research undertakings in China respectively.
Chen Huanyong is one of the founders of plant investigation and collection in China. As early as 19 19, he was appointed by Harvard University to collect specimens in Wuzhishan area of Hainan, becoming the first botanist to collect specimens in the south island of the motherland. At that time, the mountains of Hainan Island were filled with miasma (falciparum malaria), which botanists had never been to. After working on the island for ten months, he discovered many new plants and collected a large number of precious specimens. The rich plant resources in Hainan Island have attracted the attention of all parties. Once he accidentally fell from a tree while collecting, injured his wrist and was infected with falciparum malaria, but he still kept working under difficult conditions with injuries. This spirit of dedication to science is not uncommon in his life. After this collection, he paid special attention to Hainan plants and sent teams to collect them many times, which laid the foundation for compiling Flora of Hainan in the future.
/kloc-in the summer of 0/922, Chen Huanyong and Qian raised funds for 500 yuan in Nanjing, and together with Qin Renchang, they organized a plant investigation team in western Hubei. They set out from Yichang, passed Xingshan and the east side of Shennongjia to Badong, and collected nearly a thousand specimens. This is the first expedition organized by botanists in China. The most complete set of specimens collected was stored in the warehouse of China Merchants in Shanghai, but it caught fire at 1924. From 65438 to 0927, Chen Huanyong continued to collect specimens in northern Guangdong, Guangzhou, Dinghushan, Hong Kong, Guangxi and Guizhou. At the same time, he also contacted scholars and herbarium in Britain, America, Germany, France and other countries, and established a specimen exchange relationship, exchanging more than 30,000 foreign specimens. Up to now, a considerable number of specimens have been accumulated, and in 1928, the first herbarium with a certain scale in South China was established in Zhongshan University, Guangzhou. Although it was established on a small scale, he proposed to try his best to make it comparable to the world-famous herbarium. To this end, he personally established a set of strict scientific management methods. Each specimen in the herbarium has three sets of cards, which are sorted and stored according to different needs; If the collected specimens are cited by articles published in books and periodicals at home and abroad, they should be labeled with specific labels, and the original records and important monographs of this plant should be attached to the specimen envelope. This can not only make the naming of specimens more accurate, but also provide great convenience for research work, and also make the collected specimens more orderly. When you need to find a specimen, you only need to know one or two of several different situations, such as the collector, number, plant name, specimen number or collection place, so you can quickly find the desired specimen. It seems simple, but without a complete set of management methods, it is impossible to find the one you need among hundreds of thousands of specimens with incomplete conditions. This method of specimen management also laid the foundation for the use of electronic computer management today. This herbarium, founded by Chen Huanyong himself, has now developed into a herbarium of South China Institute of Botany with more than 700,000 specimens, which plays an important role in studying the flora of China.
Chen Huanyong is a down-to-earth, diligent and forward-looking scientist. 1927, the Chinese Culture and Education Foundation hired him as a professor to give a lecture at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Sun Yat-sen University added him to the faculty of science. The next year, he transferred to the Agricultural College to teach, and the school accepted his suggestion to set up a plant research room. He immediately got ready and presided over the work of the laboratory. At that time, the political turmoil, insecurity, traffic obstruction and lack of funds brought great difficulties to the construction of the room. However, he still tried his best to make the collection work uninterrupted, and the construction of the laboratory proceeded quickly. By 1929, it was expanded into a plant research institute. From 65438 to 0930, the Institute not only engaged in plant distribution investigation and plant classification research, but also undertook the mission of promoting the development of agriculture and forestry economy in Guangdong, so it was renamed as the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry Plants of Sun Yat-sen University. At the beginning, he was short of funds. In addition to striving for the annual subsidy of 1000 yuan from the China Cultural and Educational Foundation, he also donated all the wages paid by the Foundation to the Institute for equipment expenses, which provided a certain material foundation for his work. Under his leadership, after several years of efforts, the number of specimens and books and materials has gradually increased, scientific instruments have gradually enriched, and the organization has been improved. A herbarium, a library, a herbarium and a laboratory have been established, and the scientific research team is growing and the research work is flourishing.
Ma, President of Guangxi University, visited Sun Yat-sen University 1934, and visited the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Plants chaired by Chen Huanyong. He highly appreciates its scientific research and construction work. 1935, he urged Chen Huanyong to set up the Institute of Economic Plants of Guangxi University in Wuzhou. Since then, he has often traveled to and from Guangzhou and Wuzhou to preside over the work of the two institutes. In the past few years, collection teams were sent to Shiwandashan, Longzhou, Napo, Baise, Longlin and Dayaoshan, and a large number of specimens were collected, which laid the foundation for compiling Flora of China and Flora of Guangxi.
1930, in memory of this great bourgeois democratic revolutionist, he founded the academic journal Sunyatsenia, titled Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian). This diary is in English. From 1930 to 1948, seven volumes and six issues were published, and papers on botany were published, mainly focusing on plant taxonomy. This is an important publication with high academic level to study the plants in China, which has certain influence at home and abroad. During the period of 1946- 1948, due to the lack of funds, the Zhongshan special issue faced the threat of suspension. Chen Huanyong persuaded his uncle, who founded Juzhen Publishing House in Hong Kong, to fund it, so that the special issue could continue to be published as scheduled. A large number of botany books and periodicals were exchanged with foreign countries through Zhongshan Special Issue, some of which are the only precious editions in China so far. All the books and periodicals collected and accumulated in a planned way have gradually developed into one of the important bases of botanical research in China.
Chen Huanyong attaches great importance to the study of economic plants, especially woody plants. In scientific research and teaching, he always emphasizes the unity of theory and practice, giving consideration to both foundation and application. As early as when he was teaching at Jinling University and National Southeast University, he thought that most of the textbooks of dendrology at that time were European and American tree species, so he compiled a book "Economic Trees in China" (English version, published by Shanghai Commercial Press, 1922) as a textbook, introducing domestic wood and economic tree species, which was the earliest dendrology with scientific name in China. The Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Plants of Sun Yat-sen University and the Institute of Economic Plants of Guangxi University have been established successively. From the name of the institute to the content of scientific research, his thoughts and viewpoints of combining reality and attaching importance to applied research are reflected. While establishing research institutes, it is necessary to set up nurseries, arboretums and botanical gardens; While collecting wax leaf specimens in the field, wood specimens, flowers and fruits soaked in liquid, seeds and seedlings were also collected. Whenever plants with economic value, such as precious wood species, ornamental trees and medicinal plants, such as Siraitia grosvenorii and Eucommia ulmoides, are found, they should be introduced into the specimen garden for further observation, and research and investigation should be carried out on ecology, biological habits, wood mechanics, cultivation and processing, so as to provide scientific basis for popularization and utilization.
China's garden art has a long history and is world-famous, but it is mainly ornamental. As a scientific research, it consciously cultivates various plants, and uses artificial cultivation, domestication, protection and development of living plants. This field was still rare in the 1920s. Chen Huanyong has always attached great importance to cultivating living specimens. As early as when he was teaching in Nanjing, he built a small vegetable garden in the suburbs of Nanjing, cultivated excellent cotton varieties brought back from the United States, and helped Cai of Yunnan introduce excellent tobacco varieties from abroad. Later, when he built the Institute of Botany in Guangdong and Guangxi, he attached a nursery or a specimen garden and gradually developed into a arboretum and a botanical garden. He Chunnian, who worked with him for nearly 30 years, was responsible for the specific work of the botanical garden in the early days. 1962, Chen Fenghuai, a student of Jinling University and a famous landscape botanist in China, was transferred to the director. South china botanical garden, located at the south gate of the motherland and the eastern suburb of Guangzhou, has gradually established a tropical and subtropical plant introduction and domestication and plant research base after more than 30 years of careful cultivation by the staff of the whole park. The garden has tropical and subtropical characteristics, among which palm plants, relict plant, ferns, orchids, bamboos, magnolias, ginger and Chinese herbal medicines are particularly rich, with more than 4,000 kinds of plants, which are playing an increasingly important role in the popularization of botanical knowledge and scientific research.
Carry out international academic exchanges and improve the academic status of the motherland
During the construction of the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany, Chen Huanyong focused on the exchange of specimens and books and periodicals. Over the past few years, more than 37,000 specimens have been exchanged at home and abroad, and contacts have been established with Harvard University, New York Botanical Garden, Royal Autumn Botanical Garden, Edinburgh Botanical Garden, French Museum of Natural History, Berlin Museum in Germany, Vienna Museum in Austria, Singapore Botanical Garden, Java Botanical Garden, Singapore Academy of Sciences and other 10000 institutions, and more than one specimen has been obtained through specimen exchange. Covering more than 60 countries and regions such as India, Japan, North and South America, Europe, Balkan Peninsula, Africa, New Zealand and Borneo, it greatly enriched and enriched the world plant specimens of the Institute. In addition, he also exchanged Sun Yat-sen's Special Issue for a number of important foreign botanical books and periodicals, such as Edinburgh Botanical Garden Magazine, Autumn Botanical Garden Series and Horticultural Atlas. Actively carrying out academic exchanges with foreign countries not only promoted the development of the institute, but also improved its academic status in the world.
Chen Huanyong is not only the pioneer and authority of plant taxonomy in China, but also enjoys a high reputation in international academic circles. 65438-0930, invited to attend the 4th Pacific Science Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia. In August of the same year, as the head of a five-member delegation from China, he attended the 5th International Botanical Congress held in Cambridge University, England, and delivered a congratulatory message to the Congress on behalf of China botanists. The wording of his speech originated from European classical literature, and the sentences were concise and elegant. After the speech, the audience applauded constantly. At the meeting, he published a special report on "Overview of Botanical Science Development in China in Recent Ten Years", describing the development of botany in China and the pioneering spirit of China scholars engaged in teaching and scientific research, which won great interest and attention from the participants. Therefore, the conference listed the plant research in China as one of the important topics. His speech won China two votes in the international code of botanical nomenclature Review Committee. At the meeting, he and Hu Xiansu were elected as representatives of the Committee for the first time, which initiated China's joining the International Botanical Society and becoming a member of the Nomenclature Committee.
1935, Chen Huanyong was invited to attend the 6th International Botanical Society held in the Netherlands, and was elected as the executive member of Taxonomic Group and the vice chairman of Plant Nomenclature Law Group. From 65438 to 0936, the Scottish Botanical Society of Edinburgh Botanical Garden invited him and Hu Xiansu as honorary members.
195 1 Entrusted by China Academy of Sciences, Chen Huanyong attended the seminar on the origin and distribution of cultivated plants in South Asia as the head of a four-member delegation from China. At the meeting, he gave a speech on the origin of rice from the perspective of ancient agriculture and genetics in China. His insight and incisive words made all the participants marvel at China's achievements in ancient culture and science. His speech also reflected his patriotism and mass viewpoint of going deep into farmers and respecting the creation of old farmers. Chen Huanyong is highly respected and respected in academic circles at home and abroad, which is inseparable from his rigorous academic attitude and academic achievements.
From 65438 to 0958, China Academy of Sciences sent him to visit the Soviet Union, and made an investigation and academic visit to Leningrad Institute of Botany and other scientific research institutions. During his short one-month visit to the Soviet Union, he identified a large number of plant specimens collected from all over Asia, which was highly praised by his Soviet counterparts.
Go through hardships to protect precious national specimens.
Chen Huanyong has been engaged in botanical research all his life, and cherishes the plant resources and plant specimens of the motherland. During his stay in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he went through hardships to protect the specimens and books collected by the Institute from falling into the hands of the Japanese invaders. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, it was very wronged and quite tortuous, which was hard to understand. According to the relevant historical records of Sun Yat-sen University at that time, the following is a brief introduction:
After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression started, Guangzhou was bombed by Japanese planes. In order to prevent the specimens, books and instruments of the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany from being destroyed by gunfire, with the approval of Sun Yat-sen University, all important specimens, books and instruments were shipped to Hong Kong on 1938 and stored on the third floor of Chenjia Apartment in Wai Road, Kowloon Wharf, where the Institute office was set up. June 5438+the same year1October Guangzhou was in a hurry. At that time, Chen Huanyong was still in Guangzhou, preparing for the final rescue of the plants in the herbarium. He didn't arrive at Shamian British Concession until the fall of Guangzhou, but he was still obsessed with the plants in the herbarium. A few days later, he learned that the herbarium had been looted by the Japanese army, and Chen Huanyong himself was not safe to live in Shamian. After many efforts, he managed to leave Guangzhou with Liang Peiji and continue to preside over the research work.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Chen Huanyong's hard-won specimens and books accumulated for more than 20 years are facing the fate of being plundered, and he is worried day by day. In this dilemma, it happened that Lin Ruheng, director of Guangdong Education Department, arrived in Hong Kong in March 1942. He proposed to move the Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Plants back to Guangzhou, and was willing to help return specimens and books, and return the public property of the Institute that had previously stayed in Guangzhou. At this time, after consulting with the whole staff, Chen Huanyong thought: "Instead of cherishing the enemy's behavior, it is better to save the real thing with expedient measures, and the famous city will be abandoned and the recovery can be expected;" Cultural relics are dead, and it is difficult to return them to Zhao. It is a disaster and a short-term loss; If there is a great disaster in the future, I will go through fire and water with the idea of living by things, regardless of life and death, and I dare not be careless. "After repeated consideration, I finally agreed to Lin Ruheng's plan, but declared that the institute was a purely scientific institution and refused to get involved in politics. After many twists and turns, the specimens stored in Hong Kong were transported back to Guangzhou at the end of April, 1942, and placed in the campus of Guangdong University (formerly Lingnan University) in Le Kang. The Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany was renamed Guangdong Institute of Botany, and he is still the director, distinguished professor of Guangdong University. In order to protect these precious specimens and books, he traveled back and forth between Guangzhou and Hong Kong many times, regardless of personal safety, so that people's property can be preserved intact to this day. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chen Huanyong and his employees counted the public property with a happy mood of "relief" and submitted it to Sun Yat-sen University to send someone to receive it. In this regard, Deng Zhiyi, Dean of the College of Agriculture of Sun Yat-sen University, mentioned in his report to President Wang Xinggong on June1945+February 3 1 that "the record and process of checking the controlled road section are true. This member endured humiliation and fulfilled the special task promised by our school-protecting all the cultural relics of the college. "Unexpectedly, someone framed Chen Huanyong as a" cultural traitor "in 1946. At that time, celebrities in the education and legal circles, such as Xu Chongqing, Jin Zengcheng, Shen Pengfei and Deng Zhiyi, all signed a letter stating the facts and were willing to guarantee. By 1947, the court closed the unjust case with "no prosecution". In addition, when Sun Yat-sen University moved to Kunming, Chen Huanyong was dismissed because he did not move with the school. Later, after Wang Xinggong found out the situation, Chen Huanyong was reinstated.