When he was a child, Zhang Xingqian was burdened with too much, including the decline of his extended family, his father's lament, his mother's tears, and the difficulty of studying ... But what worried him most was the humiliation suffered by the disaster-stricken motherland. In the Japanese Concession in Tianjin, Zhang Xingyuan, a teenager, witnessed the Japanese military police bullying China people who were reduced to third-class citizens, and his mind was strongly shocked. The understanding that "the country is not rich and the people are not living" has taken root in his heart. When the "12.9" patriotic student movement swept across the country, he put down his books and devoted himself to this huge movement, cheering loudly for the fate of his motherland.
The Japanese imperialists who tried to embezzle China were not satisfied with their vested interests, and they intensified their demands for the specialization of North China, which was too big for a quiet desk. /kloc-in the summer of 0/936, he left Tianjin, went south to Shanghai and was admitted to Shanghai Middle School in Jiangsu Province. However, the Japanese invaders' Huohuo butcher's knife is gaining momentum, and the national anti-Japanese voice is growing. After studying hard, he read Zou Taofen's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and Ba Jin's and Mao Dun's progressive novels, and often secretly attended lectures and seminars organized by progressive students to discuss with his classmates China's fate and how to resist aggression, and began to realize the essence of imperialist aggression and Chiang Kai-shek's atrocities in suppressing revolutionary movements. At this time, Zhang Xingqian.
1in the autumn of 937, the Japanese army occupied Shanghai. In order not to be conquered people, young Zhang Xingyuan and two classmates decided to give up their studies and go to northern Shaanxi where the red star shines. When passing through Wuhan, the toll was used up, so I had to stay and wait to apply for the Air Force. However, a notice to stop enrolling students shattered Zhang Xingyuan's dream of soaring in the blue sky and fighting in the sky. He was also deeply disappointed with the corruption of the Kuomintang army and the oppression of the people. After flatly rejecting the wooing of the Kuomintang secret service organization, Zhang Xingyuan endured the almost fatal disease caused by malaria and entered the university in Wuhan. When the invaders marched, Wuhan also faced the fall! Zhang Xingyuan began to live in exile again. Only when he arrived in Changsha did he know that he had been admitted to the Department of Mining and Metallurgy of Wuhan University, which moved to Leshan. After too many twists and turns, he finally stepped into his dream university campus. During college, while trying to finish his studies, Zhang Xingyuan turned his eyes away from his studies and paid attention to his beloved and ill-fated motherland. Under the introduction of his roommate, he joined the "War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression Research Association", a peripheral organization of China's * * * production party. At the seminar, Zhang Xingyuan met a large number of like-minded young people, who actively ran around, published posters, went to the countryside to publicize the anti-Japanese war and organized seminars on current affairs. These activities made Zhang Xingyuan mature politically. He began to feel that the revolution was not empty talk and needed to participate in the actual struggle. At that time, the cooperation between the state and the Kuomintang government broke down, and the Kuomintang government began to publicly persecute people with progressive ideas. When white terror is threatening to drown the city, 1940 One day in early spring, under a big tree in the suburb of Leshan, Zhang Xingyuan raised his right fist and solemnly made a lifelong pledge to fight for the cause of * * *. It was a sunny day, and Zhang Xingyuan will never forget it. The tree will remain in his memory forever. Zhang Xingyuan once said with deep affection that if I return to Leshan one day, I will definitely recognize that tree!
The Kuomintang's attempt to undermine state-to-state cooperation and take the surrender route is even more explicit. 1940 In May, the minions of the Kuomintang raided the progressive teachers and students on the campus of Wuhan University. According to the arrangement of the Party organization, party member and Zhang Xingyuan, an activist of the Anti-Japanese War Research Association, ventured to stay in school to finish their studies. During the period of white terror, he insisted on reading Xinhua Daily and Marxism-Leninism, expecting the revolutionary climax to come again.
65438-0942, Zhang Xingyuan graduated from Wuhan University and was assigned to work in Sichuan Qijiang Electrochemical Smelter. At the same time of busy work, he kept in touch with the Party organization, went to Chongqing many times, went to Xinhua Daily and the Eighth Route Army Office in Hualong Bridge with friends, and asked the Party organization for advice on the struggle strategy. According to the Party's instruction of "Enrich yourself to meet the climax", during the four years of working in Qijiang Electrochemical Smelter and later in Angang, he paid attention to combining his knowledge with his work practice, put it into technical work, and took time to read books from Sanlian, Life and other progressive bookstores to improve himself ideologically and professionally. At the same time, Zhang Xingyuan has forged a profound friendship with the workers and truly felt the advanced nature of the working class. When there was going to be a general strike in the factory, the workers made a special trip to inform him and ask him for help. Zhang Xingyuan was deeply moved by the trust of the master and was excited that he could give them some help. It is Zhang Xingyuan's eternal belief to strive to serve the motherland with the advanced scientific and technological knowledge he has learned, bring new vitality to the weak nation and speed up the pace of catching up with the advanced countries in the world. In line with the great desire to save the country through science, Zhang was admitted to study abroad at public expense in 1945, and went to the United States in 1947, and embarked on the road of studying abroad. At the beginning of his trip to America, he worked as an intern in a steel factory in Detroit. From the war-torn motherland to the prosperous United States, the great difference between the two places prompted him to think more deeply about the future of the motherland, and the developed industry and advanced technology in the United States made him feel burdened. In order to lay a good foundation and master professional knowledge as much as possible, he came to the Institute of Technology to study hard and successfully obtained a master's degree. He was not satisfied with a little taste, and decided to continue his studies on the road of science. 1In February, 949, he was awarded a scholarship from MIT, a famous university. He studied under Professor Grant, a superalloy expert, and engaged in creep mechanism research, which ushered in the first glory of his scientific research career.
Creep refers to the behavior of material strain changing with time under the simultaneous action of load and temperature. In the early 1950s, it was the upsurge of jet development. The efficiency of the engine depends on the intake temperature of the gas. The higher the intake air temperature, the higher the efficiency. Developing alloys that can withstand higher temperatures is the key to improve engine efficiency. At that time, people only knew that the high-temperature mechanical properties of the alloy were closely related to the internal structure of the alloy (each grain and its boundary), but the mechanism was not clear. Under the guidance of Professor glanville, Zhang Xingyuan established the creep in-situ observation technology. The fracture mechanism of polycrystalline pure aluminum and its binary single-phase alloy during creep, especially the grain boundary behavior, was systematically studied. Firstly, he proposed a model of grain boundary crack formation and propagation, and concluded that grain boundary slip and crack do not always cause brittle fracture, which is very important for understanding the mechanical properties of fine-grained materials. On the basis of experiments, Zhang Xingyuan revealed the relationship between several mechanisms (especially the behavior of grain boundaries) and the plasticity, fracture and strength of alloys, and gave appropriate explanations. On this basis, he wrote six papers. These studies are groundbreaking work, and their research results are a bridge to understand the mechanical behavior of polycrystalline materials from atomic scale to macro scale, which can play a role in establishing semi-quantitative or quantitative relations.
Zhang Xingyuan's paper has aroused great repercussions in academic circles. Since then, these achievements have been widely cited in papers on high temperature strength, fracture theory, superplasticity of alloys and the influence of microstructure on mechanical properties of superalloys. Decades later, at an academic conference in Beijing, when a Japanese expert learned Zhang Xingyuan's identity, he shook his hand with excitement and repeatedly said, Teacher Zhang, it was after reading your paper at MIT that I chose to study grain boundaries!
Studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while undertaking heavy academic and scientific research work, Zhang Xingyuan, who has been posing as * * * party member, has been paying close attention to the domestic situation and rejoiced in the victory of the PLA. As a liaison, he actively participated in the weekly reading meeting on the domestic situation. In Zhang Xingyuan's memory, the topics discussed in the reading club included China's industrial and commercial policies, land reform policies, people's democratic dictatorship and so on. During this period, he also participated in the summer camp organized by the Christian Students' Union in China, North America, and had a discussion with more than 100 American students on "Understanding the New China". Through these activities, Zhang Xingyuan not only increased his understanding of the policies and measures of the new China, but also realized the importance and meticulousness of mass work and exercised his organizational ability. 1952, Zhang Xingyuan's career with a doctorate is booming. Superior scientific research conditions, comfortable life and the earnest retention of the tutor's scholarship failed to erode his determination to return to China. Facing the puzzled eyes of the tutor, Zhang Xingyuan said calmly, you have your motherland and I have mine! Forty years later, on 1972, Professor Grant was invited to China, and when he took a photo with Zhang Xingyuan under the background of the Great Wall, he certainly had a more real understanding of the students' statements.
At that time, the American government did not want these intellectual elites to return to China and contribute to the construction of new China. Especially as Chinese people's Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River in June of 1950 and June of 10 to fight the American troops, they even made various reasons to stop them. Later, they simply ordered China students studying science and engineering not to return home. They think that, like an embargo, a powerful China giant can be prevented from standing in the east of the world in my way.
The situation is getting worse and worse, and China students who strongly demand to return to China are persecuted. Zhang Xingyuan was also questioned by the US Immigration Bureau about his past history and attitude towards the new China for two days. However, the news that China is building a new China in full swing and his belief in serving the country and devoting himself to the construction of a new China have always inspired him. He secretly attended a party at the YMCA summer camp in New Jersey. At the meeting, he and Li Hengde, Shi Changxu, Chen Nengkuan, Lin Zhengxian and others analyzed the international situation, and decided to try their best to cheat the immigration bureau and return to China via Canadian or European countries. On the other hand, he tried his best to prepare for a head-on struggle with the US government. However, they were late, and the United States informed Canada of their situation. Canadian customs refused to let Zhang Xingyuan enter the country on the grounds of obtaining secret information.
In order to strive for returning to China, organized by Zhang Xingyuan, Li Hengde, Shi Changxu and others, overseas students collectively wrote to Premier Zhou twice, expressing their willingness to return to China and not fearing persecution by the US government, and handed the letter to Premier Zhou through the Indian Embassy and other channels. 1954 in may, at the Geneva international conference, these letters became important evidence for the China government to protest against the unreasonable detention of China students by the United States. In July of the same year, the international students met again in the summer camp of the Boston YMCA to discuss and decide the steps of returning to China. On the one hand, they are going to complain to the United Nations. On the other hand, they collectively wrote to President Eisenhower of the United States, explicitly demanding to return to China, and sent the open letter to major newspapers for publication, expanding publicity and striving for the sympathy of American progressives. In August, an open letter to the President of the United States was published, which immediately attracted the attention of the American media. Influential media such as The Boston Globe and Christian Science Monitor interviewed China students who signed the open letter, and published reports that international students could not return to China because of the ban of the US government. Zhang Xingyuan's photo with Shi Changxu and Lin Zhengxian also appeared in the eye-catching position of the newspaper, and the news that the US government detained China students spread all over the world. Subsequently, the international students bought mimeographed copies and printed thousands of publicity materials, accusing the American people of their evil deeds against the American government. At the same time, Zhang Xingyuan also made a special trip to new york to participate in contact activities with foreign delegations to the United Nations, hoping that they would make a request to the US government about the detention of China students in the General Assembly.
The struggle was difficult, even at the risk of being convicted of espionage, but he never forgot that he was from China, he was from party member, and he never wanted to retreat! Among the organizers of the struggle to return to China, only Zhang Xingyuan owns a used car. In order to win the struggle to return to China, he ignored the persecution and fatigue of the American government and carried his classmates from one city to another.
Under the pressure of international public opinion, the U.S. government lifted the ban that prevented China students from returning to China. On June 1955, Zhang Xingyuan embarked on a journey back to China. On July 10, when he crossed the ocean on the ship "Gordon" and arrived at Luohu Port in Shenzhen, Zhang Xingyuan could not help but burst into tears when he saw the flying five-star red flag. Then he realized that people cry when they are happiest! The vigorous construction of New China and the weather of Kaige excited Zhang Xingyuan's heart, and everything he came into contact with after returning home made him feel different from other countries. He is eagerly looking forward to joining the fiery construction and contributing his meager strength to his beloved motherland. At that time, New China was in a state of great need. Perhaps it is hoped that these "good teachers" who have chewed foreign bread can cultivate more "strong hands", and the relevant departments directly assigned them to the Ministry of Education. When the comrades in the Ministry asked Zhang Xingyuan about his views on work distribution, his answer was simple: I will go wherever I need it! As a scholar who has made pioneering achievements in the field of international creep research, Zhang Xingyuan never thought that he would leave the scientific research work that had brought him the reputation of an international professor, but happily accepted the appointment and came to Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel (later renamed University of Science and Technology Beijing) to teach for eight years. At the beginning of his arrival at school, he first engaged in teaching in the Metallographic Teaching and Research Section. At the beginning of teaching, there were many difficulties. On the one hand, he has never been engaged in teaching, and many jobs can only be explored from scratch. For example, Zhang Xingyuan, who has lived abroad for a long time, is not familiar with the Chinese translation of some technical terms. Sometimes in class, a technical term can only be written on the blackboard in English; On the other hand, there is still a gap between the university campus in New China and the excellent scientific research and teaching conditions abroad. At present, there are few teaching materials and laboratory instruments and equipment, which brings great difficulties to the experiment and research of mechanical properties.
Many difficulties have not shaken Zhang Xingyuan's belief in preaching and teaching. He lacks teaching experience, so he pays attention to learning and pondering, and constantly improves his teaching level in practice. When the ready-made materials are insufficient, he uses the advantage of English to consult a large number of foreign periodicals and looks for teaching materials like a needle in a haystack; Due to the lack of teaching and experimental equipment, he listed the equipment list for the school logistics department according to his own experience in doing experiments at MIT, which made the experimental equipment supplemented one after another, and assisted Professor Ke Jun in preparing for the establishment of the first metal physics major at China Institute of Technology. In order to lay a good foundation for students, they also suggested changing the academic system from five years to five and a half years. Practice has proved that this is necessary. He and his colleagues worked hard together, looked up materials and turned over notes, and guided young teachers to write the book Mechanical Properties of Metals and Alloys according to the written handouts. At that time, the book was the only monograph that briefly expounded the mechanical properties of metals and alloys with modern knowledge and theory, and it was successively used as teaching materials by many domestic universities, which played a positive guiding role for newcomers in this field.
Hard work has been richly rewarded. Over the past few years, metallurgy, steel heat treatment, metal physics and other majors have quickly gained fame in China, becoming a "pearl" in the major of Iron and Steel Engineering College, and cultivating a large number of students, many of whom have grown into scientific research backbones. Decades later, a student he taught still remembers Mr. Zhang's elegant demeanour on the podium and praised him for his clear thinking and focused lectures ... Whether or not he possesses nuclear weapons has become an important symbol to measure the strength of a country. Young countries have no choice but to survive and develop. In order to strengthen national defense and self-defense, break the nuclear monopoly, and independently break through the technical difficulties of atomic bombs, the central government decided to deploy a large number of technical backbones from various regions and departments throughout the country to participate in the total war on Qinghai grassland. In July, 1963, teaching is getting better and better. Zhang Xingyuan, who was called "four famous scholars" by his disciples and three other returned scholars, left Beijing to work as the deputy director of the experimental department in Qinghai Plateau, where conditions were difficult, and directly participated in the development of nuclear weapons. "The mountains are towering and colorful, and the phoenix flies and dances on the silver beach", accompanied by the beautiful scenery of Qinghai grassland, is the plateau climate and difficult living conditions. The plateau air is thin and dry, and it is cold and snowy in four seasons. In July and August, a gust of wind came and people had to put on thick cotton-padded jackets. Due to the low pressure over 3000 meters above sea level, altitude sickness makes people unable to eat, sleep and often feel dizzy and headache. Moreover, just after three years of natural disasters, the nuclear weapons research and development base on the plateau is still short of necessities despite the special supply from the state.
Zhang Xingyuan doesn't care about the harsh natural conditions and living conditions, nor does he care about the already handy campus. What really worries him is that he is eager to master nuclear physics, detonation physics, radiochemistry, optical testing and other theories and technologies related to nuclear explosion tests, which he rarely touched before. For Zhang Xingyuan, there are too many things to learn, so he should shoulder such a heavy responsibility and live up to the great trust of the motherland. In the face of new challenges, he didn't put on airs just because he was a doctor and an open professor who returned from studying abroad, but he was thirsty for knowledge, consulted a lot of literature and humbly asked for advice.
Zhang Xingyuan served as deputy director and director of the experimental department, and later transferred to the branch as deputy chief engineer. He has been involved in leading the experimental research of initiation, organizing and commanding an army of 1,000 people, and fighting in the front line without sleep. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he overcame many difficulties, mastered a large number of key technologies in a very short time, and successfully completed the detonation physics experiment. Later, he participated in and led the scale polymerization detonation experiment, and got a complete understanding of the detonation law. The success of this experiment is essentially a milestone in the process of atomic bomb breakthrough.
1964 10, the first atomic bomb exploded successfully, and the red clouds rising on the horizon, like the brilliant spiritual flowers of the Chinese nation, lit up the hearts of everyone in China. Zhang Xingyuan did not follow the big troops to the base, and witnessed this exciting scene with his own eyes. In the complicated international situation at that time, in order to avoid the destruction of hostile forces, he obeyed the arrangement, stuck to the grassland and participated in the evacuation of important technical materials and experimental equipment. When he moved to a county in Qinghai, Zhang Xingyuan was almost infected by the raging plague.
After the success of the first nuclear test, according to the instructions of Premier Zhou, while accelerating the weaponization of atomic bombs, China's nuclear weapons research turned to the exploration of hydrogen bombs. According to the exploration of theoretical personnel, Zhang Xingyuan and his colleagues worked out a detonation simulation experiment scheme and conducted a series of small-scale experiments. Through hundreds of detonation physics experiments, the key problems in the design of detonating bombs have been solved, which provides an important technical basis for determining the theoretical design scheme of detonating bombs.
1967 June 17, China's first hydrogen bomb exploded successfully, only two years and eight months after the first atomic bomb explosion test. Compared with other countries in the world, this speed is the fastest. Zhang Xingyuan, together with other comrades, as an advanced representative of the research team of the two bombs, was received by the central leadership in the Great Hall of the People. The third-line construction is a strategic decision made by the country to adapt to the international situation at that time, and the research base on grassland is also in urgent need of relocation. Zhang Xingyuan led the working group of the experimental department to the third-line construction site, trudged between the mountains and rivers in the southwest, and determined the laboratory location, layout and process design of the institute. Just as Zhang Xingyuan continued to contribute to the nuclear cause of the motherland, the Cultural Revolution hung over the land of China like a haze floating in the sky. At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Enlai and other central leaders took protective measures against the nuclear industry. Later, with the direct intervention of Lin Biao, remote nuclear bases were also involved in the Cultural Revolution. More than 80% cadres in departments and workshops were persecuted, and outstanding leading comrades such as Wu Jilin and Qian Jin were persecuted to death. Zhang Xingyuan was also forced to leave his beloved career and was transferred to Henan cadre school to have meetings at night and work during the day.
History has played a cruel joke. While foreign colleagues concentrate on their research, these China nuclear experts, who should have made further progress academically and made greater achievements in science, waste their energy on growing vegetables, moving bricks and building houses. This life lasted for three years. It was not until 197 1 Lin Biao was "seriously weakened" that Zhang Xingyuan returned to his beloved career.
After 1973, Zhang Xingyuan served as deputy director and chief engineer, and later as chief engineer of the Military Industry Bureau and consultant of the Science and Technology Committee of the Chinese Academy of Physical Sciences. No matter where he lives, no matter how his post and position change, he always pays attention to the development of the nuclear cause and makes unremitting efforts to make contributions in his new post.
From 65438 to 0997, as a representative of China, 76-year-old Zhang Xingyuan gave a report entitled "Nuclear Material Control in China" to experts and scholars all over the world at the international conference on fissile material protection held at Stanford University, and clearly expounded the position and measures taken by the China administration on nuclear material control in fluent English.
Today, as a doctoral supervisor of China Academy of Engineering Physics, Zhang Xingyuan, the second chairman of the Materials Branch of China Nuclear Society, is still busy, regardless of his 80-year-old age. His residence, office and library are his eternal "three points and one line" ...