Liang Shoupan (; 13 April 1916 – 5 September 2009) was a Chinese

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. The chief designer of China's first generation of

anti-ship missiles An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...

including the HY-1 and

HY-2 The SY (), and HY () series were early anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) developed by the People's Republic of China from the Soviet P-15 Termit missile. They entered service in the late 1960s and remained the main ASCMs deployed by the People's Li ...

, he is regarded as the "father of China's cruise missile program". He also designed the

C-101 The C-101 is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. Development The C-101 was an early Chinese supersonic cruise missile. It has been described a ...

C-801 The YJ-8 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-4 Sardine) is a Chinese air and surface-launched subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 ...

and other missiles. He was an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

and the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is a Paris-based non-government association for the field of astronautics. It was founded in Stockholm, Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán. It was recognised by the United Nation ...

. In 2006, he was one of the five scientists who received the Highest Achievement Award of China's aerospace industry.

Early life and education

Liang was born on 13 April 1916 in

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, Republic of China. His father Liang Jingchun () was an official in the Ministry of Justice of the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

and served as an advisor to the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

government in Taiwan after 1949. He spent his childhood in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and attended secondary schools in Beijing,

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. In June 1933, Liang entered

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

to study

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. As soon as he earned his bachelor's degree in June 1937, the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

broke out. He enlisted in the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force ( Chinese, 中華民國空軍), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force ( Chinese, 臺灣空軍) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force ...

and studied at its advanced aeronautical engineering program. In August 1938, he went to the United States to study aeronautical engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He earned his master's degree in just a year and returned to China in February 1940.

Career

From February 1940 to August 1942, Liang taught aeronautical and mechanical engineering at the

National Southwestern Associated University The National Southwestern Associated University was a national public university from 1938 to 1946 based in Kunming, Yunnan, China. It was formed by the wartime incorporation of National Peking University, National Tsinghua University, and Nat ...

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

. Starting in August 1942, he worked at Guizhou Aeronautical Engine Factory as an engineer and designer for three years. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

in August 1945, he joined

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...

as a professor and was appointed chair of the Aeronautical Engineering Department in June 1949. After the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Liang became a professor at

Harbin Institute of Military Technology Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

in September 1952. In May 1956, he was transferred to the newly established Fifth Academy (for aerospace and missile research) of the

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

and awarded the military rank of colonel. A leading scientist in the start-up phase of the Fifth Academy, he was put in charge of rocket engine research and later comprehensive design. After the Fifth Academy was upgraded to the

Seventh Ministry of Machine Building The Seventh Ministry of Machine Building (第七机械工业部), originally the Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defense, was a government ministry of the People's Republic of China, established November 23, 1964 by the State Council to ov ...

in 1965, Liang served as head of the Third (Sub-) Academy, in charge of the development of

for coastal defence. He was the chief designer of HY-1 and

(known in the West as the Silkworm) anti-ship missiles, and the

supersonic missile. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, he was the chief designer of the

C-801 anti-ship missile The YJ-8 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-4 Sardine) is a Chinese air and surface-launched subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 ...

, which was comparable to the

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...

of France. After 1982, he served as vice director of the Science and Technology Committee of the

Ministry of Aerospace Industry The Ministry of Aerospace Industry of the People's Republic of China () was a government ministry of China from 1956 to 1988. The ministry was responsible for managing the Chinese space program. In 1988, the ministry was succeeded by the Mini ...

(the former Seventh Ministry). Liang served as a delegate to the Third, Fourth, and Fifth

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

es, and was a member of the Third, Sixth, and Seventh National

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC). Liang died on 5 September 2009 in Beijing, at the age of 93.

Honours and recognition

Liang was elected an academician of the

in 1980 and of the

in 1985. Liang was conferred a Special Prize of the

State Science and Technology Progress Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...

in 1988 and the Qiu Shi Distinguished Scientist Prize in 1994. In 2006, he was one of the five scientists who received the Highest Achievement Award for the first 50 years of China's aerospace industry, together with

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen ( zh, s=钱学森; December 11, 1911October 31, 2009; also spelled as Tsien Hsue-shen) was a Chinese aerospace engineer and cyberneticist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering ...

Ren Xinmin Ren Xinmin (; 5 December 1915 – 12 February 2017) was a Chinese aerospace engineer and a specialist in astronautics and liquid rocket engine technology. He was the technical director of the Long March 1 rocket, which launched the Dong Fang Ho ...

Tu Shou'e Tu Shou'e or Shou-ngo Tu (; 1917–2012) was a Chinese aerospace engineer who was a specialist in structural mechanics. Tu is famous as the chief designer of the Long March 2 rocket and China's intercontinental ballistic missile. Together with ...

, and

Huang Weilu Huang Weilu (; 18 December 1916 – 23 November 2011) was a Chinese aerospace and electrical engineer who was a specialist in the control systems of missiles and rockets. The chief designer of JL-1, China's first submarine-launched ballistic missi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Shoupan People from Fuzhou 1916 births 2009 deaths Chinese aerospace engineers Chinese colonels Chinese expatriates in the United States Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Delegates to the 4th National People's Congress Delegates to the 5th National People's Congress Educators from Fujian Engineers from Fujian MIT School of Engineering alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the National Southwestern Associated University People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian Politicians from Fuzhou Writers from Fuzhou Tsinghua University alumni Academic staff of Zhejiang University