Qian Linzhao (; 28 August 1906 – 26 July 1999), also known as Tsien Ling-Chao, was a Chinese optical physicist and historian. He was a founding member 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 served as Vice President of the

University of Science and Technology of China The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is a public university in Hefei, China. It is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and co-funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education of the People' ...

. He co-founded the Chinese Electron Microscopy Society, which established the Qian Linzhao Award in his memory.

Early life and education

Qian was born in

Wuxi Wuxi ( zh, s=无锡, p=Wúxī, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu, China. As of the 2024 census, it had a population of 7,495,000. The city lies in the southern Yangtze delta and borders Lake Tai. Notable landmarks include Lihu Park, the Mt. Lings ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China on 28 August 1906. His father, Qian Bogui (), was the teacher of the celebrated historian

Qian Mu Ch'ien Mu or Qian Mu (; 30 July 1895 – 30 August 1990) was a Chinese historian, philosopher and writer. He is considered to be one of the greatest historians and philosophers of 20th-century China. Ch'ien, together with Lü Simian, Chen Yin ...

(Ch'ien Mu); his younger brother, Qian Lingxi (1916–2009), was also a distinguished scientist and a founding member of the

. In 1929, Qian graduated from

Utopia University Utopia University, known in Chinese as Datong or Tatung University, was a private university in Shanghai. It was established in March 1912 by a group of former Tsinghua faculty members led by Hu Dunfu, and became one of the most reputable priv ...

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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in physics, and became an assistant lecturer at the

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

. In 1934, he was awarded a Boxer Indemnity Scholarship to study at the University of London, University College, where he spent three years conducting research on cubic crystal structures. After becoming disenchanted with the discrimination against foreign students in England, he left for Berlin, Germany in 1937.

Second Sino-Japanese War

When 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 in July 1937, Qian returned to China to join the resistance. He helped the Institute of Physics of the Beiping Academy to evacuate

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

(

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 ...

), which had come under Japanese attack, and to relocate to

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 ...

in southwestern China. He assisted

Yan Jici Yan Jici (; 23 January 1901 – 2 November 1996), also commonly known as Ny Tsi-ze, was a Chinese physicist and politician who is considered a founder of modern physics in China. He was a founding member of Academia Sinica in 1948 and of the Chi ...

, the director of the institute, with establishing an optical workshop in Kunming, where they developed and manufactured hundreds of high-powered

microscopes A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

and other instruments for hospitals and factories. He designed an instrument that measured tiny curvatures, which became widely used in Chinese factories. Qian was also interested in the history of physics. He studied the ''Mozi'' (''Mohist Canon''), and wrote a seminal paper on mechanics and optics in ancient China. When he met

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...

in Kunming in 1943, he showed Needham his paper, which directly influenced the latter's interpretation of the ''Mozi'' and the treatment of physics in his '' Science and Civilisation in China''.

People's Republic of China

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Qian was elected a founding member of the

in 1955. In 1958, he became a physics professor at the newly established the

(USTC). He also co-founded the Chinese Electron Microscopy Society. In 1969–1970, during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, the USTC was relocated to

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

. Many of its professors and researchers refused to leave Beijing for the provincial city and quit the university, while Qian Linzhao and Qian Zhidao were the only two academicians who were willing to move. However, just eight days after he arrived in Hefei, he was denounced as a "capitalist reactionary academic authority". Already 64, he was sent to work at a coal mine in Huainan for five months to be "reeducated by the working class". After the end the Cultural Revolution, Qian was appointed Vice President of USTC at the age of 72. Concerned with the advanced age of most Chinese professors, he personally led the Special Class for the Gifted Young at USTC and taught the young students. He required all professors up to department chairs and school deans to give lectures, a rule that is still in force.

Death and legacy

Qian died on 26 July 1999, at the age of 92. The Chinese Electron Microscopy Society established the Qian Linzhao Award in his memory to reward outstanding researchers in

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Linzhao 1906 births 1999 deaths Alumni of University College London Chinese expatriates in England Educators from Wuxi Historians from Jiangsu Historians of science Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Northeastern University (China) Chinese optical physicists Physicists from Jiangsu Scientists from Wuxi Academic staff of the University of Science and Technology of China Utopia University alumni