The Wu Chinese people, also known as Wuyue people (,

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

: ), Jiang-Zhe people () or San Kiang (), are a major

subgroup In group theory, a branch of mathematics, a subset of a group G is a subgroup of G if the members of that subset form a group with respect to the group operation in G. Formally, given a group (mathematics), group under a binary operation ...

of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

. They are a

Wu Chinese , region = Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, parts of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces; overseas and migrant communities , ethnicity = Wu , speakers = million , date = 2021 , ref = e27 , fa ...

-speaking people who hail from southern

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu is a coastal 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 third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

, the entirety of the city of

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 ...

and all of

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, as well as smaller populations in

Xuancheng Xuancheng ( zh, s=宣城, p=Xuānchéng''; Xuanzhou Wu dialects, Xuanzhou Wu:'' Shye-san) is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal admin ...

prefecture-level city in southern

Anhui Province Anhui is an inland 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, Jiangxi to the south, Hub ...

Shangrao Shangrao ( zh, s= , t= , p=Shàngráo) is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and ...

, Guangfeng and Yushan counties of northeastern

Jiangxi Province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

and some parts of Pucheng County in northern

Fujian Province Fujian is a province in 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 prefecture city by population is Qua ...

History

Origins

For much of its history and prehistory, the Wuyue region has been home to several neolithic cultures such as the

Hemudu culture The Hemudu culture (5500 BC to 3300 BC) was a Neolithic culture that flourished on the Coastline of China, Chinese coast, just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and la ...

Majiabang culture The Majiabang culture, formerly also written Ma-chia-pang, was a Neolithic culture that occupied the Yangtze River Delta, primarily around Lake Tai west of modern Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jian ...

and the

Liangzhu culture The Liangzhu () culture or civilization (3300–2300 BC) was the last Chinese Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burial ...

. Both Wu and Yue were two kingdoms during the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

and many such allusions to those kingdoms were attributed in the

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. ''The Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 242-year period from 722 to 481&nbs ...

, the

Zuo Zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

and the Guoyu. Later, after years of fighting and conflict, the two cultures of Wu and Yue became one culture through mutual contact and cultural diffusion. The

Chu state Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted during the Spring and A ...

from the west (in

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

) expanded into this area and defeated the Yue state. After Chu was conquered by Qin, China was unified. It was not until the fall of

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

during the early 4th century AD that northern Chinese moved to Jiangnan in significant numbers. The Yellow River valley was becoming barren due to flooding, lack of trees after intensive logging to create farmland and constant warfare during the

upheaval of the Five Barbarians The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians also translated as the Uprising, Rebellion or the Revolt of the Five Barbarians () is a Chinese expression used to refer to a chaotic period of warfare from 304 to 316 during the fall of the Western Jin dynast ...

. In the 10th century, Wuyue (Ten Kingdoms) was a small coastal kingdom founded by

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

who made a lasting cultural impact on Jiangnan and its people to this day. The cultural distinctiveness that began developing over this period persists to this day as the Wuyue region speaks a branch of the

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

called Wu (the most famous dialect of which is Shanghainese), has distinctive cuisine and other cultural traits. There have been many periods of mass-migrations to Wuyue areas from

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...

, sometimes overtaking the local Wuyue population. One notable example of this was when the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

fell in the north, large numbers of northern refugees flooded into the relocated capital

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

mainly from the areas that are currently under the administration of modern-day

Henan Province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...

. Within just 30 years, contemporary accounts record that these Northern immigrants outnumbered the Wu natives of Hangzhou, altering the city's spoken dialect and culture.

Subgroups

Shanghainese people Shanghainese people (; Shanghainese: ''Zaanhe-nyin'' ) are an ethnic sub-group of Han people who have ancestral roots from Shanghai. Most Shanghainese are descended from immigrants from nearby provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. According to 1990 ...

Wenzhou people Wenzhou people or Wenzhounese people is a subgroup of Oujiang Wu Chinese speaking peoples, who live primarily in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Wenzhou people are known for their business and money-making skills. The area also has a large diaspora ...

Culture

The Pagoda in Changqing Temple 02 2014-11

Education

Traditionally, in the past, Wuyue people dominated the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

s and were often ranked first in the imperial examinations as

Zhuangyuan ''Zhuangyuan'', or ''jangwon'' in Korean and ''trạng nguyên'' in Vietnamese, variously translated into English as principal graduate, primus, or optimus, was the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score on highest level of the ...

(), or in other positions of the Jinshi () degree. The Wu speaking region produced 59 out of 114 Zhuangyuan scholars during the Ming and Qing dynasty, and 10427 out of 51444 Jinshi scholars, despite currently only constituting 6% of China's population. Amongst the 2331 scholars promoted to 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

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences a ...

since the institutions' establishment from 1955, over 30% are Wuyue people, with 450 are from Jiangsu, 375 are from Zhejiang, 84 are from Shanghai. In addition, 5 out of 12 Nobel laureates who are of Chinese descent are Wuyue people, including Tsung Dao Lee,

Charles Kao Sir Charles Kao Kuen () (November 4, 1933 – September 23, 2018) was a Chinese physicist and Nobel laureate who contributed to the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications. In the 1960s, Kao created various methods to ...

Steven Chu Steven ChuRoger Tsien Roger Yonchien Tsien (Chinese: 錢永健'';'' February 1, 1952 – August 24, 2016) was an American biochemist. He was a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chem ...

and Youyou Tu.

Languages

Changzhou dialect The Changzhou dialect (Simplified Chinese: 常州话; Traditional Chinese: 常州話; IPA: ̥ɑŋ.tsei.ɦu(pronunciation in the Changzhou dialect)), sometimes called ''Changzhounese'', is a dialect of Wu, a Sino-Tibetan language family, and b ...

Hangzhou dialect Hangzhounese, or the Hangzhou dialect, is a Sinitic language spoken in the urban centre of Hangzhou (that is to say, in the districts of Gongshu, Shangcheng, Xihu, Binjiang, and parts of Qiantang), the capital of Zhejiang, China, by over a ...

Huzhou dialect Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

* Jinhua dialect *

Ningbo dialect The Ningbo dialect () is a dialect of Wu Chinese, one subdivision of varieties of Chinese, Chinese language. Ningbo dialect is spoken throughout Ningbo and Zhoushan prefectures, in Zhejiang province. Intelligibility Ningbo dialect native speaker ...

Shanghainese dialect The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan language ...

Shaoxing dialect The Shaoxing dialect () is a Wu dialect spoken in the city of Shaoxing more specifically in the city center of Yuecheng and its surrounding areas. It is a representative Wu dialect with a tripartite distinction on voiced stop initials and a textb ...

Suzhou dialect Suzhounese (Suzhounese: ; ), also known as the Suzhou Language, is the language belonging to the Sinitic Language Family traditionally spoken in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu, China. Suzhounese is a dialect of Wu Chinese, and was tradition ...

* Wenzhounese dialect *

Wuxi dialect The Wuxi dialect (Simplified Chinese: 无锡话; Traditional Chinese: 無錫話; Pinyin: Wúxīhuà, Wu: mu1 sik1 wo3, Wuxi dialect: u˨˨˧ siɪʔ˦ ɦu˨ is a dialect of Wu. It is spoken in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, China. It ...

Music

Jiangnan sizhu ''Jiangnan sizhu'' () is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan region of China. Name The name ''Jiangnan sizhu'' ( zh, t=江南絲竹, s=江南丝竹, p=Jiāngnán sīzhú) is made up of two parts. ''Jiangnan'' is t ...

Suzhou Pingtan ''Pingtan'' (), also known as Suzhou Pingtan, is a regional variant of '' quyi'' and a popular musical/oral performance art form in the Jiangnan region of China, encompassing southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Originating from Su ...

(originated from Suzhou)

Opera

Kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from a music style local to Kunshan, part of the Wu (region), Wu cultural area, and later came to dominate ...

and

Yue opera Yue opera (), also known as Shaoxing opera, is a popular Chinese opera genre, with only Peking opera considered to be more popular nationwide. Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male r ...

are amongst the most popular form of traditional opera in China, second to

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

only. *

Shanghai opera Shanghai opera ( zh, c=沪剧, p=huju), formerly known as Shenqu ( zh, c=申曲, p=shēnqǔ), is a variety of Chinese opera from Shanghai typically sung in Shanghainese. It is unique in Chinese opera in that virtually all dramas in its repertoi ...

*Yongju, or Ningbo opera

Literature

* Wo Bau-Sae *

Butterfly Lovers The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend centered around the tragic romance between Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the Chinese title of the story. The title is often abbreviated as Liang Zhu (). The story was selected a ...

() *

Legend of the White Snake The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being '' Lady Meng Jiang'', ' ...

() *

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' or ''The Story of the Stone'' is an 18th-century Chinese novel authored by Cao Xueqin, considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It is known for its psychological scope and it ...

Philosophy and Religion

* Yangming school of

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the f ...

school of

Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

Architecture Heritage Sites

Tianyi Chamber The Tianyi Ge (), translated as Tianyi Pavilion or Tianyi Chamber, is a library and garden located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. Background Establishment Tianyi Ge was built in 1561 during the 40th year of the Jiajing reign of the M ...

* The Classical Gardens in Suzhou

Cultural Items

Silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

is the largest silk-producing region in China.

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

is known for its fine silk. *

Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

(''

Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (unrelated to ''Me ...

''),

is known for its

Longjing tea Longjing tea (; Standard Mandarin pronunciation ), sometimes called by its literal translated name Dragon Well tea, is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the area of Longjing, Hangzhou, Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China ...

, and the rest of Jiangnan has their own unique tea varieties. *

Suzhou embroidery Suzhou embroidery, Su embroidery or Su xiu ( zh, t=蘇繡, s=苏绣) is the embroidery created around the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is one of the oldest embroidery techniques in the world and is the most representative type of art in Ch ...

Shaoxing wine Shaoxing wine (alternatively spelled ''Shaohsing'', ''Hsiaohsing'', or ''Shaoshing'') is a variety of Chinese ''Huangjiu'' ("yellow wine") made by fermenting glutinous rice, water, and wheat-based yeast. It is produced in Shaoxing, in the Zheji ...

DNA Analysis

The HLA-DRB1 distribution of Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Han population does share genetic characteristics with other Han Chinese populations, but it also exhibits its own characteristics distinct from that of other Han Chinese populations. This study also suggests that Wu-speaking peoples genetically, bridge the gap between Northern Han and Southern Han populations and thus are an intermediate between both populations. Even though Wu-speaking peoples form a genetic cluster, DNA analyses also show that Wu-speaking peoples are genetically coherent with other Han Chinese populations.

Notable Wu Chinese speakers

Scientists and inventors

File:Shen_Kua_sketch.jpg,

Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and Art name#China, pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymath, scientist, and statesman of the Song dynasty (960� ...

, a brilliant polymathic scientist and mathematician of the

. File:Tsien_Hsue-shen.jpg,

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 ...

, the father of

Chinese space program The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the China, People's Republic of China. The roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help ...

. File:TD_Lee.jpg,

Tsung-Dao Lee Tsung-Dao Lee (; November 24, 1926 – August 4, 2024) was a Chinese-American physicist, known for his work on parity violation, the Lee–Yang theorem, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons, and ...

, one of the first two Chinese Nobel prize laureates in Physics. Chien-Shiung_Wu_(1912-1997)_in_1958.jpg,

Chien-Shiung Wu Chien-Shiung Wu ( zh, t=吳健雄, p=Wú Jiànxióng, w=Wu2 Chien4-Hsiung2; May 31, 1912 – February 16, 1997) was a Chinese-American particle physics, particle and experimental physicist who made significant contributions in the fields of nucle ...

, the first recipient of the

Wolf Prize in Physics The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts. The ...

. Tu_Youyou_5012-1-2015.jpg,

Tu Youyou Tu Youyou ( zh, c=屠呦呦, p=Tú Yōuyōu; born 30 December 1930) is a Nobel Prize-winning Chinese malariologist and pharmaceutical chemist. She discovered artemisinin (also known as , ) and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria, a brea ...

, the first Chinese Nobel prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine. *

(1031–1095), a brilliant

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

ic scientist and mathematician of the

. *

Xu Guangqi Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, scholar-bureaucrat, politician, and writer during the late Ming dynasty ...

(1562–1633), Chinese mathematician, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and scholar-bureaucrat under the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. *

Wang Ganchang Wang Ganchang (; May 28, 1907 – December 10, 1998) was a Chinese nuclear physicist. He was one of the founding fathers of Chinese nuclear physics, cosmic rays and particle physics. Wang was also a leader in the fields of detonation physic ...

(1907–1998), one of the founding fathers of Chinese

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

cosmic rays Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar ...

and

particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...

. * Tan Jiazhen (1909–2008), Chinese geneticist and the main founder of modern Chinese genetics. *

(1911–2009), the father of

, Qian was praised by

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( , May 11, 1881May 6, 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing ...

who said that Qian "answered my questions with unusual precision. I was immediately impressed with the keenness and quickness of his (Qian's) mind." *

(1912–1997), an

experimental physicist Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and o ...

, she was known as "the First Lady of Physics" for her contributions to

and was the first recipient of the

. * Chien Wei-zang (1912–2010), an

applied mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. *

He Zehui Professor He Zehui or Ho Zah-wei ( zh, c=何泽慧; March 5, 1914 – June 20, 2011) was a Chinese nuclear physicist who worked with Walther Bothe in Nazi Germany during World War II and with Irène Joliot-Curie in Paris, and later helped deve ...

(1914–2011), a Chinese

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

who worked to develop and exploit nuclear physics in China. * Shao Xianghua (1913–2012), Chinese scientist and metallurgical engineer. He was considered as a pioneer of modern Chinese

metallurgical engineering Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

(1926–2024), Nobel prize laureate in Physics (1956). * Li Zhijian (1928–2011), the pioneer of Chinese

microelectronics Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre ...

(1930–), Nobel prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2015). Nobel_prize_medal

Charles K. Kao Sir Charles Kao Kuen () (November 4, 1933 – September 23, 2018) was a Chinese physicist and Nobel laureate who contributed to the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications. In the 1960s, Kao created various methods to ...

(1933–), Nobel prize laureate in Physics (2009). * Ni Guangjiong (1934–), Chinese physicist and science writer. * Gu Leguan (1935–2001), a Chinese physicist and educator, he was also the former president of

Chongqing University Chongqing University (CQU; ) is a public university in Chongqing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Chongqing University ...

. * Li Sanli (1935–), one of China's pioneers in computer science and engineering. He has won many domestic awards for research in the fields of computer architecture and organization. * Zhou Chaochen (1937–), Chinese computer scientist and inventor of the Duration calculus. *

Andrew Yao Andrew Chi-Chih Yao ( zh , c = 姚期智 , p = Yáo Qīzhì; born December 24, 1946) is a Chinese computer scientist, physicist, and computational theorist. He is currently a professor and the dean of Institute for Interdisciplinary Informati ...

(1946–), a Chinese

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

and computational theorist. His contributions include proving what is now known as

Yao's Principle In computational complexity theory, Yao's principle (also called Yao's minimax principle or Yao's lemma) relates the performance of randomized algorithms to deterministic (non-random) algorithms. It states that, for certain classes of algorithms, ...

. *

Ho-Kwang Mao Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao (; born June 18, 1941) is a Chinese-American geologist. He is the director of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Shanghai, China. He was a staff scientist at Geophysical Laboratory of the ...

(1947–), an eminent scientist and geologist in America. *

Jiawei Han Jiawei Han (; born August 10, 1949) is a Chinese-American computer scientist and writer. He currently holds the position of Michael Aiken Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. H ...

, (1949–), Chinese computer scientist and Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

at Urbana-Champaign. Nobel_prize_medal

Roger Y. Tsien Roger Yonchien Tsien (Chinese: 錢永健'';'' February 1, 1952 – August 24, 2016) was an American biochemist. He was a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemi ...

(1952–2016), Nobel prize laureate in Chemistry (2009), Tsien was praised for being immensely intelligent by

Herman Quirmbach Herman Charles Quirmbach (born October 6, 1950) is an American politician and academic. He is a member of the Iowa Senate from the 25th district. A Democrat, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 2003 and on the Ames City Council from 1995 to ...

who said "It's probably not an exaggeration to say he(Roger Y. Tsien)'s the smartest person I ever met... d I have met a lot of brilliant people". * Junying Yu (1975–), is a

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and researcher at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

Leaders and politicians

File:Qian Liu (King Wusu of Wuyue).jpg,

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

, the first ruler of

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

kingdom. File:Chiang Kai-shek（蔣中正）.jpg, Chiang Kai-shek, former president of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in Mainland China and Taiwan. File:Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2011.jpg,

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

, former president 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 ...

. File:Meeting with Li Qiang (2023)(crop).jpg,

Li Qiang Li Qiang (; born July 1959) is a Chinese politician who has been serving as the eighth and current premier of China since March 2023. He has been elevated to the second-ranking member on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist ...

, the current

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the

. *

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

(852–932), founder and first king of

. *

Qian Yuanguan Qian Yuanguan () (30 November 887 – 17 September 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), also known by his temple name as the King Shizong of Wuyue (吳越世宗), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king o ...

(887–941), second king of Wuyue. *

Sun Baoqi Sun Baoqi (; 26 April 1867 – 3 February 1931) was a government official, foreign minister, and premier of the Republic of China. His courtesy name was Mu-han (慕韓) Biography Sun was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1867, the eldest so ...

(1867–1931), the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

governor of

Shandong Province Shandong is a coastal province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center ...

and the premier of the

. * Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), President of the

in Mainland China and Taiwan. *

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (, 27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China. The eldest and only biological son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China and ended ...

(1910–1988), President of

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

). *

Sang Guowei Sang Guowei (; 11 November 1941 – 7 December 2023) was a Chinese pharmacologist, physician and politician. He was a native of Wuxing, Zhejiang and was born in Shanghai. He graduated from Shanghai Medical College and was elected an academicia ...

(1941–), former chairman of the

Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party The Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (CPWDP) is one of the eight minor Democratic parties (China), democratic parties in the China, People's Republic of China under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. The party was offi ...

. *

(1942–), former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

. *

Han Zheng Han Zheng (; born April 1954) is a Chinese politician who since 2023 has served as the 11th Vice President of China, vice president of China. He previously served as the Vice Premier of China, first-ranking vice premier of China between 2018 and ...

(1955–), current vice president of the

. *

Wang Huning Wang Huning (; born 6 October 1955) is a Chinese politician who is one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is currently the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of the National C ...

(1955–), current chairman of the

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 ...

. *

(1958–), current

of the

. *

Ding Xuexiang Ding Xuexiang (born 13 September 1962) is a Chinese politician who is currently the first-ranked vice premier of China and the sixth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Considered a close confidan ...

(1962–), current first Vice Premier of the

Businesspeople and entrepreneurs

File:Ren Zhengfei 2014.jpg,

Ren Zhengfei Ren Zhengfei (; born 25 October 1944) is a Chinese entrepreneur and engineer who is the founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, which is located in Shenzhen, China, and is the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and se ...

, founder and CEO of

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...

. File:Enabling eCommerce- Small Enterprises, Global Players (39008130265) (cropped).jpg,

Jack Ma Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964), or more commonly referred as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's ne ...

, co-founder of

Alibaba Group Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba (), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in E-commerce in China, e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzho ...

. *

(1944–), an entrepreneur and engineer. Founder and CEO of

. * Zhong Shanshan (1954–), an entrepreneur. Founder and chairperson of beverage company

Nongfu Spring Nongfu Spring (; lit. "farmer's spring (hydrology), mountain spring") Is a Chinese bottled water and soft beverage company headquartered in Xihu District, Hangzhou, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.Jack Ma Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964), or more commonly referred as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's ne ...

(1964–), a businessman, investor and philanthropist . Co-founder of

. *

Colin Huang Colin Huang Zheng (, born 1 January 1980) is a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and former CEO of the e-commerce company Pinduoduo, which is now the largest agriculture platform in China. Huang is also the o ...

(1980–), a businessman, investor and philanthropist. Founder of e-commerce company

Pinduoduo Pinduoduo () is a Chinese online retailer, with a focus on the traditional agriculture industry. The business is the largest product of PDD Holdings, a company currently headquarted in Ireland that also owns the online marketplace Temu. Histor ...

. *

Frank Wang Wang Tao (; born 1980), better known as Frank Wang, is a Chinese aerospace engineer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of the Shenzhen-based technology company DJI, the world's largest manufacturer of commercial drones. As of Decembe ...

(1980–), an entrepreneur and aerospace engineer. Founder and CEO of the technology company DJI.

Sportspeople

File:YaoMingonoffense2.jpg,

Yao Ming Yao Ming ( zh, c=姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Baske ...

, former professional basketball player for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. File:Incheon AsianGames Swimming 34.jpg,

Sun Yang Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic and former List of world records in swimming, world-record-holding competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete ...

, considered to be one of the 'greatest freestyle swimmers of all time'. File:Liu Xiang Doha 2010 cropped.jpg, Liu Xiang, Olympic Gold medallist and World Champion in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

. File:Ding Liren in 2023 (52638329254).jpg,

Ding Liren Ding Liren ( zh, c=丁立人; born 24October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion, was a member of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess ...

, the current

World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Gukesh Dommaraju, who defeated the previous champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024, 2024 World Chess Championship. ...

. File:Ju Wenjun in 2024 (cropped).jpg,

Ju Wenjun Ju Wenjun (; born 31 January 1991) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. She is the reigning five-time Women's World Champion, the reigning Women's World Blitz Chess Champion, and a two-time Women's World Rapid Chess Champion. In March 2017, she be ...

, the current

Women's World Chess Champion The Women's World Chess Championship is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by FIDE since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute World Chess Championship, which only came under FIDE's ...

. File:Ding Junhui at Snooker German Masters (DerHexer) 2015-02-05 01.jpg,

Ding Junhui Ding Junhui (; born 1 April 1987) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is the most successful Asian player in the history of the sport. Throughout his career, he has won 15 major ranking titles, including three UK Championships (2005 ...

, regarded as the greatest Asian

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player of all time. File:Zhou Guanyu at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.jpg,

Zhou Guanyu Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Zhou competed in Formula One from to , and remains the only Chinese driver to compete in For ...

, current

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver for

Sauber Motorsport Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pr ...

. *

Fan Zhiyi Fan Zhiyi ( zh, c=范志毅, p=Fàn Zhìyì; born 6 November 1969) is a Chinese coach and former international footballer. He played as a defender for Shanghai Shenhua, Crystal Palace, Dundee, Shanghai COSCO Huili, Cardiff City, Buler Ran ...

(1969–), former international footballer. Former player for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. *

(1980–), former professional basketball player for the

, and current president of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. * Liu Xiang (1983–), former

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. Olympic Gold medallist and World Champion in the

. *

Wu Minxia Wu Minxia (; born 10 November 1985) is a retired Chinese diver, specializing in the 1 metre and 3 metre springboard, and synchronized 3 metre springboard events. Entering her first major championship in 2001, Wu represented China at every Asi ...

(1985–), former diver, eight-time world champion and five-time Olympic and Asian champion making her one of the most decorated divers in history. *

(1987–), a professional

player. As a former world No.1 ranked player, he is widely regarded as the greatest Asian player of all time. *

(1991–), a chess grandmaster. She is the current

. *

(1991–), professional

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, considered to be one of the 'greatest

freestylers The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio. The group took their ...

of all time'. *

(1992–), a chess grandmaster. He is the current

. *

Chen Ruolin Chen Ruolin (; born 12 December 1992) is a Chinese diving platform, platform diving (sport), diver and coach (sport), coach. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist (diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008, diving at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

(1992–), former diver, multiple Olympic gold medallist. *

Xie Zhenye Xie Zhenye (, born August 17, 1993) is a Chinese sprinter. He is the current Asian record holder of the 200 metres with a time of 19.88 seconds. In 2018, Xie ran a personal best of 9.97 seconds in the 100 metres, making him the second Chinese s ...

(1993–), professional sprinter. Olympic medallist and Asian record holder in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. *

Wang Shun Wang Shun ( zh, s=汪顺, t=汪順, hp=Wāng Shùn; born 11 February 1994) is a Chinese competitive swimmer. A versatile medley swimmer, he became the first Asian male swimmer to win a gold medal at the men's 200m individual medley at the Olymp ...

(1994–), professional

, Olympic gold medallist. *

Ye Shiwen Ye Shiwen (; ; born 1 March 1996) is a Chinese swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 metres and 200 metres individual medley, breaking the world record in the 400 m event and the Olympic record in the 200 m ev ...

(1996–), professional

, Olympic gold medallist. *

Zhang Zhizhen Zhang Zhizhen (; ; born 16 October 1996) is a Chinese professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 31 in July 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 47 in July 2024. As of July 2023, he became the highest-eve ...

(1996–), highest-ever

ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

Chinese male

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player on the

ATP Tour The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...

. *

(1999–), current

driver for

. He was the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. *

Pan Zhanle Pan Zhanle ( zh, link=no, 潘展乐, born 4 August 2004) is a Chinese freestyle swimmer, Olympic champion, and current world record holder of the 100 metre freestyle event. In 2023, Pan became the first swimmer in history to have all three ac ...

(2004–), professional

, current world record holder in the

100 metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics, symbolizing the pinnacle of speed and athleticism in swimming competitions. The first swimm ...

. *

Chen Yuxi Chen Yuxi (; 11 September 2005) is a Chinese diver, national champion, and Olympic champion. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal with partner Zhang Jiaqi in the women's 10m synchronized platform. Chen also won the silver medal ...

(2005–), professional diver, six-time world champion.

Mathematicians

Li_Shanlan.jpg,

Li Shanlan Li Shanlan (李善蘭, courtesy name: Renshu 壬叔, art name: Qiuren 秋紉) (1810 – 1882) was a Chinese mathematician of the Qing Dynasty. A native of Haining, Zhejiang, he was fascinated by mathematics since childhood, beginning with the ' ...

, 19th century Chinese mathematician, Li invented the Li Shanlan's Summation Formulae. File:%E6%BD%98%E8%80%92.jpg, Pan Lei, QIng era scholar involved in the study of mathematics. File:許寶騄.jpg,

Pao-Lu Hsu Pao-Lu Hsu or Xu Baolu (; September 1, 1910 – December 18, 1970) was a Chinese mathematician noted for his work in probability theory and statistics. Life and career Pao-Lu Hsu was born in Beijing on September 1, 1910, with his ancestral hom ...

, famous world class

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

and the father of

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

in China. File:Shiing-Shen_Chern.jpg,

Shiing-Shen Chern Shiing-Shen Chern (; , ; October 26, 1911 – December 3, 2004) was a Chinese American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geome ...

, considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century and a leader in

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

. *

(1031–1095), a brilliant polymathic mathematician and scientist of the Song dynasty, he created an approximation of the arc of a circle ''s'' by ''s'' = ''c'' + 2''v''²/''d'', where d is the diameter, v is the versine, c is the length of the chord c subtending the arc. *

(1562–1633), Chinese mathematician, agricultural scientist, astronomer and scholar-bureaucrat under the Ming dynasty. * Pan Lei (1646 – 1708) was a

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

scholar and mathematician. *

Li Rui Li Rui (; 14 April 1917 – 16 February 2019) was a Chinese politician, historian and dissident Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member. As a young student activist, Li joined the Communists in 1937 during the Chinese Civil War. By 1958, he had ...

(1768–1817), independently invented

Descartes' rule of signs In mathematics, Descartes' rule of signs, described by René Descartes in his ''La Géométrie'', counts the roots of a polynomial by examining sign changes in its coefficients. The number of positive real roots is at most the number of sign chang ...

during the Qing dynasty. *

(1810 – 1882), invented the Li Shanlan's Summation Formulae, he also coined a great number of mathematical terms used in Chinese today. *

Hu Dunfu Hu Dunfu (; 1886 – December 1, 1978) was a Chinese mathematician and pioneer in higher education. He won a Qing dynasty, Qing government scholarship to study at Cornell University, and became the first dean of Tsinghua University at the age of ...

(1886–1978), Chinese mathematician and pioneer in higher education, he was the first dean of

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 ...

. *

Jiang Lifu Jiang Lifu (4 July 1890 – 3 February 1978) was a Chinese mathematician and educator widely regarded as the Father of modern Chinese mathematics. His main research areas are the theory of cylindrical and sperical geometry using matrix analysis. ...

(1890–1978), father of modern Chinese mathematics and the first president of

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

of Mathematics. *

Chen Jiangong Chen Jiangong (; 1893–1971), or Jian-gong Chen, was a Chinese mathematician. He was a pioneer of modern Chinese mathematics. He was the dean of the Department of Mathematics, National Chekiang University (now Zhejiang University), and a found ...

(1893–1971), an educator, mathematician and pioneer of modernizing Chinese mathematics *

(1910–1970), a famed mathematician for being the father of

and

in China. *

Hua Luogeng Hua Luogeng or Hua Loo-Keng (; 12 November 1910 – 12 June 1985) was a Chinese mathematician and politician famous for his important contributions to number theory and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the Peop ...

(1910–1985), famous for his important contributions to

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the People's Republic of China. *

(1911–2004), one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century and widely regarded as a leader in

and winning many prizes for his immense number of contributions to mathematics. *

Ky Fan Ky Fan (樊𰋀, , September 19, 1914 – March 22, 2010) was a Chinese-American mathematician widely regarded as one of the most influential mathematicians from China and one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. Fan's mathematic ...

(1914–2010), famous mathematician who invented many new mathematical equations and theories. *

Wu Wenjun Wu Wenjun ( zh, s=吴文俊; 12 May 1919 – 7 May 2017), also commonly known as Wu Wen-tsün, was a Chinese mathematician, historian, and writer. He was an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), best known for Wu class, Wu fo ...

(1919–2017), Chinese mathematician. *

Wang Yuan (mathematician) Wang Yuan (; 29 April 1930 – 14 May 2021) was a Chinese mathematician and writer known for his contributions to the Goldbach conjecture. He was a president of the Chinese Mathematical Society and head of the Institute of Mathematics, Chinese ...

(1930–), head of the Institute of Mathematics,

.. *

Pan Chengdong Pan Chengdong ( zh, c=潘承洞, p=Pān Chéngdòng; 26 May 1934 – 27 December 1997) was a Chinese mathematician who made numerous contributions to number theory, including progress on Goldbach's conjecture. He was vice president of Shandon ...

(1934–1997), mathematician and vice president of

Shandong University Shandong University (; SDU) is a public university in Jinan, Shandong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Clas ...

. *

Weinan E Weinan E (; born September 1963) is a Chinese mathematician. He is known for his pathbreaking work in applied mathematics and machine learning. His academic contributions include novel mathematical and computational results in stochastic differ ...

(1963–), applied mathematician who made many achievements in mathematics by contributing new equations into homogenization theory, theoretical models of turbulence, electronic structure analysis, multiscale methods, computational fluid dynamics, and weak KAM theory. * Zhiwei Yun (1982–), received a gold medal with a perfect score on his first time participating, and was awarded the

SASTRA Ramanujan Prize The SASTRA Ramanujan Prize is an annual prize awarded to outstanding contributions in mathematics. It was incorporated and is awarded by the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. The awa ...

in 2012 for his "fundamental contributions to several areas that lie at the interface of representation theory, algebraic geometry and number theory".

Philosophers

File:Wang-yang-ming.jpg,

Wang Yangming Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu ...

, considered to be one of the greatest Confucian philosophers in history. File:Zhu_xi.jpg,

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi ( zh, c=朱熹; ; October 18, 1130April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty. As a leading figure in the development of Neo-Confuci ...

, regarded as one of the most influential Confucian philosophers in history and the founder of

. File:Huang_Zong-Xi.jpg,

Huang Zongxi Huang Zongxi (; September 24, 1610 – August 12, 1695), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing. He was the son ...

, naturalist and political theorist, he advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor. File:Qian_Mu.jpg,

Ch'ien 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 Yink ...

, Chinese philosopher, historian, educator and Confucian. *

Wang Chong Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Eastern Han dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mecha ...

(Shaoxing),

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

philosopher. *

(Huizhou region), founder of

philosopher. *

(Ningbo), regarded as one of the four greatest Confucianist philosophers. * Qian Dehong (Ningbo), philosopher, writer, and educator during the mid-late

. * Pan Pingge (Ningbo), Ming era critic of Neo-Confucianism. *

(Ningbo), naturalist and political theorist, he advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor. * Wang Maozu (Suzhou), Republic era philosopher and educationalist. *

(Wuxi), Chinese philosopher, historian, educator and Confucian. He was honored as one of the "Four Greatest Historians" of Modern China.

Writers

File:LuXun1930.jpg,

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

, praised as "The greatest writer Asia produced in the twentieth century" by Nobel prize laureate Kenzaburō Ōe. File:Ai_Qing_1929.jpg, Ai Qing, one of the most outstanding poets in Modern China. File:Zhang_Ailing_1954.jpg,

Eileen Chang Eileen Chang ( zh, t=張愛玲, s=张爱玲, first=t, w=Chang1 Ai4-ling2, p=Zhāng Àilíng；September 30, 1920 – September 8, 1995), also known as Chang Ai-ling or Zhang Ailing, or by her pen name Liang Jing (梁京), was a Chinese-born Am ...

, a highly influential modern Chinese writer. File:Gao_Xingjian_Galerie_Simoncini_Luxembourg.jpg,

Gao Xingjian Gao Xingjian ( zh, 高行健; born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature, ...

, Nobel prize laureate for Literature in 2000. File:Wu_Weiye.jpg, Wu Weiye, one of the Three Masters of Jiangdong. *

Zhang Rong Zhang Rong may refer to: * Zhang Rong (poet), Chinese official and poet * Zhang Rong (physicist), Chinese physicist * Jung Chang or Zhāng Róng, Chinese-British writer {{hndis, Zhang, Rong ...

(443–497) was a Chinese official and poet during the period of the

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

. *

Lu Guimeng Lu Guimeng (; died 881), courtesy name Luwang (), was a recluse Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He lived in seclusion at Puli near Suzhou. His pseudonyms included Mr. Puli (), Tiansuizhi (), and Jianghu Sanren (). He and his friend, the fell ...

(before 836–881),

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Chinese poet. *

Lu You Lu You ( zh, s=陆游, t=陸游, first=t; 1125–1210) was a Chinese historian and List of Chinese language poets, poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). Career Early life and marriage Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River e ...

(1125–1209), patriotic poet of the Southern

. *

Shi Nai'an Shi Nai'an (, –1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' ('' Water Margin''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few reliable ...

(1296–1372), author of the

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (), also called ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' or ''All Men Are Brothers'', is a Chinese novel from the Ming dynasty that is one of the preeminent Classic Chinese Novels. Attributed to Shi Nai'an, ''Water Margin'' was one of the e ...

, one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known works of literary fiction across pre-modern Chinese literature. The group usually includes the following works: Ming dynasty novels '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', '' Water Margin'', ''Journey to t ...

. *

Qian Qianyi Qian Qianyi (; Suzhou dialect: ; 1582–1664) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician during the late Ming dynasty.Cihai: Page 1704. Qian was a famous author and poet; and along with Gong Dingzi and Wu Weiye was known as one of the Three M ...

(1582–1664), a Chinese official, scholar and social historian of the late Ming dynasty. *

Shao Mi Shao Mi (Shao Mi, traditional: 邵彌, simplified: 邵弥); ca. 1592-1642 was a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Shao was born in Changzhou County (長洲縣, not Changzhou) (now part of ...

(1592-1642) a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the

. *

Zhang Dai Zhang Dai (; 1597–1684), courtesy name Zongzi () and pseudonym Tao'an (), was a Chinese essayist and historian. He was a gentleman essayist who was a biographer of his own privileged aristocratic family, a historian of the Ming dynasty, and a bi ...

(1597–1679), Ming writer, historian and biographer. * Wu Weiye (1609–1671) was an author and poet in Classical Chinese poetry. *

(1881–1936), a leading figure of modern

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

. *

Liu Bannong Liu Bannong (; May 29, 1891 – July 14, 1934) or Liu Fu () was a Chinese poet and linguist. He was a leader in the May Fourth Movement. He made great contributions to modern Chinese literature, phonology and photography. Life A son of the edu ...

(1891–1934), a Chinese linguist and poet. *

Gu Jiegang , module = , workplaces = Peking University, Xiamen University, Sun Yat-sen University, Yenching University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Gu Jiegang (8 May 1893 – 25 December 1980) was a Chinese historia ...

Hung C. Folksongs // Going to the People. – Harvard University Asia Center, 1985. – p. 58-80 (1893–1980), a Chinese historian best known for his seven-volume work Gushi Bian (古史辨, or Debates on Ancient History). He was a co-founder and the leading force of the

Doubting Antiquity School The Doubting Antiquity School or Yigupai (Endymion Wilkinson, Wilkinson, Endymion (2000). ''Chinese History: A Manual''. Harvard Univ Asia Center. . Page 345, see/ref>Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessy (1999). ''The Cambridge History of Anci ...

, and was highly influential in the 20th century development of Chinese history. * Ai Qing (1910–1996), regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets. *

Fei Xiaotong Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of ...

(1910–2005), a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. *

Qian Zhongshu Qian Zhongshu (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998), also transliterated as Ch'ien Chung-shu or Dzien Tsoong-su, was a Chinese literary scholar and writer. He was known for his satirical novel '' Fortress Besieged''; his erudite, rarefied n ...

(1910–1998), a Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition. *

(1920–1995), one of the most influential modern Chinese writers, it was stated by poet and

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

professor Dominic Cheung that "had it not been for the political division between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese, she (Eileen Chang) would have almost certainly won a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

(1940–), novelist, playwright, critic and the Nobel prize laureate for Literature of 2000. *

Ye Wenling Ye Wenling (; born 4 November 1942) is a Chinese novelist. She was a member of the 6th, 7th and 8th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Biography Ye was born in Chumen Town, Yuhuan, Zhejiang, China in 19 ...

(1942–), Chinese novelist and politician. *

Xiaolu Guo Xiaolu Guo (; born 20 November 1973) is a Chinese-born British author, filmmaker and academic. Her writing and films explore migration, social alienation, alienation, memory, personal journeys, feminism, translation and transnational identitie ...

(1973–), novelist and filmmaker, her novels have been translated into 27 languages. In 2013 she was named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists, a list drawn up once a decade.

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