"The greatest contributions all my life stand in that I help to overcome the obstinate idea that Chinese were not as good as others," Nobel Prize winner Yang Chen Ning said Saturday in Hong Kong.
Yang, one of the first two scientists of Chinese origin to win the Nobel Prize in physics in 1957, is himself the best proof that Chinese are as good as others.
Yang made the remarks at the Chinese University of Hong Kong while attending a series of activities in celebration of his eightieth birthday which falls on Oct. 1 this year, which included a symposium, the launch of the Biography of CN Yang and the opening of the CN Yang Archive at the university which houses his Nobel Medal, papers, correspondence and manuscripts on the same day.
At the symposium in honor of Yang's birthday, scholars with the university recalled with great admiration Yang's scientific achievements, which the particle physics was enabled to begin with, and several Nobel Prize owners in physics after Yang benefited from in one way or the other.
Yang noted that at a man of his age had a strong desire to share with the youngsters his experience all this years, noting that this experience-sharing will facilitate the evolution of the human society.
He pointed out he was lucky to focus himself on a research field of great developing space, and was able to march forwards along with the development of this specific field. According to him, whether a youngster who devoted to scientific research would succeed or not, to a large extend, doesn't depend on his intelligence or endeavor, but on the fact the chosen research field is full of vitality or approaching the end of the tunnel. He expressed wishes that the university students would grasp opportunities to do really meaningful things for the society.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kenneth Young said that if the celebration for Yang's birthday would truly inspire his students' love and devotion for scientific studies as it was designed, that love and devotion would be the best birthday gift for Yang Chen Ning.
Addressing the symposium, Chen Fong Ching, honorary senior research fellow of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, stated that Yang long ago shouldered two tasks, which are to build a bridge of understanding and friendship between China and the United States, and to help China in her drive toward developing science and technology.
Chen detailed that Yang began by lecturing in the United States on the then newly-born China after each visit there, reporting on China's achievements and explaining her policies, thereby fostering an atmosphere there of friendliness towards China. These were followed up with articles, meetings, organizational efforts, advertisements, lobbying campaigns, and so on, "all for the ultimate goal of the normalization of Sino-American relations."
At the same time, Yang Chen Ning also took an active part in China's academic life, finding time to cross the Pacific many times each year to make campus visits, hold talks, attend conferences, and generally make himself available to students and colleagues, Chen continued.
Chen came to the conclusion that Yang is "not only a great scientist, but also a great human being, someone whose joys and pains, whose aspirations and frustrations we can all understand and share."
(People's Daily September 29, 2002)
