(Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University Medical College)

Ding Wenjiang is my second uncle, and I was born a year after his death. Although his father Ding is his caring younger brother, and his mother Shi is the cousin and niece of Mrs. Shi Jiuyuan in Wenjiang, and has lived with his uncle and aunt for more than ten years, I didn't begin to read Ding Wenjiang's life and materials carefully until after the reform and opening up, helping my mother write articles recalling Ding Wenjiang, sorting out photos and collecting cultural relics, and listening to his students Huang, Li Chunyu, Cui Kexin and so on. Recently, 12 experts (including 9 senior academicians) were invited to write papers or inscriptions to commemorate the 20th anniversary of/kloc-0. With the gradual deepening of understanding, my understanding has also been sublimated, and a touching and tall image worth remembering and learning forever stands in my heart.

My uncle died in June of 1936+0, which was highly praised by academic circles at that time. With a flick of a finger, more than 70 years have passed, and the motherland has undergone earth-shaking changes under the leadership of the party and embarked on the journey of national rejuvenation. The evaluation of celebrities needs the test of history. At present, there is also a problem of re-understanding and re-evaluating Ding Wenjiang. I have studied the recently published articles in memory of my uncle, and feel that experts mainly geologists have initially formed the following two * * * knowledge:

First, the pioneering work of pioneers such as Ding Wenjiang laid a good foundation for the later development of geology, and has been influencing it to this day. Academician Liu Dongsheng, the winner of the highest national science and technology award, wrote in the inscription commemorating the 20th anniversary of Ding Wenjiang's birthday/KLOC-0 in Taixing City: "Mr. Ding Wenjiang put the development of mineral resources at the top and key point of China's geological work from the very beginning, which laid an ideological foundation for China's geological science to stand tall in the world and develop continuously. This has prepared conditions for the development of geology and mineral resources since the founding of New China and opened up endless prospects. While paying attention to the development of geology and mineral resources, Mr. Ding Wenjiang attached great importance to the development and application of other disciplines related to geology, which promoted the growth of geology and paved the way for the future of geology. Ding Wenjiang paid special attention to the human factor in the development of science, and his cultural heritage left by his promotion and generosity to the history of geological science in China is a precious wealth of geological science in China. Sun Wensheng, former Minister of Land and Resources and Chairman of geological society of china, wrote an inscription for the commemorative activities and wrote similar opinions in incisive language. He wrote: "all learners must do things;" Lay a foundation and lead the trend. "

Second, Ding Wenjiang, as a scientific and cultural giant in the modern history of China, has been comprehensively studied and properly positioned. Since the beginning of the new century, biographies or monographs have been published: Biography of Ding Wenjiang (written by Song Guangbo), Biography of Ding Wenjiang (written by Lin Lin), Responsibility of Ethnic Minorities (written by Gu Xiaoshui), Great Scientist Ding Wenjiang (written by Ding Qinhai) and Essays on Ding Wenjiang's Academic Culture (). In 2005 and 2007, CCTV's "Exploration and Discovery" column broadcasted two feature films, Nine Armies Division and Yangshao Cultural Relics Appearance, which not only introduced the history, but also highlighted Ding Wenjiang's important role as a leading figure, which caused great repercussions in China. Many articles commemorating Ding Wenjiang were published in China Land and Resources Newspaper, Geological Review, Writer's Digest, Huangqiao Historical and Cultural Research, Geological Society of China Geological History Committee and Xu Xiake Research Association. On June 5438- 10, 2007, the respected academician Wang Hongzhen published an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of Ding Wenjiang's birth/kloc-0 in Geological Review, which comprehensively introduced Ding Wenjiang's life and achievements, and summarized it with "geologist, scientific master, cultural pioneer and new voice of political theory". In my opinion, it is very appropriate for Mr. Hong Zhen to summarize and describe Ding Wenjiang from the above four aspects.

Teacher Liu Dongsheng made a wonderful exposition from the perspective of Ding Wenjiang's historic contribution to the contemporary geological cause, and teacher Wang Hongzhen made a wonderful exposition from the perspective of Ding Wenjiang's various roles as a cultural giant, which provided a thinking basis for me to learn the spirit of Ding Wenjiang.

I am a university teacher. 65438-0958 stayed in school after graduation and worked in the front line of teaching, scientific research and management for a long time. I am now engaged in biomedical engineering. Although I am not a geological major, I am familiar with the development course and present situation of colleges and universities for half a century and often think about the current problem of rejuvenating the country through science and education. From this point of view, what I cherish most is the precious spiritual wealth left by my uncle with his brilliant example. After repeated study and thinking, I summed it up in the following three aspects: noble faith, fraternity and independent thinking.

First, establish a lofty belief in loving the people and advocating science.

In the article "My Belief" published by 1934 (Tianjin Ta Kung Pao, May 6), my uncle summed up his belief in two aspects: first, to do something that can satisfy most people's greatest desires is to do something beneficial to society. Second, we should take scientific knowledge as the behavior guide. Here he answered two basic questions about the outlook on life: to serve the largest number of people in society, and the method of service depends on science.

My uncle worshipped national heroes since he was a child, and when he was a teenager, he made up his mind to serve the country with his life. In his life of unremitting struggle, his heart has always been linked with the sufferings of the working people and the future and destiny of the motherland. 19 1 1 He returned from studying in Britain at the age of 24, and just set foot on the land of the motherland, he visited the poor farmers in the southwest border of Guizhou, wrote a long poem "Guizhou Folk Songs", and issued a cry of grief and indignation that "the people of Guizhou are suffering". 19 13 He surveyed an old tin mine, went underground during the day and lived with the miners at night, and made a true report on the tragic situation of the miners who were struggling to die. He wrote: "I used to sleep in the kitchen (workers' residence) in Yindong. All night, I only heard the workers coughing, one after another, in an endless stream. I listened to this sad music and thought about the gasps I heard in the cave until dawn. Later, Mr. Hu Shi commented: "Such words describing workers' lives should arouse social protests and labor treatment reform. "More than 20 years later, uncle, a famous scholar, visited the Soviet Union on 1933 with the desire to save the country, expressing sympathy and praise for the labor enthusiasm and dedication of the Soviet people to realize the socialist ideal. He wrote: "It is not good for society to sacrifice the desires of the majority of workers in order to satisfy the desires of the minority bourgeoisie." "On the one hand, I believe that human talents are unequal. On the other hand, I believe that the treatment of society cannot be too different. Otherwise, the social order can't be peaceful, "he wrote." In recent years, the slogan of Soviet Russia:' Everyone tries his best to serve the society, and everyone pays for the society as needed' is an ideal goal. " Ding Wenjiang summed up the lofty goal of life as a motto: "Give yourself up for others and pass it on from generation to generation", "What's wrong with dying tomorrow? Just work hard! Just like you will never die. " Uncle's words and deeds are consistent, and the motto is first used to restrain himself. From moral integrity to serving the motherland, it regulates all aspects of himself. At that time when he lived, the field geological investigation was not only difficult in natural environment, but also frequent in bandits' activities, and a large proportion of people died in the line of duty. It is reported: "During the Republic of China, the harsh social environment swallowed up the lives of some outstanding geologists. Of the seven medals and awards established in geological society of china, five are to commemorate scholars who died in field trips. Only the Central Geological Survey (with only a few dozen employees) has more than a dozen people died young "(Zhang, Institute of Geology and the Republic of China: 19 16 ~ 1950, Shandong Education Press, 2005, 13). Ding Wenjiang was the first person to lead the team and set an example in geological survey. Finally, in order to prepare for the war, I fell ill, went down to the well for investigation, was poisoned by gas, and unfortunately died in the line of duty, so that I did my best and died. His death caused great sorrow and shock in the cultural circle, and experts mourned one after another: "It is a great loss of honesty and knowledge, and a great loss of the country. China is unfortunate here!" .

Another aspect of uncle's belief is "taking scientific knowledge as a guide" in action. What he means by science here is: "Classify a phenomenon or fact by theoretical methods, then understand their interrelationships, obtain their general principles, and predict their results." Generally speaking, the scientific knowledge he said refers to "the truth that comes from the objective world and can guide practice after being processed by theoretical methods". Ding Wenjiang used this way of thinking to deal with academic problems, discipline construction problems and some administrative problems in geological science, and achieved remarkable results. It has played a very good role in helping young people get rid of the influence of feudalism and idealism. This way of thinking, which pays attention to investigation and respects facts, is also the reason why he can face up to reality and recognize the dedication of Soviet capitalists. Of course, as far as the political situation faced by China at that time is concerned, we need to make an essential analysis with the help of the basic viewpoints of historical materialism, and some problems are still in practice and exploration, so we don't have to be harsh on him.

Second, people-oriented, cultivate young people's love feelings.

The key to starting a new career is talent. Uncle has always attached great importance to talent training. 19 13 geological survey institute (the first geological research unit in China) was established. In order to solve the problem of urgently needed talents, under his active advocacy, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce opened a geological research class (institute). Together with Zhang and Weng, he trained the first batch of geological talents in China. An Tesheng, a famous Swedish geologist, thinks that the quality of teaching is equivalent to that of graduates with the same educational system in Europe and America. Facts show that these people live up to expectations, and most of them have grown into the backbone of China's geological work. Since then, Ding Wenjiang has fully supported the construction of the Department of Geology of Peking University by introducing Glip and Li Siguang to teach and raising funds, and attended classes in person. Ding Wenjiang also tried his best to care for and support the geology departments established by other universities in China.

The success of Ding, Weng and Zhang in geological education in the early 20th century is an important reason for the emergence of outstanding talents in China's geological disciplines in the following decades. Recently, it was reported that "during the period from 1938 to 1946, according to the total number of teachers and students, the National The National SouthWest Associated University had one academician for every 12 teachers and students". Among them, the qualified rate of academicians in geoscience (geology, geography, meteorology) is the highest, reaching 8∶ 1 (Looking for National The National SouthWest Associated University, China News Weekly, June 5, 2007, 165438+46 pages).

Ding Wenjiang's work in training talents can be summarized as follows.

First, make every effort to create conditions for the growth of teenagers. Li Ji, an archaeologist, said: Ding Wenjiang "sacrificed his interest and tried to create an environment for newcomers to enjoy the job opportunities that he could not enjoy. Up to now, at least in geology, young and promising people still have a broad way to go. " Here, we should learn from Ding Wenjiang's dedication to the interests of teenagers, his spirit of struggling to overcome difficulties and establish teaching institutions, and many measures he has taken to act according to educational laws. For example, make a broad-caliber and basic training plan; Pay attention to the cultivation of practical work ability; Hire high-level teachers in major disciplines; Carry out extensive international cooperation; Establish a rigorous style of study, and so on.

Second, take patriotism as the core and guide the all-round development of young people.

Ding Wenjiang's patriotism is manifested in many aspects. The following is only based on the fact that he carried forward Xu Xiake's spirit and called on the geological community to set an example and establish a new generation of wind. Xu Xiake was a great geographer in the late Ming Dynasty. Before Ding Wenjiang, although people paid attention to the literary value and travel notes value of his works, Ding Wenjiang was the first person to compile and disseminate Xu Xiake's travel notes with modern geoscience methods. Ding Wenjiang himself said that he admired Xu Xiake for the purpose of explaining that as early as 280 years ago, Xu Xiake had the spirit of seeking knowledge of Europeans and Americans today, and our conditions today are always better than those of the Ming Dynasty. If young people don't know how to move forward, they will be ashamed of their ancestors. While carrying forward the spirit of Xu Xiake, Ding Wenjiang could not forget the ridicule and contempt of some foreigners for China intellectuals, and was determined to answer with actions. Richthofen, a German geographer and geologist, said: "Intellectuals in China must go out in sedan chairs, and never wade across mountains and rivers", and "Literati in China are lazy". "Ding Wenjiang reacted violently to this slander. Seven years later, at the beginning of a rebuttal article, he published Richthofen's quotation, which was the preface he wrote for China Journal of Geology and Technology (translated by Charlotte Voss and Ding Zilin, Ding Wenjiang: Science and New Culture in China, Hunan Science and Technology Press, 1987, 35 pages). Of course, more importantly, several generations of outstanding intellectuals in Ding Wenjiang and China have answered foreigners' questions with their dedication and achievements.

Ding Wenjiang is not only a scientific giant in technology, but also considers it his responsibility to awaken the society and educate the youth with lofty life goals and scientific ideas. 1923, Zhang Junmai and others used metaphysics to lead young people astray. He led the famous debate between science and metaphysics in Effort Weekly. In fact, Ding Wenjiang and Zhang Junmai have a deep personal relationship, and this debate is entirely aimed at defending the truth and educating the youth. 1935 in view of the fact that some people in the society belittled and accused the youth with the viewpoint of feudal decline 30 years ago, Ding Wenjiang once again stood up to support the direction of progressive youth. He first proposed that there should be a standard to evaluate the progress of young people, "to compare the physique, knowledge, ability and morality of young people today with those of young people 20 or 30 years ago." Then, on the basis of criticizing "weak writing", "stereotyped writing" and "reading dead books", he gave correct connotations to the standards of physical education and intellectual education. When talking about the moral situation of young people now, he praised: "The moral concept of young families is weaker than that of young people in the past, but the sense of responsibility for society and career only increases." He also took the deeds of young geologists Zhao Yaceng and Wang Heng as examples to illustrate. Here, Ding Wenjiang once again publicized his values: as long as he really works for the interests of most people, both scientists and revolutionaries should be affirmed and supported.

Third, cherish talents and care for students. Beside the lotus pond in Tsinghua campus, there is a tall stone statue of Wen Yiduo, engraved with Mr. Wen's famous saying: "The poet's main talent is to love, love his motherland and love his people." I think this sentence can be borrowed from Ding Wenjiang's sentence "A teacher's main talent is to love, love his motherland and love his students". Here are two examples. In order to collect inscriptions, I visited Cui Kexin, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of China Academy of Sciences, who graduated from Peking University Geology Department on 1935. He is a direct student of Professor Ding Wenjiang. Although he is 98 years old, he still remembers the past vividly. He said: "I am a student with excellent grades but a poor family." Every step of my growth in school has been cared for by Ding Wenjiang, and the teacher who drew good specimens also encouraged me. " There is no toll to go home, and the teacher subsidizes me; Because of family difficulties, it was the teacher who contacted the scholarship for me and let me finish my studies smoothly; After graduation, my teacher introduced me to work in the Geological Survey. ""Miss Ding is my benefactor. I am very sad about his early death. I secretly shed tears when I think about it many times. "Another example is Zhao Yazeng. 1923 graduated from the Department of Geology of Peking University, studying stratigraphy and paleontology in China. Because of his outstanding achievements, Ding Wenjiang praised him as a "genius of geology" and attached great importance to him. 1929 165438+ was killed by bandits in a geological survey in October. Ding Wenjiang was so sad about his death that he almost cried all night, saying it was "the biggest blow in my life". Since then, he has tried his best to support his family and orphans. I remember 1946 after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, my mother took me back to Nanjing by plane from Chongqing, and Zhao Songnian, Zhao Yazeng's eldest son, met me at the airport by car. At that time, he affectionately called my mother's elder sister, saying that he had been a pilot and had been beaten by the Japanese. Later, I learned that Ding Wenjiang took Songnian as his own and took it with him when he was on holiday. My mother also accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Ding Wenjiang, so we are very familiar with each other and match each other.

Although my second uncle is gone, his sincere love for students, friends and family remains in people's memory. This is what we should remember and learn.

Third, create an academic atmosphere of independent thinking and innovation.

I am a teacher who has worked at the grass-roots level in colleges and universities for a long time. The review articles on the subject and teaching status in newspapers and periodicals always touch my heart again and again. When the Nobel Prize was awarded, people asked, "Why did the Nobel Prize fall to the United States again?" While praising China's achievements in economic reform, people point out the disadvantages of the university system and think that "university problems have destroyed the knowledge of reform." When the old professors get together, they will call for "revisiting the tradition of National Southwest Associated University". Some academicians made face-to-face statements to Premier Wen and pointed out some mistakes in educational decision-making. What is the crux of the problem ? One of the keys is to create a free academic atmosphere and a democratic decision-making mechanism. In the entrepreneurial experience with their generation, Ding Wenjiang has formed a style of independent thinking, outspoken, sincere treatment, good advice and democratic decision-making. Here are a few examples.

Ding Wenjiang, Weng and Zhang held their own views on how to express geological terms in Chinese, and finally gave in to Weng after argumentation.

Regarding the decision of the Ministry of Education to merge the same departments, Ding Wenjiang said, "Wait a minute. This is a very important and difficult thing. " There must be investigations and standards, and not a few people have the final say.

On the issue of "science and outlook on life" in the ideological field, the debate he led refuted the wrong view that "scientific development leads to moral degradation" and led the ideological trend of advocating science.

In order to establish a propaganda position, my uncle participated in the establishment of Hard Weekly and Independent Review, and wrote many articles.

More than half a century later, living experts still miss the Independent Review magazine founded by Hu Shi and Ding Wenjiang, calling for the academic atmosphere of that year. 1933, independent review published two articles in succession. The first article was written by Gu Yuxiu, a famous professor and president of Tsinghua University Institute of Technology, entitled "What Science Do We Need". He believes that "the existing inventions in the world are enough for China" and "what we need most now is not new scientific inventions, but the application of existing scientific inventions". Dean Gu thinks studying abroad is enough. The latter article made a tit-for-tat rebuttal to the dean's argument. The writer is Sun Zengjue, a freshman in the Department of Chemistry of Tsinghua University. Independent Review not only published two articles, but also Hu Shi wrote a review after Sun Wen. It has been more than 70 years since this incident. Mr. Sun Lao sent these two articles to Tsinghua alumni newsletter, and said in the letter: "This article can fully show that the students of that era were quite free in speech and quite opinionated in thought, and did not blindly follow the guidance of' celebrities'." This matter was published in the Tsinghua Alumni Newsletter SeriesNo. 12 published in July 2007. Sun Lao is an old alumnus of Tsinghua, and he is over 90 years old. He still hopes that his alma mater can inherit the independent and free academic atmosphere of that year. I am in awe of his childlike innocence. The spirit of "independent comment" advocated by Ding Wenjiang, Hu Shi and other sages should be passed down from generation to generation. This is the need of academic prosperity, scientific and technological innovation and democratic decision-making.

Spiritual wealth is an important part of a nation's advanced culture, which has the significance of inheriting and educating future generations. Ding Wenjiang's spirit is a vivid material to educate future generations, which conforms to the spirit of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in many aspects. This is because, in these spirits, the values of serving the people and giving love to others are emphasized; It is argued that science should guide action and social development. This is also because supporting individual independent thinking will be very conducive to academic prosperity, technological innovation and democratic decision-making, and concentration on the basis of democracy is the guarantee of victory.