Facing the nuclear armed imperialism, the people of China are well aware that China must have a strong national defense and its own nuclear weapons in order to oppose nuclear war, smash nuclear blackmail, safeguard the security of the motherland and safeguard world peace. However, in old China, only a few scientists were engaged in research in specialized research institutions. China's nuclear weapons development started with great difficulty.
1946, under the recommendation of physicists Yan Jici and Qian Sanqiang, and with the support of the French National Center for Scientific Research, Yang Chengzong, a radiochemist working in the Institute of Radium Science of Shanghai Sino-French University, entered the famous Institute of Radium Science of Paris University, France, and studied radiochemistry under Madame Iorio Curie. In the early days of liberation, Zhou Enlai called on overseas students to return to China to participate in the construction of the motherland. As soon as Yang Chengzong finished his studies, he sent two telegrams to Qian Sanqiang, a physicist who returned home early, asking him to return home, serve him, support his motherland and realize his lofty ideals. Before leaving, Mr Curie said to him, "Go back and tell Mao Zedong that if you want to oppose the atomic bomb, you must have your own atomic bomb. The atomic bomb is not so terrible, and the basic principle of the atomic bomb was not invented by Americans. " Aurio Curie's words are few, but full of inspiring power. He believed in his students and that China could and would make an atomic bomb. Madame Iorio Curie also sent10g standard source containing trace radium salt to Yang Chengzong, giving China specific help in nuclear research.
At the beginning of 1955, the decision-making work of developing atomic energy in China began. Zhou Enlai met with Qian Sanqiang, Li Siguang, Liu Jie and others, and asked in detail about the researchers, equipment and resources of nuclear science in China, and also asked them about the conditions needed for developing nuclear energy technology.
After discussion, the Politburo adopted the atomic energy development plan, code-named "02".
1 949165438+1October1day, Nanjing Academia Sinica merged with Beiping Research Institute to form China Academy of Sciences, and the China government invited Chinese scientists at home and abroad to help create modern scientific research institutions. Some academic groups outside the Academy of Sciences, such as the Chinese Physical Society, also actively participated in the research. The Institute has about 570 members, including 65,438+00 scientists who are actively engaged in nuclear science and technology research. They are Qian Sanqiang, Wang, Peng Huanwu, He, Deng Jiaxian, Zhu Hongyuan, Yang Chengzhong, Yang Chengzong and Dai Chuanzeng. In the next few years, some scientists who studied and worked abroad, such as,,, Li and Xie Jialin, also returned to their motherland. Zhu Guangya, Hu, Yu Fuchun, Wu, Zhou, etc. What used to be scattered in colleges and universities has all been organized.
1950 In the first half of the year, China Academy of Sciences reorganized its subordinate research institutes, and newly established some research institutions such as the Institute of Modern Physics, with Wu and Qian Sanqiang as the director and deputy director respectively. In June, these academic leaders decided to focus on nuclear research. The Government of China also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite some foreign experts to visit China selectively to help China's construction, including the modernization of science and technology. In the next few years, nuclear physics research will continue to be listed as the national research focus, and support the Institute of Modern Physics in this field. At the same time, speed up the training of professionals in this field and gradually form a relatively strong backbone team.
In the same year, after repeated representations between Zhou Enlai and Soviet Ambassador Eugene, the Soviet government officially informed the China government that it would provide a 7000 kW heavy water experimental reactor and a cyclotron with a diameter of 1.2 m for the peaceful use of atomic energy, and accept scientific and technological personnel to go to the Soviet Union for internship.
1in April, 956, Zhou Enlai told Song Renqiong, then the first deputy minister of the General Cadre Department of the Central Military Commission, that a member of the Central Committee should be transferred from the army to strengthen the geological front. Song Renqiong thought for two days, volunteered and said to Zhou Enlai, "Just take me out." 1956 In July, Zhou Enlai put forward the proposal of establishing the Ministry of Atomic Energy in the Report on the Construction of Atomic Energy to the Central Committee. Mao Zedong agrees with Zhou Enlai. 1956165438+10, the State Council formally submitted to the first meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) for approval, and decided to set up the third Ministry of Machinery Industry (1958 was changed to the second Ministry of Machinery Industry in February), appointed Song Renqiong as the minister, and Liu Jie, Liu Wei, Lei and Qian Sanqiang as the deputy ministers, and later added.
Since then, the development of atomic energy in China has officially embarked on a journey.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, due to the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations, the policy mistakes of China's "Great Leap Forward" and the influence of domestic natural disasters, the national economy entered a period of serious difficulties, and there were more and more discussions about "dismounting" or "mounting" to develop sophisticated weapons, which became more and more open. Some people think that the country is in a particularly difficult period, so we should not spend so much money on sophisticated weapons that can't be seen or touched for a while, and the research and development of atomic bombs and missiles should stop. Some people think that atomic bombs and missiles should be developed, but the country is now too difficult and the development of sophisticated weapons should be slowed down.
Chen Yi said: "Even if you pawn your pants, you have to get the atomic bomb out."
Under the auspices of Zhou Enlai, the Central Special Committee held nine meetings in three years, effectively organizing cooperation and tackling key problems in the development of atomic bombs and missiles.
In order to give a code name to China's first atomic bomb, physicist Zhu Guangya, with the consent of Li Jue, director of the Institute of Nuclear Weapons, proposed that the date when the Soviet Union refused to provide the atomic bomb teaching model and drawings-June1959-was taken as the code name of China's first atomic bomb, namely "596".
China's success in developing nuclear weapons is in sight. In order to maintain the nuclear monopoly position, a few big countries do not want to see China possess nuclear weapons and try their best to obstruct and destroy them.
Against the background that the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union jointly curbed China's nuclear test, China's scientific and technological experts worked hard and made a major breakthrough in nuclear weapons research. In the summer of 1964, China finally broke through the technical difficulties of the atomic bomb and made great achievements in the development of the atomic bomb.
The suspicious facility is a nuclear test base and can be put into use within two months. According to this information, US Secretary of State Lasker made a special statement: "China will conduct a nuclear explosion test in the near future." Although American intelligence is accurate, it can't stop China from conducting nuclear tests.
1964 in early August, China's first atomic bomb began to be assembled.
On September 1 day, the rehearsal of the nuclear test ended. At that time, it was reported that someone abroad might be planning to sabotage China's nuclear facilities to prevent China from acquiring nuclear weapons. In this way, when China's first atomic bomb exploded, it was even more urgent to mention the agenda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Special Committee. Therefore, Zhou Enlai hosted the ninth meeting of the Central Special Commission on June 16 and June 17, listened to the reports of Zhang Aiping and Liu Xiyao on the rehearsal of the atomic bomb, comprehensively analyzed the international situation, and carefully studied the timing of the formal test. Zhou Enlai synthesized everyone's opinions and put forward two plans: First, try early and make up your mind later this month; First, try again in the future, first grasp the construction of the third-line research base, and choose the opportunity to try again. He said: "We should imagine the situation after the atomic bomb exploded, then decide the time of the explosion test and make up our minds before the National Day." Zhou Enlai himself tends to try as soon as possible. No matter whether you try early or late, you can't relax your preparation at all. As for the specific time of the nuclear test, it will be submitted to The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), Mao Zedong and Dong Ze for final decision.
On September 2 1, Zhou Enlai sent a letter to Mao Zedong asking about the explosion time. That night, Mao Zedong instructed in the letter: "I have read it, and I intend to do so."
On September 22nd, Zhou Enlai reported on the preparations for the first nuclear test and the test plan of the Central Special Commission at the enlarged meeting of the CPC The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) in Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi. The meeting clearly decided to try early.
On September 23rd, Zhou Enlai called a meeting of He Long, Chen Yi, Zhang Aiping, Liu Jie and Liu Xiyao, which conveyed the decision of the enlarged meeting of The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). He told everyone excitedly: I made a report to Chairman Mao and Comrade Liu Shaoqi, and they agreed to the first plan. The atomic bomb is really scary, and the chairman's bigger strategic thinking is that since it is scary, it will ring early. In this way, the task is heavier, not lighter. The test time seems to be 20 days later. There are four sunny days in June 5438+ 10, which may or may not be caught in the middle and one in the later period; 165438+1There was another one in early October, and 10 broke down in late October. It is necessary to calculate the wind direction and the flight distance of radioactive dust in detail to get information. When the atomic bomb explodes, the impact will be great. In case it doesn't sound; What are the consequences? We need to find experts involved in nuclear testing to conduct special research.
Zhou Enlai also pointed out that in order to guard against the enemy's destruction, the General Staff and the Air Force will study and make strict air defense deployment; Liu Jie is responsible for organizing the safe transfer of key technical data and instruments and equipment; Chen Yi organized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make preparations for external publicity; Zhang Aiping and Liu Xiyao rushed to the test site to organize and direct; In addition to me and He Long and Luo Ruiqing, Liu Jie presided over the joint office composed of the Second Machinery Department and the National Defense Science and Technology Commission in Beijing, responsible for Beijing and contacting the proving ground; It is necessary to specify some codewords and passwords. He also solemnly told: "We must protect our own experts, and things should be moved to save the next part. This is not a one-time deal. "
Despite such thoughtful and meticulous preparations, there are still considerable risks. If the test fails, the news will be leaked, which will have adverse effects. In order to absolutely keep the secret of the atomic bomb test, Zhou Enlai stipulated strict confidentiality discipline for the participants. He said, "I hope you don't tell your family, and don't tell them when you are happy." Comrade Deng is an old party member and a member of the Central Committee. I won't tell her what I shouldn't say. I don't know anything that no one should know. "He also said to Chen Yi who attended the meeting later:" You can't talk! " Chen Yi knew that Zhou Enlai was reminding him not to say anything when he received foreign guests as foreign minister. He replied with a Sichuan accent: "I don't say wow! "
Zhang Aiping and Liu Xiyao returned to the Northwest Nuclear Test Site and conveyed Zhou Enlai's instructions to tens of thousands of people at the site. Zhou Enlai's exemplary behavior made everyone deeply educated and effectively ensured that the first nuclear test did not leak.
According to the meteorological conditions, Zhou Enlai selected 0: 00 for nuclear explosion as the appropriate time19641kloc-0/0/0/0/6, which was approved by Mao Zedong. When the people in the base knew the exact time, they remembered an interesting story.
There is a technician named Yang in the base who had a dream the night before National Day 1964 65438+ 10/0/. When he woke up, he rushed out of the tent; Shouting: "The Party Central Committee approved the explosion time!" Someone asked him what happened, and he shouted excitedly, "I dreamed that the Party Central Committee had determined the time of explosion, including three'15'."
At that time, no one could say clearly what the three Tenth Five-Year Plan meant. Now this dream has a more self-explanatory explanation: the first "Tenth Five-Year Plan" represents the15th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC); The second "Tenth Five-Year Plan" refers to 15 days from 10 June/6; The third "15" means that the atomic bomb will explode on 15 of that day.
Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe it's the arrangement of future generations. Whether this dream is true or not, it has become an interesting story in the history of China's nuclear weapons development.
1October1day 14 13, the atomic bomb was still lying in the silver-gray hut made of pure metal on the tower. This tower consists of 8467 members, with a height of 102 m and a weight of 70 tons. It stands proudly in the dazzling golden sunshine.
1October1October1May, relevant technicians completed the assembly of the core components of the atomic bomb and several key processes. On-site commander Zhang Aiping led the technicians to make the final inspection. When he left the tower, he was a little reluctant, so he took off his camera and wanted to take a picture as a souvenir. But considering that no one was allowed to take pictures at the scene and he could not violate the law, he left himself at that great historical moment without taking pictures. After the general recalled the scene at that time, he still felt a little sorry.
Around the iron tower, within a range of about 60 kilometers, nearly 100 effect items and objects are arranged radially: planes, warships, cannons, tanks, armored vehicles, bridges, railways, wartime fortifications and civil buildings, as well as horses, dogs, monkeys, rats, seeds and various testing instruments and equipment. Like a big world with everything.
Lop Nur, dressed in military uniform, is waiting for the solemn moment that shocked the world.
1June 16 at 6: 30 am, all personnel who did not need to stay were evacuated from the site. The on-site command post is located in the "72 1" highland on the hillside of Peacock River, 23 kilometers away from the explosion center, to direct this historic nuclear test.
In the afternoon, Li Jue, Zhang Yunyu and two engineers came to the tower for the last time, installed the wires and made the last inspection. When they returned to the ground 50 minutes before the explosion zero, people around them asked with concern why they came down 4 or 5 minutes later than the scheduled time. Li Jue replied, "I must personally confirm that there are no mistakes."
Then, they evacuated to the on-site command post, and Li Jue handed the key of the tower control device to the leader of the control room. This safety measure is taken to ensure that the atomic bomb will not be detonated by anyone near the explosion tower. This is also the last minute inspection before the explosion.
The telephone of the General Command is connected with the telephone of the Premier's Office in Beijing 24 hours a day. Zhang Aiping's final report said: "Premier, the installation work has ended and everything goes smoothly. Please indicate. "
Zhou Enlai said quietly, "I wish you success!"
Zhang Aiping gave the final instructions.
At the moment when the main exercise counted down to zero, the "detonation" command was issued, and only a strong red flash appeared in the depths of Lop Nur desert; Then, a huge fireball rose into the air, as if a second sun appeared, and the world was red; The mushroom cloud formed by the explosion continues to rise and expand; Later, an earth-shattering noise was deafening, as if to tear the sky apart.
At this time, the test site was filled with cheers, and all the participants were extremely excited, with tears in their eyes and congratulations to each other.
15: 04, Zhang Aiping looked at the towering mushroom cloud in the blue sky and asked Wang, "Is this a nuclear explosion?"
Wang Chang answered affirmatively: "Yes!"
Then, Zhang Aiping called the Beijing Second Machinery Department: "Please find Comrade Liu Jie."
In the atomic bomb test office of the second engine department, Liu and several cadres are waiting anxiously. The phone rang suddenly, and the comrade who answered the phone was so nervous that he dropped the microphone on the table. Liu Jie picked it up and heard Zhang Aiping's excited voice: "Please tell Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao that our first atomic bomb exploded!"
"Say it again."
"The atomic bomb exploded, and the mushroom cloud has been seen!"
"I will report it right away!" Then, Liu Jie grabbed the special phone: "This is Liu Jie, please speak to Premier Zhou!"
"I am Zhou Enlai!"
"Premier, Comrade Zhang Aiping called from the test base. The atomic bomb exploded and I saw the mushroom cloud! "
"Ok, I'll report to Chairman Mao immediately."
A few minutes later, Zhou Enlai called Liu Jie back: "Chairman Mao instructed us to find out if it was a nuclear explosion and let foreigners believe it!"
Liu Jie immediately conveyed Mao Zedong's instructions to Zhang Aiping. Zhang Aiping replied that it was indeed a nuclear explosion, which has been fully proved.
At this moment, Liu Jie began to tremble involuntarily. He called Zhou Enlai again: "Our first atomic bomb exploded successfully. This is a successful nuclear test! Please rest assured of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao. "
After reporting to Zhou Enlai, Zhang Aiping immediately rushed to the scene of the explosion to see the various effects after the explosion. More than two hours later, Zhang Aiping, Liu Xiyao and others published a report on the success of the atomic bomb explosion, which was recognized by many experts and telegraphed to Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Lin Biao, He Long and Luo Ruiqing: the nuclear explosion was indeed realized, and the power was estimated to be more than 20,000 tons of TNT equivalent.
Zhang Aiping, a Confucian scholar, was full of poetry and painting, and happily sang the words "Qingpingle, China's first atomic bomb exploded successfully":
Dongfeng dance, drums and thousands of strong men.
After a hundred years of hard work, I am determined to be a hero.
Xia Guang spurted clouds and the sky and jumped into a long queue.
Spring thunder shook the whole world, and the world was full of joy.
Yes, this happy historical moment has finally arrived!
1964 65438+1October 16 At 5 pm, Zhou Enlai accompanied Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Dong, Peng Zhen, Li Fuchun and other party and state leaders to receive more than 3,000 cast members of the large-scale music and dance epic "Dongfanghong" in the Great Hall of the People. He announced to everyone with a big smile: "Comrades, Chairman Mao asked me to tell you a good news. Our first atomic bomb exploded successfully!" " "
The success of China's first atomic bomb aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad. At home, the people of China are full of national pride and rejoice in the strengthening of national defense; Abroad, friendly countries and groups believe that China's atomic bomb shows the power of self-reliance, which is a brilliant achievement in Asian history.