China's "father of space technology" dies at 98

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-31 13:51

Qian, a member of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1934.

In 1935, he went to study in the aviation department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later studied aviation engineering at the California Institute of Technology. In 1939, he received a doctorate in aviation and mathematics.

In 1947, 36-year-old Qian was already a professor at the Massachusetts Institute.

According to his son Qian Yonggang, the Kuomintang once invited Qian to come back but he refused. He returned to the mainland after the new China was founded.

However, Qian's road home was not smooth.

Documents show that amid the McCarthyism in the 1950s, allegations were made that he was a communist who stole confidential information about the U.S. government.

Qian was put in prison for 15 days, followed by a 5-year house arrest under surveillance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In June 1955, a letter from Qian managed to get out of the U.S. border and finally reached then Premier Zhou Enlai, resulting in Sino-U.S. talks which led to his release.

Together with his wife and two children, Qian sailed for more than a month before arriving in the mainland.

On the official BBS of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where Qian majored in mechanic engineering from 1929 to 1934, many alumni still couldn't believe the news while replies to the posts soon topped 850 in six hours.

Many regarded his death as "a superstar fell" and expressed their blessings for him -- "Dear Mr. Qian, rest in peace. We will never forget your achievements."

According to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, the press is currently compiling a picture album of Qian and a collection of his writings based on 800-plus-page documents retrieved from the U.S. National Archives, which include details about his encounters with the U.S. government and his trip back home.

The picture book will be released soon and the writing compilation is due to come out in next spring.

Although Qian, a Hangzhou native in east China's Zhejiang Province, had long been a Beijing resident, his hometown friends feel close to him.

In one of the most popular local web portal "19 lou", more than 8,000 visitors read the news in three hours.

"Masters, you've always been the mental support for us post-70s generation but one by one you're gone... Our country needs more masters like you..." wrote a netizen named "sheliqiang" in a hundred-word reply.

On Saturday, a documentary about Qian, produced by Xinhua, has been broadcast on the Internet and the agency's TV channel. Taiwan's Eastern Television will also air the program on Saturday evening.

"He was a 'people's scientist' with firm political belief and pure moralities," researcher Yu Jingyuan said.

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