Liu Xianzhou

Liu Xianzhou

Liu Xianzhou (January 27, 1890 - October 6, 1975), male, formerly known as he, also known as Zhenhua, also known as Xianzhou, was born in tangxingdian village, Wanxian County, Hebei Province. He is a mechanist and educator of mechanical engineering, a pioneer of Chinese history of science, an expert of Chinese engineering, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a vice president and professor of Tsinghua University.

In 1918, he graduated from the Department of mechanical engineering of the University of Hong Kong with the diploma of "first class honors". In 1955, he was selected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Liu Xianzhou has been engaged in the research of agricultural machinery for a long time and has made great contribution to the development of agricultural machinery suitable for China's national conditions. He is the founder of Chinese mechanical history.

Life of the characters

He was born on January 27, 1890 in Wanxian County, Hebei Province (now Shunping County).

In 1897, he studied in a private school. After eight years of study, he became proficient in ancient Chinese.

In 1906, he entered the county high school, and in 1907, he entered Chongshi middle school in Baoding. During this period of study, just after the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing Dynasty humiliated the country, and he received patriotic education from the whole country to fight against imperialism and feudalism.

In 1908, he joined the league and took part in the revolution of 1911.

In 1912, he graduated from Chongshi middle school in Baoding with an average score of 96.4.

He entered Peking University in 1913, and was admitted to the Department of mechanical engineering of the University of Hong Kong in the second year.

In 1914, he was admitted to the Department of mechanical engineering, School of technology, University of Hong Kong.

In 1918, he received a bachelor's degree in Engineering Science from the University of Hong Kong. His graduation paper was examined by the University of London in the United Kingdom and was awarded "first class honors". He is a mechanical teacher of the preparatory class of advanced technology in Chongshi middle school. Successive

Beiyang University

President, Professor of Northeast University, Tangshan Institute of Technology (now Southwest Jiaotong University), Tsinghua University, Kunming southwest United University, first vice president of Tsinghua University, vice president of China Society of mechanical engineering, etc. In the process of teaching, in order to change China's engineering teaching, he insisted on giving lectures in Chinese and worked hard to compile Chinese textbooks, becoming the founder of China's self-made engineering university textbooks.

After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, Liu Xianzhou had the conditions to study in the UK, and he was also employed as a lecturer by Hebei higher technical school with high salary. However, in order to train a large number of young people with lofty aspirations to go abroad for further study, he resolutely returned to Chongshi middle school, his alma mater, to serve as a teacher of the preparatory class of work study in France. Liu Shaoqi, Li Fuchun and Li Weihan were all students in this preparatory class. He not only strictly and conscientiously taught mechanics, but also advocated that both theory and practice should be emphasized. He proposed the "work study cooperation system" with foresight, that is, the school has an internship factory or the factory has a cram school. Students study theory in the school and practice in the factory. They combine learning with work, integrate students with workers, and create theory and practice in the most economical way Excellent engineering talents. He pointed out that this kind of education system can not only solve the learning difficulties of a large number of poor children, but also correct the common fault that engineering students only pay attention to books and are conceited. In order to advocate the "work study cooperation system", he wrote to the education authorities in 1920 and put forward the opinion that the work study cooperation system should be adopted in China's industrial education. However, they were all called "postponement of implementation" and "reservation for selection" by the authorities.

In 1924, at the age of 34, Liu Xianzhou became the president of Beiyang University, the first university in modern China. The university has been taught by foreign professors since it was founded in 1895. Liu Xianzhou is determined to innovate. He has invited Mao Yisheng, Shi Zhiren, Hou Debang, he Jie and other famous Chinese scholars to teach. He has personally drafted the proposal for the Department of mechanical engineering of the work study cooperative system attached to Beiyang University. He originally wanted to establish the University as "Oriental MIT", but at that time, the national universities were under the control of the Beiyang government, with deep factional influence and insufficient funding, so it was difficult to realize his wish.

In 1928, he resigned as president of Beiyang University and was employed as professor of Northeastern University and director of Mechanical Engineering Department of engineering college. Northeast University was established in 1923 on the basis of Shenyang Normal University, with sufficient funds and rapid development. In addition to teaching mechanical principles, thermomechanics, experience planning and other courses, he also made great contributions to the establishment of the Department.

In 1931, Professor of Tangshan Jiaotong University (now Southwest Jiaotong University). After the September 18th Incident in 1931, the Japanese imperialists occupied three provinces in Northeast China. Liu Xianzhou did not want to be a slave. He went to Tangshan and was employed as a professor of Tangshan Jiaotong University (now Southwest Jiaotong University). At the end of 1932, he was employed as a professor of Tsinghua University and participated in the preparatory work of the Institute of technology and the Department of mechanical engineering until the July 7th incident in 1937, when Japan occupied Peiping. In the past six years, he has put forward many effective suggestions on the curriculum design, teaching methods, and the construction of internship factory and thermal laboratory. He is a lecturer of mechanical principles and thermomechanics in various departments of the Institute of technology. He combines theory with practice and is highly praised by teachers and students.

After the July 7th incident, Liu Xianzhou moved to Kunming with his university to teach in southwest United University, which was jointly run by Tsinghua University, Peking University and Nankai University, until the victory of the Anti Japanese war in 1945. During the hard years in the rear area of the Anti Japanese War, he not only excellently completed the heavy teaching tasks of mechanical principles, but also assiduously consulted the books and documents of mechanical engineering, engaged in the compilation of textbooks, mechanical terms and the history of Chinese mechanical invention.

Professor, Tsinghua University, 1932-1937.

In 1933, he began to compile English Chinese mechanical engineering terms, which became the unification of Chinese mechanical engineering terms. He has long been engaged in the research on the history of mechanical engineering invention, and actively engaged in the promotion of agricultural machinery and the research on the history of Chinese Agricultural Machinery Engineering invention. His works include mechanical principle, thermoengineering, history of mechanical engineering invention in China, and invention of agricultural machinery in China.

Professor, southwest United University, 1937-1946.

From 1946 to 1947, he visited the United States.

Professor and vice president of Tsinghua University from 1947 to 1975.

In 1947, when Liu Xianzhou returned from his visit to the United States and passed by Nanjing, Zhu Jiahua, Minister of education of the national government, planned to hold a banquet to invite him to become president of Beiyang university again. He refused to attend the banquet, left Nanjing overnight, went north to Peking, and taught at Tsinghua University. Later, although the Ministry of education publicly announced the appointment and repeatedly called to urge Liu Xianzhou to take up the post, he ignored it.

In 1955, he was selected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, Liu Xianzhou continued to teach in Tsinghua University, and successively served as vice president and first vice president. From the length of schooling, professional settings, teaching style, scientific research, student work to campus management, he has been involved in every detail, contributing his rich teaching experience to the construction of the school.

In 1955, Liu Xianzhou joined the Communist Party of China at the age of 65. He was the first well-known old professor to join the party after liberation, which aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad and led a large number of famous experts to join the party. He also participated in the construction of the people's political power with great enthusiasm, especially in the planning of science and technology. He has successively served as a member of the North China Agricultural Construction Committee, vice chairman of the Hebei Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference, member of the Hebei Provincial People's government, the first, second, third and fourth people's congresses of the National People's Congress, vice leader of the machinery group of the science and Planning Commission of the State Council, and member of the State Science and Technology Commission He is the deputy leader of the technical science discipline group, the Standing Committee member of the technical science department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the leader of the mechanical group. He also initiated the establishment of the society together with other senior engineers in China. He served as the first president and the second and third vice presidents of the Chinese society of mechanical engineering, and the first president of the Chinese society of agricultural machinery. As Liu Xianzhou made important contributions to the cause of education and Science in New China, Mao Zedong specially invited him to attend the highest state conference.

He died in Beijing on October 6, 1975.

Main achievements

Achievements in scientific research

As early as the beginning of this century, Liu Xianzhou believed that China's engineering higher education had a strong semi colonial color, and foreign teaching materials were used in university teaching. In the long run, China's Academy would never be independent. As a result, he worked hard to compile Chinese teaching materials, teaching a course, and then wrote a textbook, from general physics, descriptive geometry, experience planning to mechanics, mechanical principles, thermomechanics, thermoengineering, etc., and compiled 15 Chinese teaching materials, worthy of being the founder of the Chinese version of Mechanical Engineering Teaching materials in China. In the process of compiling these teaching materials, he referred to a large number of foreign books and periodicals, and paid attention to connecting with China's reality. The content is substantial, clear, in simple terms, and is welcomed by teachers and students. Most of these textbooks were published by the Commercial Press, and some of them were later revised and reprinted many times, and included in the University series and the universal library. For example, the book "mechanical principle" has been widely used in engineering colleges and universities for a long time, nurturing several generations of engineering talents in China.

In order to write these textbooks, Liu Xianzhou devoted almost all his spare time and holidays. In his preface to Liu Xianzhou's works, Gu Yuxiu, Dean of Tsinghua University's Institute of technology, expressed his admiration for the mechanical engineering scholar who "devoted himself to teaching and writing, and contributed the University's mechanical engineering textbooks to the Chinese people again and again".

In the process of teaching and compiling, Liu Xianzhou deeply felt that the mechanical terms in China were quite confused.

Chinese PinYin : Liu Xian Zhou