Qian Chongshu

Qian Chongshu

Qian Chongshu (November 11, 1883 - December 28, 1965), born in Haining County, Zhejiang Province, is a botanist and educator, academician of Academia Sinica, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher and former director of Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After graduating from Nanyang public school in Shanghai in 1909, Qian Chongshu was recommended to Tangshan Road and mining school for further study. In 1910, he was admitted as a public funded student to study in the United States. He first studied in University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Harvard University, and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Illinois and a master's degree from University of Chicago. After returning to China in 1916, he was employed to teach in Jiangsu A-type agricultural school. In 1919, he received a bachelor's degree from University of Illinois and a master's degree from University of Chicago He was employed as a professor in Nanjing Jinling University, and was later employed as a professor by National Southeast University and Beijing Agricultural University; he taught biology in Tsinghua preparatory school for studying in the United States in 1923; he served as the first director of the Department of biology of Tsinghua University in 1926; he served as a research professor and director of the plant Department of the Institute of biology of the Chinese society of Sciences and a professor and director of the Department of biology of Sichuan University from 1928 to 1945; he participated in the initiation of the project in 1933 From 1945 to 1949, he was a professor of Fudan University and the president of the College of agriculture; in 1948, he was elected as an academician of Academia Sinica; in 1950, he was invited as a researcher and director of the Institute of plant taxonomy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; in 1955, he was elected as one of the first members of the academic department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; from 1959 to 1965, he presided over the compilation of flora of China; December 28, 1965 He died of gastric cancer in Beijing at the age of 82.

Qian Chongshu is one of the founders and pioneers of modern Chinese botany, and one of the founders of Chinese plant taxonomy, plant physiology, geobotany and floristics. He devoted his life to botany research, education and organization.

Life of the characters

On November 11, 1883, Qian Chongshu was born in Luzhong, Haining County, Zhejiang Province.

In 1904, in the last imperial examination held in Qing Dynasty, Qian Chongshu was a scholar.

In 1905, the Qing government announced the abolition of the imperial examination system, and Qian Chongshu was admitted to Shanghai Nanyang public school (the predecessor of Xi'an Jiaotong University and Shanghai Jiaotong University).

In 1909, Qian Chongshu graduated and was recommended to study in Tangshan Road and mining school (Tangshan Jiaotong University, now Southwest Jiaotong University).

In the 36th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1910), he was admitted to the Preparatory School of Tsinghua University (the predecessor of Tsinghua University) to study in the United States at public expense. Together with Hu Shi, Li Siguang, Zhao Yuanren, Zhu Kezhen and others, he traveled to the United States for further study. He first studied agronomy at the University of Illinois, and then majored in plant science.

In 1914, Qian graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree, and then went to the University of Chicago and Harvard to study plant physiology and plant ecology with a master's degree from the University of Chicago.

In 1916, after returning to China, Qian Chongshu was employed to teach in Jiangsu a agricultural school (until 1918). Besides teaching botany and tree taxonomy, botany research is also carried out.

In 1919, Qian Chongshu was employed as a professor in Nanjing Jinling University. He was employed as a professor by National Southeast University and Beijing Agricultural University to teach plant taxonomy and plant physiology.

In 1922, Qian Chongshu was employed as a professor of National Beijing Agricultural University (until 1923). In the same year, in cooperation with botanist Hu Xianhe and with the aid of the Chinese culture and education foundation, the Department of Botany was set up in the Institute of biology of the Chinese Science Society founded by Professor Bingzhi in Nanjing. The laboratory, herbarium and library were established, and investigation and research were carried out, and the atlas of publications were published.

In 1923, Qian Chongshu went to Tsinghua preparatory school to teach biology. In the same year, in cooperation with Zou Bingwen and Hu Xianfu, he compiled the first biology textbook higher botany in China.

In 1926, Qian Chongshu was the first director of the Department of biology of Tsinghua University. When he finished his floristic work, he resigned as the head of the Department and went south to Xiamen University as a professor.

In 1928, Qian Chongshu served as research professor and director of the Department of Botany, Institute of biology, CAS, and professor and director of the Department of biology, Sichuan University (up to 1945).

On August 20, 1933, Qian Chongshu and 19 botanists, including Li Jidong, Zhang Jingyue, Hu Xianshu, Chen Huanyong and Chen Rong, initiated and prepared the founding meeting of the society of Botany of China, which was held in Beibei, Chongqing, Sichuan. Qian Chongshu was elected as a member of the Council. Since then, he has been one of the leaders of the society of Botany of China.

In 1934, Qian Chongshu was selected as the founder of the Journal of Botany (the predecessor of Acta Botany) at the annual meeting of the Chinese Botanical Society held in Lianhua Valley, Lushan, Jiangxi Province.

In 1937, after the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, with the help of Lu Zuofu of the Chinese Academy of Western Sciences, Qian Chongshu led some scientific and technological personnel of the Institute of biology of the Chinese society of Sciences to move to Beibei, Chongqing, the southwest rear area, and found a foothold.

In 1945, Qian Chongshu was a professor and Dean of Fudan University (until 1949).

In 1948, Qian Chongshu was elected academician of Academia Sinica.

In 1950, Qian Chongshu was invited to become a researcher and director of the Institute of plant taxonomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (renamed Institute of Botany in 1953).

In 1953, the Beijing Branch of the all China Association for the popularization of science and technology was established, with Qian Chongshu as chairman.

In 1955, Qian Chongshu was elected as one of the first members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 1959, Qian Chongshu presided over the compilation of flora of China (up to 1965), and served as the chief editor and the editor of Urticaceae. Since he was chief editor, flora of China has published three volumes.

In October 1963, the 30th anniversary meeting of the Chinese botanical society was held in Beijing Science Hall, and the 50th anniversary of Qian Chongshu's scientific research work was celebrated. At the meeting, he continued to be elected president of the Chinese botanical society.

On December 28, 1965, Qian Chongshu died of gastric cancer in Beijing at the age of 82.

Main achievements

Achievements in scientific research

In 1916, Qian Chongshu published "two Asian related species of Ranunculus pennsylvanicus" abroad in China, which is the first document that Chinese people used Latin to name and classify plants. In 1917, he published the first Chinese document "the special effects of barium, strontium and Cerium on Spirogyra" which applied modern scientific methods to study plant physiology. He also wrote for the first time a paper on plant ecology and geobotany in China, a preliminary study on the flora of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province. Qian Chongshu was also the first one in China to select Orchidaceae, Urticaceae, Leguminosae, Ranunculaceae and other plants for systematic research.

In 1917, Qian Chongshu published an introduction to new works of animal and plant microscopy. In 1929, he translated some papers on plant physiology, such as osmotic properties of cells and Photosynthesis of autotrophic plants. Most of Qian Chongshu's early works and translations have been published in science, Proceedings of Institute of biology of Chinese society of Sciences, anthology of Botany of Academia Sinica, etc. In addition to the above-mentioned articles, his publications such as the species and distribution of forests, the experiment of plant density, the natural evolution of plants, the three new species of Orchidaceae in Zhejiang, and the new species of Chinese plants are also representative works of that time.

In 1927, Qian Chongshu published the earliest papers on plant ecology and geobotany in China. He was the first scholar to study plant ecology in China.

Qian Chongshu attached great importance to the field investigation work. Shortly after returning to China in 1916, he spared no effort to study the flora of Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu, collecting more than 10000 plant specimens, especially the systematic collection and arrangement of plants in Zhejiang Province. He also made a plan for plant investigation, organized a collection team to travel all over Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan and other provinces, accumulated rich information, opened up the way for the study of plant classification, flora and vegetation in Southeast and southwest China, and created conditions for the compilation of regional flora, national flora and the study of plant geography in the future.

Qian Chongshu also studied the history of Botany and attached great importance to the popularization of science. He has independently completed or cooperated with others to complete many important documents, such as forest flora of China, plant Atlas of China, draft of plant regionalization of China, vegetation types of China, plant distribution in the Yellow River Basin, flora of China, etc.

In 1956, Qian Chongshu and other five scientists submitted to the National People's Congress proposal No. 92 on the need to delimit a number of forest forbidden cutting areas (nature reserves) in all provinces (regions) of the country was passed. In October of that year, the Ministry of forestry (now the State Forestry Administration) immediately submitted the draft of the Ministry of forestry on the delineation of natural forest forbidden cutting areas (nature reserves), and took the lead in establishing China's first nature reserve in Dinghushan, Guangdong that year, opening the prelude to the construction of China's nature reserves.

Publishing books

Journal Papers

Qian Chongshu. Experiment of cotton planting density. Science, 1916, 2 (6)

Qian Chongshu. Introduction of new book animal and plant microscopy. Science, 1917, 3 (4)

Qian Chongshu. Tianyan of plants. Science, 1919, 4 (9)

Chinese PinYin : Qian Chong Shu