Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1991

the seeds o f hope and nurtured the first green shoots for the modernization o f China. In 1914, a group o f Chinese students in America formed the Chinese Science Society and subsequently published the magazine Science. They set up libraries and established scientific instrument companies. By 1919 there were 604 members. Throughout the great land o f China they spread scientific knowledge and the scientific spirit, which are vital contributions in the history o f modern Chinese science. In 1916, the first institute dedicated to research — the Central Geological Research Institute —was established in China. In 1928, the Academia Sinica was established in Nanjing. In the follow ing year, the Beiping Academy was set up in Beiping. By 1949, under the umbrella o f these two nation-wide and comprehensive research institutions there were a total o f 22 research institutes in the spheres o f both the natural and the social sciences, employing some 700 senior and mid-level scientists. In this same period, higher education also saw major advances. In the d ifficult days of the Second World War and in the face o f the Japanese invasion, a generation o f distin­ guished scientists were trained on the dilapidated campuses in Kunming; they have since made their names, not only in China, but internationally, and some have reached the highest pinnacles o f achieve­ ment in various fields o f science. Great Strides Made on the Road to Modernization The end o f the C iv il War in China brought w ith it favourable conditions for the development o f science and technology. In November 1949, Academ ia Sinica, i.e. the Chinese Academy o f Sciences, was established through the amalgamation of the former Academia Sinica, the Beiping Academy and the Yan'an Academy for the Natural Sciences. In the early 1950s, a large group o f well-known scientists gave up favourable working and living conditions abroad, and returned to the mainland to take up posi­ tions o f leadership in various universities and research institutes. They established and developed new areas o f academic endeavour, and trained the younger generation o f scientists. From the humble beginnings o f 21 research institutes w ith 291 researchers and technical staff, the Chinese Academy o f Sciences had, by the end o f 1965, grown to become an umbrella structure consisting o f 106 research institutes with 24,714 scientists and technical personnel. During this period, Chinese scientists were the first to synthesize biologically active insulin crystals, and had a leading position in polypeptide and pro­ tein synthesis. They proposed the theory that petro­ liferous rocks may be associated w ith terrestrial sediments, and thereby discovered major oil deposits in Daqing. China was therefore able to cast o ff the label o f a nation deprived o f oil. They invented the world-famous finite element method and the three- dimensional flow theory o f rotating blade machinery, and discovered the anti-sigma hyperon. Chinese scientists also mounted a major nation-wide survey of resources and environment and established beach­ heads o f research in the areas o f semiconductors, computing, automation, nuclear physics and artificial satellites. They solved a series o f scientific and technological problems that had major impacts on the national economy, including the production of antibiotics, synthesis o f artificial rubber, extraction of rare metals from ores, the control o f locusts and the improvement o f crop strains. Progress Interrupted by the Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution that began in 1966 interrupted the modernization on the mainland. The disastrous decade that followed dealt a heavy blow to science and technology, and to the economy. We lost a very good opportunity for the rejuvenation of China, and the gap between us and the advanced nations widened. Social instability and political inter ference caused research institutions to disintegrate, work to stop, knowledge to age and become anti quated, and a whole new generation that could have picked up the reins to be lost. These damages have not yet been fu lly repaired even to this day. The Second Wave of Modernization under the Reform and Open-Door Policy The opening and reform o f China which began in the late 1970s launched the modernization process anew, and created the environment and conditions favourable to the development o f science and tech nology. After more than a decade o f re-learning and broad international exchanges, Chinese scientists have recovered their vigour, and are beginning to labour at the frontiers o f science. During this period, Chinese scientists were the first to synthesize alanine transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNAala) and the bio log ica l macromolecules o f qinghaosu (artemisin) isolated from plants, and they bred the first transgenic fish. They proposed a new method for determining the gene sequence in DNA; 42ND CONGREGATION 10