Abstract
Zhang Yuzhe (16 February 1902–21 July 1986) is widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese astronomy. He was born in the Southeast of China in Fujian province. He earned his B.A. from Tsinghua College in Beijing, as well as his astronomy M.S. and Ph.D from the University of Chicago in the 1920s. He then returned to China to embark on his life’s mission of bring the knowledge of modern astronomy to the Chinese people. Facing many arduous challenges and historical events such as WWII, the Chinese Civil War, the Cultural Revolution, Zhang still managed to groom generations of Chinese astronomers, establish astronomy research institutions nationwide and personally founded many astronomical research topics. Not only being the president of the Chinese Astronomical Society for more than forty years, but also as an individual member of the IAU since at least 1938, Zhang Yuzhe had played an integral role in the departing and later reconciliation between the PRC’s side and the IAU in the second half of the twentieth century (1959–1979).
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Notes
- 1.
His first name is Yuzhe (钰哲) and his last name is Zhang (张). His name (in the modern hanyu pinyin transcription) will henceforth be written according to the Chinese tradition as Zhang Yuzhe (张钰哲), as will other personal names quoted in the text, with a few exceptions. “Yu-Che Chang,” or “Y.C. Chang,” was the transcription (and name order) commonly used in the West until the 80s, although the reverse name order was also used, for instance in some archival documents of the IAU. For completeness, for proper names we add in the text the original (simplified) Chinese ideograms.
- 2.
The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship (庚子赔款奖学金) was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the USA, funded by the Boxer Indemnity. This indemnity was paid by the Qing government and its successor the Republic of China government to Western powers as requested war reparations for the damage and victims caused by the Boxer Rebellion between 1899 and 1901. In 1908, the US Congress passed a bill to return to China the excess of Boxer Indemnity, amounting to over 17 million dollars. President Theodore Roosevelt‘s administration decided to establish the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program to educate young Chinese generation. He recognized this program as a chance for “American-directed reform in China” that could maximize the USA’s profit by improving the Sino-American relations, bridging China with American culture, and promoting the USA’s international image.
- 3.
Zhang Yuzhe conducted an extensive interview with the astronomy historian Dr. David DeVorkin about his personal life, academic and professional career on 18 August 1979, during the XVIIth General Assembly of the IAU in Montreal (DeVorkin, 1979). This interview is also quoted several times in this chapter.
- 4.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 5.
Same Reference as Note 4.
- 6.
The content of this section comes from Zhang’s student Zhang Jiaxiang’s memorial article, see Zhang (1995).
- 7.
Zhang told DeVorkin in the same interview: “Well, in the beginning, I was not interested. I came to United States and for half a year I studied mechanical engineering, and then I studied architecture. Finally, I went to University of Chicago to study physics and mathematics.”
- 8.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 9.
Same as Note 8.
- 10.
Prize awarded in 1983.
- 11.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 12.
The Astronomical Journal, vol. 40, p. 11, Nov.1929.
- 13.
Actually, the story is a little bit more complicated. The object registered as “1125 China” discovered in 1928 at Yerkes was real but subsequently thought lost. Then in 1957 another object was discovered by Zhang at Purple Mountain Observatory, but not numbered at the time; in 1978, however, with Zhang’s approval, the official decision was made to move the number and name from the object discovered in 1928 to the object discovered in 1957. But in early 1986, just before Zhang passed away, an asteroid was found which turned out to be the same as the one initially discovered by him -but the number and name had been already (and mistakenly) assigned in 1978. So the new/old asteroid was given (in 1988) a new number and name: “3789 Zhongguo,” which is “China”… in Chinese (中国, the Middle Kingdom). So China has been twice honored, albeit for the same asteroid—the one initially discovered by Zhang at Yerkes.
- 14.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Jiaxiang’s memorial article, see Zhang (1995).
- 15.
His name in Chinese cannot be found.
- 16.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Jiaxiang’s memorial article, see Zhang (1995).
- 17.
Chang (1942).
- 18.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 19.
Chang (1947).
- 20.
- 21.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 22.
Actually, the direct translation from Chinese (紫金山天文台) is “Purple Golden (or Gold) Mountain Observatory.”
- 23.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 24.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 25.
Later registered as 3960 Chaliubieju, after Cha Liubieju, the name of a female Chinese astronomer noted for her social work.
- 26.
See official biography provided by the Purple Mountain Observatory website in Chinese, “Zhang Yuzhe – the Star Seeking Kind in the immense heavens.” (Pmo.cas.cn, n.d.-a).
- 27.
See Acta Astronomica Sinica second edition 1957, the authors were Zhang Yuzhe and his student Zhang Jiaxiang or Chang Chia-Hsiang (张家祥).
- 28.
Acta Astronomica Sinica is the earliest astronomical journal (in Chinese), that was started in 1953 by Zhang. It is sponsored by the Chinese Astronomical Society and published by the Purple Mountain Observatory.
- 29.
Photo source watch (Stories of scientists Zhang Yuzhe, 2020).
- 30.
Lu Benkui told this anecdote in the short documentary on Zhang’s life entitled “Stories of scientists: Zhang Yuzhe.”
- 31.
The first Chinese artificial satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1 (“the Orient is Red,” 东方红一号) would eventually be launched on Apr.24, 1970.
- 32.
- 33.
The content of this section comes from a Tao Qiang’s former student’ memoirs on the Cultural Revolution (see Yi ke xiao cao, 2008).
- 34.
- 35.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see (DeVorkin, 1979).
- 36.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Yuzhe’s interview with Dr. David DeVorkin, see DeVorkin (1979).
- 37.
- 38.
The content of this section comes from Ye Shuhua’s book, see Ye & Fu (2009).
- 39.
Otto Struve (1897–1963) was born in Ukraine, then belonging to Tsarist Russia. He had emigrated to the USA in 1921. Struve’s book was first published by Princeton University Press in 1950, and translated into Russian in 1954. It is likely that at that time Zhang did not have access to the English edition, which would presumably have made his translation into Chinese easier.
- 40.
The content of this section comes from Zhang Jiaxiang’s memorial article on Zhang Yuzhe see Zhang (1995).
- 41.
Chang (1978).
- 42.
The references include a personal interview with Zhang Yuzhe himself, his official biographies from the Purple Mountain Observatory website and the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, articles and interviews with his former students and colleagues, such as Ye Shuhua and Lu Benkui. Both Zhang Yuzhe and Tao Qiang’s experience during the Cultural Revolution mentioned in the article were mainly based on personal memorial pieces and interviews by their former students, which were published on various Chinese blogs.
References
The references include a personal interview with Zhang Yuzhe himself, his official biographies from the Purple Mountain Observatory website and the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, articles and interviews with his former students and colleagues, such as Ye Shuhua and Lu Benkui. Both Zhang Yuzhe and Tao Qiang’s experience during the Cultural Revolution mentioned in the article were mainly based on personal memorial pieces and interviews by their former students, which were published on various Chinese blogs.
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Acknowledgments
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the precious advice of Gareth Williams, past associate Director of the IAU Minor Planet Center (Cambridge, Mass., USA), on sorting out the intricacies of asteroid naming and the Chinese contributions to their discoveries. I want to also acknowledge the treasured advice given by Thierry Montmerle, past General Secretary of the IAU for his kind and tireless assistance in improving this article for better readership. Without his encouragement, this paper and the story of Zhang Yuzhe would not have come to the light for the English-speaking audiences.
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Zhou, Y. (2022). The Prominent Chinese Astronomer and "Father of Modern Chinese Astronomy": Zhang Yuzhe. In: Montmerle, T., Fauque, D. (eds) Astronomers as Diplomats. Historical & Cultural Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98625-4_7
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