[China Geo University (Beijing)]
The older generation of geologists are the witnesses and witnesses of geological development in China. After returning from world-class academic masters, they or overseas students became the founders and leaders of geological disciplines and academic theories. Or grew up in China and promoted the development of geology in China, making outstanding contributions in the fields of education, geological exploration and academic research. Based on their academic growth experience, the research on the history of geological science and technology figures truly reflects their learning history, mentoring relationship, work experience, academic research and major achievements, which will vividly enrich the development history of geological science and technology in China, carry forward and develop academic traditions, and thus provide reference for accurately grasping the future development direction of geological science. It is of great enlightening significance to deeply study the whole process of the formation, development and maturity of their academic thoughts, explore the process, methods, key nodes and key factors of their great scientific and technological achievements, dissect their social environment, scientific research working conditions, cultural atmosphere and material foundation for successfully climbing the scientific peak, and then explore the development law of China's geological disciplines and undertakings, the growth law of scientific and technological talents, and the academic inheritance and development of academic traditions.
Director Zhai Yusheng of the Geological History Professional Committee pointed out in the preface of Series 5 of Geological History (2009): Since the establishment of 1980, the Geological History Research Association has been focusing on the history of geological figures, "trying to explore the profound realm of academic thoughts and roads of figures, so as to make the study of figures more in-depth and rational". This is the correct direction of people's history research. Biographies and chronicles in this field are published, and the deeds and contributions of pioneers in major geological achievements and system construction are also discussed in order to remember and commemorate the achievements of predecessors. Moreover, a number of collections of senior scholars have been published, and their academic works, some unpublished manuscripts, documents and photos have been systematically collected, which has vividly displayed the life course of these characters and laid a good foundation for the study of their history.
First, borrow people to tell stories and use stories to tell history.
China has a history of biographies, and Historical Records created a biographical style, including biographies of emperors and various figures. However, a 24-year history can be called a person related to science and technology, and there is almost no trace. Biography of scientists or history of scientific and technological talents is still a young branch subject in China. In particular, there are very few works that are good at explaining the academic and academic path of characters with strict academic combing; However, their achievements, virtues, thoughts and personalities will show the profound wisdom of life for future scholars, guide us to think about the purpose, significance and value of life, and inspire future generations to forge ahead on the academic road. This is one of the important directions worthy of further exploration and academic history research.
Li Siguang, Huang, Ding Wenjiang, Weng and Xie. Excellent research results have been achieved. They are not only the founders of geology in China, the founders of early geological institutions and the leaders of geological undertakings, but also the times when they devoted themselves to geological research, and the times when China changed from a feudal society to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society in the early 20th century. Except Ding Wenjiang, they all welcomed New China and made outstanding contributions to the geological cause of New China. Therefore, borrowing people to tell stories and telling stories is the main way to study human history.
20 12 Science Press published the book Li Siguang and Its Times edited by Ma et al. The collected letters of Li Siguang and other figures are historical materials, and they are accurate historical facts for textual research on Li Siguang's life story. What is particularly rare is that the handwriting of many famous writers has been published, which is precious. Biography of Li Siguang (Chen Qun et al., 1984, People's Publishing House) and Supplement to Li Siguang Chronology 1889 ~ 197 1 (Ma et al., 20 1 1.
Therefore, take the study of Li Siguang as an example to make a brief representation. Li Siguang was only 16 years old and became a founding member of the League when studying in Japan. At the age of 22 (1911+10), he took part in the Wuchang Uprising and served as a member of the Finance Department of Hubei Military Government (later as the Director of Industry Department). After stealing the revolutionary achievements, Yuan Shikai resigned angrily and went to study in Britain at the age of 24, studying mining first and then geology. He obtained a master's degree in natural science from Birmingham University for his thesis on Geology of China. In his dissertation, he wrote the following words: "Today, it may not be too late for us to ask the new generation of Chinese people to realize their responsibilities". Li Siguang's participation in the revolution and his choice of geology are closely related to the country's future, national destiny and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Li Siguang's contribution to the study of glaciology in China has been mentioned in many articles. We have compiled some historical materials to express the origin of scholars' academic thoughts and methods. Li Siguang himself disclosed in the article Quaternary Glacier in the Yangtze River Basin (1933) that his interest in studying glaciers originated from the legendary boulder in his hometown-"Daniu Stone" (local legend says that this boulder is the lower bound of Taurus in the sky, and God stayed to drive Taurus away). He was only 12 years old, which left a deep impression on him. This is a gneiss boulder, left in the glacier boulder in Jianghan Plain. After studying in England, he went to Europe to investigate the glacier geology in the Alps. 192 1 year, he led the students of Peking University Geology Department to discover glacial boulders (huge pebbles with scratches), U-shaped valleys and smooth solitary hills in Shayuanling, Shahe County, Hebei Province and Datong Kouquan, Shanxi Province, thus confirming the existence of Quaternary glacial activities in China. When he brought these materials back to Beijing, he reported these findings at the third annual meeting in geological society of china (1922). An Tesheng, a Swedish scholar, and D Black, a Canadian scholar, both expressed doubts, and even asserted that China latitude was too low (compared with Alps) to form glaciers in Quaternary. Later, Li Siguang used "He smiled contemptuously" to describe the scene at that moment in his speech "What Geologists Did on the Scientific Front". 193 1 in the summer of, Li Siguang led the students of Peking University Geology Department to practice in Lushan Mountain, Jiangxi Province, and made three studies on the glacier remains in Lushan Mountain. From the traces of glacial deposits and glacial movements to topography, this paper divides Poyang, Jinjing and Mulou into three glacial periods and studies their ages, thus establishing Li Siguang's academic position as the first person to study Quaternary glaciology in China. 1922, when Li Siguang published the article "Glacier Relics of neoid in Northern China" in English in the British Geological Journal (V.59,No. 1). P 14 ~ 2 1), the Quaternary ice sheet theory is still controversial in the international geosciences. He said in the article: ". 1940, when he was inspecting in South China, he wrote another paper "An Overview of Quaternary Glacier Phenomena in Western Hubei, Eastern Sichuan, Western Guangxi and Northern Guangxi". These historical facts show that as a great scientist, he is brave and rigorous in the face of scientific problems. 194 1 year, American scholar dietra (quoted from Three Arguments on Quaternary Glaciers in Lushan Mountain by Zhou Yaohua, 1972, edited by Yin Peiji, published by Geological Publishing House) confirmed the existence of Quaternary Glaciers in China. 1942 in September, Li Siguang said in the article "Several Basic Problems in Scientific Work": "People who do scientific work must first have courage and perseverance ... Only by speaking loudly can there be a place for you in the world". He also said: "Words without deeds, deeds without deeds, and inaccurate exertion are not scientific spirits" (1942, Architectural Research, Vol. 8,No. 1 issue). The historical materials cited above roughly outline the academic research process of glaciology in Li Siguang, China.
China Quaternary Research Committee was established in 1958, with Li Siguang as the first chairman. 1959, he was 70 years old, and he also inspected the remains of glaciers in Modikou, Badachu, Xiangshan and Tanzhe Temple in Xishan, Beijing, and observed the ice slip scratches on the hillside south of Long 'en Temple in the northeast of Sanjiadian for three times. If we start from the glaciology of China initiated by Li Siguang, we can further sort out the glacial accumulation in geological history. For example, in 1923, Li Siguang inspected the geology of the Three Gorges and determined the oldest "Nantuo moraine" (Neoproterozoic, about 650-740 Ma ago). The relationship between China glacier researchers and modern glacier research, including the climatological evidence of ice cores, was transferred to ice. Therefore, the narrative of history in biography not only reflects the times, but also is an important part of the study of discipline history.
We also want to quote a new style poem "Ode to the Iron Cone" written by Li Siguang in his early years, which comes from the Chronicle Supplement and was published in the Journal of Peking University on June 5438+092165438+1October 9. The full text is as follows: "The mountains are majestic and the water is swirling. What a delicate world. In another million years, there will be only a few piles of dust and ashes. This is a mystery. Solving the mystery depends on my iron cone. Work belongs to work, don't lose, you must set up a monument today. Who else to treat? ! "。 There are many mysteries in geology. Li Siguang's answer to the mystery of Quaternary glaciers in China is undoubtedly a towering scientific monument. We believe that the study of people's history should restore the whole picture of people's science and the process of tackling key problems through historical facts, academic records (academic evaluation by myself or my contemporaries) and various historical materials, so as to write the scientific style and academic inheritance of predecessors.
Second, the historical situation and the trend of the times.
Every character lives in a certain era, and his character, emotion, fate and behavior are all branded with the times; But as an individual, his study, work and life experience, especially his scientific work and scientific and technological contribution, can't correspond to the times one by one. The charm of human research lies in discovering the relationship between talents and their scientific contributions. Every time, the ever-changing personal character and life experience are different. This kind of personality, especially work experience and environment, makes the characters different. If we don't explore ways and means from studying the educational background and work experience of the characters, including family and social environment, personality and emotion, personal experience, working conditions and interest in scientific issues, it will be difficult to write out why we should do this research and how to do it. Therefore, to study people's history, we must collect fairly systematic data, screen historical materials related to the research topic, sort out the relationship between historical materials and make rational reasoning analysis, form a reasonable demonstration chain, and make an objective evaluation on this basis. As an academic evaluation of the history of scientific and technological figures, we should reduce the subjective evaluation of the researchers themselves and quote the evaluation, academic views and achievements of contemporary peer scientists.
For example, Weng Wenhao, a senior geologist, is undoubtedly an important figure in the history of geological science. He has been in charge of the geological cause in China for more than 30 years, 1926 (the first four years) served as the director of China Geological Survey, and 1932 founded the Department of Geology in Tsinghua University, which is the first time in the history of geological disciplines to establish the Yanshan movement tectonic cycle. It can be said that he has made many achievements in the field of geology, and the history of China's geological career during the Republic of China is also closely related to him. However, he entered the political arena from 1932 to 1949, served as Minister of Economy and President of the Executive Yuan, and 195 1 returned to New China. His historical experience makes the study of him more from the perspective of figures in the Republic of China to study his life trajectory. Such as Weng (1996, Lanzhou University Press) and Weng Nian Pu (2005, Shandong Education Press), Tang wrote Weng Nian Pu (1989, China Science and Technology Historical Materials, 10 Volume 4) and Weng Nian. He made a valuable statement on Weng's academic experience and historical background, and collected a large number of works. However, the research on his academic contribution and Weng's macro role and personality as a scientist and social activist in a specific social environment is still sketchy and rare. In the Republic of China, Weng Wenhao's political and social status was obviously higher than that of Li Siguang, but in the field of geology, Li Siguang should be a world-class academic master in terms of personal achievements and contributions to geological science. This is due to the different personal historical trajectories in the great era. For example, 19 12 Weng, the earliest returnee, has made limited contributions to the field of geological science and technology.
Third, observe the border carefully with a realistic attitude.
The research on the history of scientific and technological figures is mainly based on historical materials. Many senior scholars have died for many years, or are depressed behind them, and historical materials are hard to find. Or there are only fragments of memories of relatives and classmates of the younger generation, and some are the same but have different views; Or historical materials are repeatedly quoted, resulting in distortion. This is a common phenomenon in the study of character history. It is necessary for researchers to identify contradictions, confusion and mistakes in historical materials in order to obtain accurate historical facts about the life stories of masters and related figures. The first step is to complete the research from historical materials to historical facts. As academic figures, we should focus on the formation and development of academic thoughts, deeply analyze and discuss their academic achievements, so as to link historical materials with academic contributions, truly reflect the track, key nodes and important scientific materials of academic research activities of senior scholars, and reflect the scientific significance of their academic achievements. This can enrich the historical data of the development of geological science and technology in China and carry forward the academic tradition.
As a subject studying people's history or biographical writing, it is necessary to construct the skeleton of historical materials reasonably. Different from the chronological style, we should first understand the background of the times, working environment, scientific research projects, geological survey and similar research at home and abroad, and then carefully discuss, analyze, sort out and describe the merits and demerits of the figures and the formation and development process of academic thoughts. The characters selected by researchers, especially after in-depth understanding, often sprout love and respect for the characters, and the narrative style inevitably has strong feelings. In this regard, researchers need to master the degree of emotion, and objective calmness is one of the necessary qualities for historical researchers. At the same time, when evaluating academic achievements and contributions, appropriate restrictions are also needed. The academic activities and contributions of scientific and technological figures often last for many years, which are reflected in academic monographs and papers in different periods. It is forbidden to classify the relevant materials in general or put them into the running account. It is best to thoroughly understand the relevance of academic achievements in different periods, so as to clarify the process of academic development and maturity.
It should be said that it is quite difficult to study the history of geological and scientific figures. We should not only deeply understand the highly professional academic research results, but also dig deep into the academic thoughts of the characters. As a non-professional researcher, it is often difficult to deeply study the life wisdom of characters and make judgments. Academic (degree) papers on the study of people's history should be analyzed from beginning to end, and the framework of the papers should be established first, and the logical relationship between chapters should be studied in detail. It is forbidden to list academic activities and historical materials in order to have a flesh-and-blood narrative and to write vivid characters that can impress people. In particular, we should pay attention to making good use of some details and trifles in historical materials, and introduce relevant structures appropriately to reflect the ideological and spiritual realm of the characters, so that the writing can reveal feelings and be full of fun.
These are some of our experiences in studying people's history and guiding graduate dissertations. Please correct me.
refer to
[1] Professional Committee of Geological History of geological society of china, Institute of Geological History of China Geo University. Series of geological history. Beijing: Geological Publishing House, 2009.
Wang Hengli, Wang Zixian, Li Zhongjun. Directory of geologists in China. Wuhan: China Geo University Press, 1989.
[3] Ma, Ma Zhi. The Chronicle of Li Siguang. Beijing: Geological Publishing House, 20 1 1.
[4] Ma, Ma Zhi. Li Siguang and his times. Beijing: Science Press, 20 12.