Pao School Mourns the Passing of Professor Yang Chen-Ning

Speech by Professor Yang Chen-Ning

I'm very happy to attend YK Pao School's 5th Anniversary Celebration, and I would like to share some of my experiences with all of you today.

I attended Chongde Middle School, a church school, from Grade 7 to 10 from 1933 to 1937 in Beijing (then Peking). It was a small school. The school's so-called library was just a room which I often visited and browsed. It was there where I got my first glimpse into the fascinating world of modern physics when I found a book written by James Jean, The Mysterious Universe. I didn't read English at the time, but the book was translated into Chinese. It was written in simple language, and described the revolutionary development of special relativity, general relativity, and quantum mechanics, the three revolutionary studies in physics during the first 30 years of the 20th century. I didn't fully understand the essence of the three studies at the time, but I was fascinated and have been interested in the mystical and powerful study of physics ever since. 

Professor Yang Chen-Ning's Speech at the Fifth Anniversary Celebration of Pao School

Later, during the Sino-Japanese War, I studied physics as my undergraduate major in Kunming. To think of it today, I was very fortunate at the time to have found an area to which I could devote all my later studies. I feel truly blessed to have read this book because it inspired me, and changed my life forever. When I studied at Southwest United University, the Physics Department offered an amazing curriculum, and I learned a great deal about physics during my time there. I learned the essence of physics and developed great respect and admiration for the important physicists during that time period. One of the physicists whom I truly admired was Albert Einstein. In 1905, when he was 26 years old, he was working as an ordinary clerk at the Swiss Patent, but it was during that year that he wrote three crucial articles which opened the door to the world of physics for the 20th century. The other person whom I really admired was P.A.M. Dirac, a British citizen. He was a genius and had very different ideas and thoughts from others. I once said that, after you have read his articles, you will come to appreciate his precision and clear vision in his writings. It leaves you wondering how he could have come up with it. He had very clear thoughts and his own logic.

The third person whom I admired very much at the time was Enrico Fermi. Later, he was my teacher when I went to study at the University of Chicago. Perhaps some of you may know that he was the person who led the world in the use of nuclear energy. The controlled use of fire was invented in the early Stone Age, and that was when we discovered the importance of "energy". However, all these types of energy were merely chemical re­ actions before Enrico Fermi made his unprecedented discovery. Under his guidance, the world learned about a stronger and more powerful energy force known as nuclear energy. The first time this form of energy was released and put to use was when Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first nuclear reaction in December 1942. If any of you plan on visiting the University of Chicago, I recommend stopping by the spot where the atomic pile was built. Of course it has since been removed, but it has been replaced with a world-renowned piece of sculpture by British sculptor Henry Moore. I strongly recommend you to visit this famous sculpture, and think of the great contributions made by Enrico Fermi.

I studied for my post-doctoral degree at Princeton in 1949, and at the time Einstein had already retired. I had several interactions with him, but since we (students) respected him profoundly, we didn't want to disturb him too much. However, I knew he commuted to his office every day on foot because he didn't know how to drive, and I knew where he would be at certain times, so one day I took my eldest son, Yang Guangnuo, and waited for him, and had his photo taken with Einstein. 

Thinking back, our generation has inherited the directions created by these physicists, and followed the path they paved for us. So I can say that these great physicists from the early 20th century gave us the opportunities, to seize them and contribute back to the world. What I learned from my experience is: Dear students, in the current state where GDP has unprecedentedly developed, and where international relationships and social structures are extremely complex and constantly evolving, each of you (students) should realise that this is a time of opportunities. It is a state of global economic development, and can provide each and every one of you the opportunities you desire. Not long ago, I wrote, "This current era is full of opportunities for each and every one of you", so I hope all of you will seize them, and create your own bright futures.