Nanjing University Hosts Opening Ceremony of ‘Tribute to the Great Master’ Exhibition

In order to implement the school party committee’s “Era New People Soul Forging Project” action plan, on the afternoon of April 29, the “Lifelong Shield for the Country, Reflecting the Centennial Winds and Clouds – Paying Tribute to the “Great Teachers” Series Exhibition Approaching Cheng Kaijia” was officially opened at the Nanjing University Gulou Campus Library. Hu Jinbo, former secretary of the Nanjing University Party Committee, consultant to the National Chief Inspector, and executive deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee for Caring for the Next Generation, and Wang Zhenlin, member of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing University Party Committee and vice president, attended the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was hosted by Huang Xianjin, director of the Nanjing University Library.

Hu Jinbo pointed out that looking back on Mr. Cheng Kaijia’s life experience, as a “people’s scientist”, the “Cheng Kaijia spirit” embodied by him is the best interpretation of the spiritual core of Nanjing University’s “be magnanimous and cultivate talents, achieve learning with great joy, serve the country, and keep innovating with the world”. He encouraged the students to grasp the direction, cultivate interests, persevere, explore methods, and integrate personal struggle into the development process of the country and nation.

Wang Zhenlin delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He said that from a “returned overseas scholar” to a recipient of the “Two Bombs and One Satellite” and the “August 1st Medal”, and the founder of China’s nuclear weapons industry, Mr. Cheng Kaijia’s life reflected his unparalleled loyalty to the Party and the country and his infinite love for science. In his important reply to young scholars who returned from studying abroad at Nanjing University, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we should take Li Siguang, Cheng Kaijia and other older generation scientists as examples, care about “national affairs”, shoulder “national responsibilities”, and consciously pursue serving the country and the people. The series of exhibitions sponsored by the library to pay tribute to the “great masters” is a concrete practice of thoroughly implementing the spirit of the General Secretary’s important reply. He sincerely hopes that teachers and students will further carry forward the “Cheng Kaijia spirit” and integrate their personal ideals and pursuits into the cause of the Party and the country. Teachers should aspire to be “great masters of the new era”, always insist on having a great self in their hearts, be determined to serve the country, be a model for scholars, and be a model for the world, and continue to create outstanding achievements in teaching and educating people and scientific research innovation. Students should cultivate a strong sense of patriotism, set high aspirations, strive to become new people of the times, and work hard to become strivers, pioneers, and contributors to China’s modernization, so as to better contribute their own strength to the prosperity and strength of the country.

Dean Li Xuandong said that Mr. Cheng Kaijia is an outstanding alumnus of our school, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a famous theoretical physicist, a winner of the “Two Bombs and One Satellite” Medal of Merit, a pioneer in my country’s nuclear weapons industry, and one of the founders of the nuclear test science and technology system. In the past, Mr. Cheng Kaijia served the motherland with his professional expertise in nuclear physics, and now the computer science and technology, software engineering, and artificial intelligence majors studied by students of Kaijia Academy are also urgently needed majors for national economic development and national defense construction. This exhibition provides a great learning opportunity for teachers and students of Kaijia Academy to get close to Mr. Cheng Kaijia and have a deep understanding of his glorious life journey of “aspiring to study hard”, “returning from school to serve the country with science”, “hiding his identity and casting a shield for the country”, “old horse in the stable working hard”, and “high merit and noble spirit forever”. He hopes that students will take this opportunity to establish lofty ideals and practice the cultural heritage of Kaijia Academy of “learning professional knowledge well and serving the motherland with sincerity”.

Shi Yi, representative of Cheng Kaijia’s disciples and dean of Jianxiong College of Nanjing University, reviewed his study experience under Mr. Cheng Kaijia. Mr. Cheng changed his professional direction again and again for the cause of the Party and the country. Under his careful guidance, he also obeyed the needs of the national defense cause, changed his research direction, graduated with excellent scientific research results, and stayed at the school to teach until now, contributing his own strength to the development of the school and the country. Today, holding this exhibition here will further encourage everyone to keep in mind the earnest instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply letter, take the comprehensive implementation of the Endeavor Action as a starting point, continue to carry forward the glorious tradition of studying abroad to serve the country, and strive to build a “Red Nanjing University”, “Heavy Nanjing University”, “Vigorous Nanjing University” and “Excellent Nanjing University” that the Party can rest assured and the people can be satisfied with, and make greater contributions to the practice of accelerating the construction of Chinese-style modernization and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Professor Du Lingjie from the School of Physics shared his scientific research experience after returning from studying abroad. He said that each generation has its own mission, and our generation also has our own “two bombs and one satellite” problems, and Mr. Cheng Kaijia’s deeds are the guiding light that encourages us to overcome these problems. At present, we are in a new generation of scientific and technological revolution based on electronic information and semiconductors, and new information technologies represented by blockchain and artificial intelligence are constantly emerging. Faced with the “neck” of foreign countries, the country urgently needs professionals in the fields of computers, semiconductors and digital economy. If students learn professional knowledge well, they will definitely make great achievements in these fields. I also actively responded to national needs. Based on my own research on quantum computing, I led the team to propose the concept and algorithm of quantum blockchain internationally very early, injecting a little power into the development of the national digital economy.

Feng Chen, a student representative of the 2023 class of Kaijia Academy, spoke. He said that as a student of Kaijia Academy, he would always take Mr. Cheng Kaijia as an example, study hard, be proactive, follow in his footsteps, cultivate a sense of family and country, acquire solid skills, and work tirelessly to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

At the opening ceremony, Jiang Enming, Party Secretary and Executive Vice President of Freshman College, presented Tang Yun, a teacher of Kaijia College, with the certificate of “Great Master Exhibition” College Reading Promoter. Li Xuandong presented letters of appointment to four student representatives of the “Malan Flower Blooming” Scientist Spirit Propaganda Team, Feng Chen, Gu Ruinian, He Zhuangyan, and Chen Shuhan.

After the opening ceremony, the participants visited the exhibition together under the guidance of Gu Ruinian and He Zhuangyan.

It is reported that the series of exhibitions to pay tribute to “great teachers” is a series of exhibitions held by Nanjing University Library in conjunction with seven colleges and major departments of the Freshman College in order to actively promote the integration of “three-dimensional education” in library work, with the library’s advantages in information resources, talent training, and cultural education. In March 2024, it was included in Nanjing University’s action plan to promote the implementation of the “Era Newcomer Soul-casting Project”, and in April 2024, it was awarded the “Sincere Cooperation” Award by the Party Committee of Nanjing University. Since November 2022, the series of exhibitions has successfully completed the first round of exhibitions to pay tribute to seven great teachers: Guo Bingwen, Tao Xingzhi, Wu Youxun, Dai Anbang, Gu Yuxiu, Cheng Kaijia, and Wu Jianxiong. The exhibition “Approaching Cheng Kaijia” in the series of exhibitions paying tribute to “Great Masters” is jointly organized by Nanjing University Library, Kaijia Academy of Nanjing University Freshman College, Nanjing University Archives and Nanjing University’s Working Committee on the Care of the Next Generation. It aims to guide teachers and students to better understand and inherit their patriotism, scientific spirit and dedication through a more in-depth display of the life and works of the great masters, establish a sense of responsibility and mission, shoulder the responsibilities of the times, gather the strength to forge ahead, and integrate their own development into the great historical process of realizing national rejuvenation and national prosperity.