The Dream of Saving the Nation through Science - Writings of Ren Hongjun

Author: Ren Hongjun
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-08-01
Features: Ren Hongjun (1886–1961), styled Shuyong, was born in Dianjiang County, Sichuan Province in 1886. In 1913, he entered Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences in the United States, majoring in chemistry and physics. In the summer of 1914, he jointly founded the Science Society with his classmates Zhao Yuanren, Hu Mingfu, Zhou Ren, and others, raising funds to establish the monthly journal Science. The following year, the China Association for Science and Technology was formally established, and he was elected as its chairman of the board and president. This society was one of China's earliest comprehensive scientific organizations. Science magazine was also officially launched that year, becoming China's earliest comprehensive scientific journal. During his tenure with the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture (briefly referred to as "CSPC"), he fully utilized the society's functions and made significant contributions to the development of China's scientific and educational cause.
Throughout his life, Ren Hongjun can be regarded as the pioneer of science communication in China, the trailblazer for exploring the institutionalization of science in China, and the pioneer who laid the foundation for modern science in China during the era when it "emerged from nothingness." Science was the central focus of Ren Hongjun's life. His ideas and writings remain the starting point for us today to contemplate and reflect on science. For example, while the current strategy emphasizes "science and education to rejuvenate the nation," Ren Hongjun as early as 1914, while studying abroad, initiated the "Science to Save the Nation" movement. Moreover, while today the spirit of science is widely advocated, Ren Hongjun had already published the essay "On the Spirit of Science" as early as 1916 and, in 1939, wrote that scientific education should be used to "popularize the spirit, methods, and knowledge of science." Additionally, while today STS (Science, Technology, and Society) research is highly emphasized, Ren Hongjun's bibliography lists numerous works such as Science and Industry, Science and Education, The Application of Science, and Science and Society—titles that reflect his early emphasis on understanding the "path" of science.
Now, as we advance science and promote scientific culture, the path pioneered by Ren Hongjun remains profoundly instructive to us. This book is compiled around the theme of "Science to Save the Nation," including essays, reviews, speeches, conference reports, prefaces, translations, and letters, totaling over 800,000 words and more than 100 articles. The book is divided into five parts: "Inquiring into 'Science as a Thing'" reflects his early thoughts (1914–1918) on the concept and meaning of science; "Disseminating 'Seeds of Science'" includes his advocacy of scientific research (1918–1926); "Strategizing 'Adapt to Circumstances'" primarily covers his reflections and explorations of science policy during his tenure with the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture; "Passionately Discussing 'National Policy'" focuses on his proposals for making science a national policy; and "Meditating on 'Pasts'" comprises his recollections and summaries of his life and work. These articles not only reflect the trajectory of Ren Hongjun's life but also shed light on the developmental of modern scientific culture in China.
In reading this "Collected Works," readers are taken back to the pioneering era of modern science in China, feeling the hardships of starting anew and the warmth of candlelight in the dark. While Ren Hongjun's main contributions and writings were completed in the first half of the 20th century, he has been gone for over 40 years. Although his collected works were "delayed" by half a century, the "seeds of science" planted by the "pioneer" will surely take root and flourish.