Complete Works of Gao E. 5

Author: Gao Shiqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: The major feature of the reprinted edition of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi is the addition of nearly 200,000 words of memoirs, personally written by Gao Shiqi during his later years in the hospital. These memoirs reveal his extraordinary life and inner journey to the public. Gao Shiqi was a pioneer and founder of China's science popularization movement and a great disabled figure in human history, enjoying high prestige both domestically and internationally. Despite being completely paralyzed, he wrote millions of words of science popularization works. In recognition of his contributions, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid No. 3704 "Gao Shiqi" in 1999. Gao Shiqi was a renowned scientist, science popularizer, and educator in China. He was also a great disseminator of scientific thought and a pioneer and founder of China's science popularization movement. Over nearly 60 years of paralysis, he overcame immense pain and unimaginable difficulties, writing millions of words of science popularization works. From 1991 to 1994, Anhui Children's Publishing House published The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi in four volumes. The publication of the complete works sparked huge social and received numerous highest honors, enriching our scientific and cultural treasury. However, due to various reasons, only 500 sets were published at the time. These 500 sets were snapped up during the news conference for The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi and are now treasured by people from all walks of life. Since then, many libraries and universities have been eager to purchase copies but had no access to them, calling to request a reedition. On the occasion of the centenary of Gao Shiqi's birth, we decided to reprint The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi. This reprinted edition is divided into five volumes: Volume I contains science popularization works created before 1949, Volume II contains science popularization works after 1949, Volume III includes poems written throughout Gao Shiqi's life, Volume IV features his papers and speeches, and Volume V consists of his late-life memoirs, messages, congratulations, and dedications. The major feature of this reprinted edition of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi is the addition of nearly 200,000 words of Gao Shiqi's memoirs. This is a special memoir, personally written by the late Gao Shiqi during his hospitalization. It provides a complete account of some lesser-known years, events, and stories in his life, from his birth to the period of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Thus, it offers a vivid and complete image of Gao Shiqi and his life journey. With plain and sincere language, he reveals his extraordinary life and inner thoughts. It is clear from this book that Gao Shiqi's life was filled with suffering and tragedy, yet he navigated this external life with an inner spirit of humor and optimism. In the memoirs, Gao Shiqi provides a complete and truthful account of his life and earnestly analyzes his inner world, which serves as his to future generations. Subsequently, the of Beijing Hospital and the demolition of the South Building caused dust to flood his room, leading to severe aspiration pneumonia. From then on, he was confined to bed. Three years later, he left this world that he deeply loved. From Gao Shiqi's memoirs, we clearly sense why he was called the "pioneer and founder of China's science popularization movement" and why he said "handing science to the people" without any hesitation. He did not deserve to have asteroid No. 3704 named after him or to be honored with a national law in his name for his scientific work. Gao Shiqi's memoirs are free of artistic embellishment or alteration, and they resemble a vivid and moving film script. They present a truly humanized Gao Shiqi, whose is rare. In fact, the compilation of Gao Shiqi's memoirs underwent a long process. Over a decade, it was repeatedly edited, revised, and identified. It was scattered across over 20 notebooks of various sizes, with dates, locations, and events crossing and overlapping in an unordered manner. It was extremely difficult to find the connection between one paragraph and the next. Moreover, the handwriting was blurred and disorganized, as he wrote it with trembling hands, requiring careful identification. Many names, places, historical events, and even English letters and technical terms had to be repeatedly verified. Due to his involvement in the daily work of the Gao Shiqi Foundation and numerous social activities, the memoirs remained unpublished until now. This is the first time they are fully released to the public. The reedition of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi has significant social meaning and contemporary relevance. In 2002, a female member of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference proposed the concept of "green science popularization." What is "green science popularization"? She believed that while academicians writing science popularization is essentially "science without popularization," it should be scientists who propose topics, content, and frameworks, with writers and artists handling the creation and refinement. In reality, this issue was already addressed in Gao Shiqi's science popularization works decades ago in the 1930s. Gao Shiqi organically blended science and literature, achieving a high degree of artistic harmony and perfection. Not only did he use simple and accessible language to explain profound and mysterious science to both farmers and children, but he also taught future science popularizers that science popularization is not an isolated endeavor but should be combined with the development of science and technology, literature, art, poetry, psychology, and fairy tales, and that experts in these fields should be consulted. Therefore, the publication of this book serves not only as a valuable textbook for science popularization education for the general public and young people but also as a model and example for scientists and academicians to engage in science popularization. It demonstrates how to better create science popularization works and how to make them accessible, easy to understand, and enjoyable for the masses. The reason why Gao Shiqi's works have become timeless classics and an enduring legacy is not accidental but the inevitable result of his extensive engagement with science, culture, philosophy, religion, and literature. He was not only a model of the fusion of science and literature but also a pioneer in the integration of science and social sciences. He was a model of the combination of natural sciences and social sciences and also a model of the integration of science and philosophy. He incorporated everything he experienced and learned into his science popularization and literary works, including folk customs from his childhood, which he transformed into The Flower Drum Opera. He wove myths and fairy tales he encountered into specific plots and characters in his creations, such as The Three Immortals and The Island of Many Legs. He infused traditional culture and the Four Books and Five Classics into his works, even using them as the opening of The Autobiography of a Mushroom. He included the Taoist deity Laozi and the three major Taoist deities, as well as the myths of The Investiture of the Gods, in his works. He also incorporated Christian and Buddhist elements, with Adam and Eve from the Bible opening one of his articles. Buddhist thought, philosophy, and spirit were also subtly reflected in his works. Western science, medicine, literature, art, and history, from the Middle Ages to the second World War, were all presented in his vast works. He even predicted the coming of Japan's bacteriological warfare and its prevention measures. He described the state of national emergency mobilization and infused the essence of Marxism into his works, critically examining and condemning society. He even included Engels' Dialectics of Nature in his long science poem The Symphony of the Sky, creating renowned chapters that once again predicted the advancement of the times and the victory of the people. Gao Shiqi dedicated everything he explored, experienced, and learned to his scientific creations, using them to fulfill his mission of "handing science to the people." His goals were clear, his direction was steadfast, and his aspirations were realistic and grand. In this sense, Gao Shiqi was a true master—a master who integrated ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, science, culture, and philosophy. Therefore, I consider the criticisms, ridicule, and mockery of some people toward Gao Shiqi's works in 2002 to be extremely absurd and laughable. But this absurdity and laughability are based on their lack of understanding of Gao Shiqi's life experiences, thoughts, and profound knowledge. Gao Shiqi was proficient in English and deeply versed in German, French, Russian, and also understood Latin. In his youth, he once said, "In reality, my English writing skills were better than my Chinese writing skills." At the time, he had no confidence in his Chinese writing skills (see Dai Botao's memoirs). He thoroughly read the literary works of Western countries and was familiar with the works of famous poets and writers such as Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, Stendhal, and Goethe. Thus, he could effortlessly quote maxims, philosophies, and anecdotes from Western classics. The reedition of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi, especially the compilation of his memoirs, was made possible with the great support and assistance of his life friends. Notably, Comrade Ye Yonglie provided valuable materials, such as the 5,000-word Childhood memoir dictated by Gao Shiqi and recorded by Bai Hua in 1947, as well as the Biography of the Ancestral Lineage of Gao Shiqi's family, Dai Botao's An Unfortunate Scientist—Gao Shiqi, and recent materials from Pu Manting's Research Materials on Gao Shiqi, including the Biography of Gao Shiqi, the Chronological Table of Gao Shiqi's Life and Literary and Science Popularization Activities. Additionally, many young friends came to contribute to the editing and publication of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi during their holidays. This included staff from the China Aviation Press who gave up their National Day holiday to work overtime. It can be said that the reedition of The Complete Works of Gao Shiqi was the result of countless hours of effort and dedication in the days leading up to the centenary of his birth.