A Story of a Rocket Designer - An Autobiography by Academician Liang Sili

Author: Liang Sili
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: "The Story of a Rocket Designer" is a modest account of the life of Academician Liang Sili, but from the ordinary, it showcases the brilliance of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" spirit and the "Manned Spaceflight Spirit." It narrates his journey as a rocket engineer in China for over fifty years. The book is authentic, thought-provoking, scientifically sound, and highly readable, with simple language and rich illustrations. It is an oral biography of Academician Liang Sili, focusing on his fifty-year struggle as a rocket engineer in China. As the youngest and most beloved son of Mr. Liang Qichao, he did not enjoy much of the family's glory. From the age of five, after his father's death, he relied solely on his own efforts to study and live, eventually becoming a renowned rocket expert and making significant contributions to the country's space program. His life's journey is a microcosm of the fate of intellectuals in 20th-century China, offering readers, especially the younger generation, insight into the emotional experiences of the older generation of intellectuals and their enduring love for the motherland. The book is authentic, thought-provoking, scientifically sound, and highly readable, with simple language and rich illustrations. It is the Chinese version of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman."
I Became a "Tiger"
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party called on intellectuals, especially those who had returned from abroad, to undergo ideological transformation in grassroots areas, rural areas, and among workers and soldiers. In 1952, after completing the task of building a radio station, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications asked me to participate in the land reform movement. At the time, a large number of intellectuals who had graduated before liberation, similar to my situation, were sent to rural areas to participate in land reform. With great enthusiasm, I actively joined the land reform movement in Leiyang, Hunan, delving deep into the lives of the poor peasants, living in a poor farmer's home, eating, sleeping, and working with them. I visited the poor and suffering, mobilized the masses, promoted the Party's land reform policies, and organized the peasants to fight against the landlords. Just as we were busy day and night preparing to organize a meeting to fight against the local landlords, I suddenly received a telegraph from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, notifying me to return to Beijing immediately. I was puzzled. The land reform movement was in full swing, so why was I being called back? I couldn't understand it. Since coming to the village, I had worked and struggled alongside the peasants, building a bond with them, and they didn't want me to leave. On the day I left the village, my landlord, an elderly poor farmer, saw me off again and again, reluctant to stop. It was almost like the scene of "Ten Red Army." I had no choice but to leave Hunan's rural areas reluctantly.
Back in Beijing, I rushed to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. But I was told by Vice Minister Wang Zheng to confess to problems in my work and finances. I was baffled, not understanding what was going on. I couldn't understand why I was suddenly suspected of financial misconduct. I had recently participated in the land reform in the countryside and was unfamiliar with the "Three Anti-" and "Five Anti-" campaigns being carried out in Beijing. Now, I was suddenly under investigation and detained in an office, sleeping on a cot, not allowed to go home. There were two or three other people in the room, also under investigation. I had no problems to confess, so I wrote an autobiography, detailing my personal circumstances, but the materials I wrote kept failing to meet the requirements. The investigators then interrogated me, rotating shifts around the clock, 24 hours a day, without allowing me to sleep. They used the "wheel war" tactic, day and night pressuring me to confess. I had no way to confess, so I was accused of having a bad attitude, and still not allowed to sleep. Over the years, while overseeing engineering projects, in addition to my technical responsibilities, I had actively handled matters like purchasing equipment and processing orders, all without any complications, but with clear procedures and no problems. However, the "Tiger Squads" insisted that I had accepted bribes, claiming that otherwise, my mother wouldn't have so much money. In fact, my monthly salary and the small amount of U.S. dollars I had brought back from abroad were handed over to my mother for safekeeping. But my mother had just sold her house in Tianjin and had a large sum of money in the bank. When my money was mixed with my mother's, it was hard to distinguish. So I couldn't explain it clearly. With no other choice, to get some sleep, I had to admit, "The Tiger Squads" said I had taken money from merchants, so I confessed, but the next morning, I retracted my forced, false confession. The result of the forced confession only made the situation worse. At the time, I felt discouraged and hopeless, thinking I couldn't make things clear. That year, May Day was approaching, and the entire country was celebrating the May Day Labor Festival with great joy. At that time, the surrounding masses were practicing singing a newly popular song...