Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Yi Zhina Correspondent Ren Haihong
When talking about hybrid rice, people often think of Yuan Longping, the “father of Chinese hybrid rice”. In fact, around 1930, a Lingnan scientist, 42 years older than Yuan Longping, had already begun to conduct hybrid rice experiments. This world-renowned scientist is Ding Ying, the first president of South China Agricultural University (the predecessor of South China Agricultural University). He is recognized by the industry as the “father of Chinese rice-farming science.”
Ding Ying
Ding Ying was the first rice scientist in China to hybridize cultivated rice with wild rice and successfully breed new varieties. In 1934, he successfully cultivated the world’s first new hybrid rice variety “Zhongshan No. 1” with wild rice ties. In 1936, he selected and bred an artificial hybrid water that can produce thousands of rice grains per ear, which caused a sensation in the entire East Asian rice cropping world.
In 1955, Ding Ying was elected as an academician (member of the academician) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1957, Premier Zhou Enlai personally appointed him as the first president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Ministry of Agriculture, and praised him as “the outstanding agricultural scientist of the Chinese people.” Ding Ying has served as the dean and professor of the School of Agricultural Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University and the South my country Agricultural Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University. She is also a pioneer in the higher education of agriculture in China. She has been concerned about agricultural education in modern China all her life. In 1961, he compiled and published “Chinese Rice Cultivation”, which is the first monograph on rice textbooks with Chinese characteristics. This year, the crop science discipline created by Ding Ying helped South China Agricultural University to become a national “Double First-Class” university.
Reflecting on the past, this outstanding scientist who is diligent, patriotic and dedicated is worthy of our long-term remembrance.
Two important “12 years” in life
On November 25, 1888, Ding Ying was born in a poor peasant family in Gaozhou County (formerly Maoming County) in Guangdong Province. His father Ding Lintai knew the hardships of uneducatedness and insisted on borrowing money to support his children to go to school. In 1906, Ding Ying was admitted to Gaozhou Middle School in the county from a private school. He decided to apply for the agricultural sciences, “to connect farmers who cannot suffer all their hardships with modern science.”
In 1910, Ding Ying was admitted to the Museum of Guangdong Higher Normal School. Due to her excellent grades, she later received the opportunity to study in Japan for public expenses.
191In 9 years, when Ding Ying was about to graduate from the Fifth Higher Education in Kumamoto, Japan, the May Fourth Movement broke out in China, and international students in Tokyo took to the streets to march and were bloody suppressed by Japanese military and police. Ding Ying was angry and didn’t want to stay for a long time. In addition, her family was short of money at the time, so she decided to drop out of school and return to China. After returning to China, he taught at Gaozhou Middle School and Gaozhou Agricultural School, and served as the supervisor of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education. But Ding Ying couldn’t stand the habits of the officialdom at that time and it was difficult to realize her desire to “save the country through science”. In 1921, he went to Japan again and was admitted to the first part of the agricultural discipline of Tokyo Imperial University to study agronomy. In 1924, he graduated from a bachelor’s degree and returned to China.
Ding Ying studied in Japan for 12 years. He not only mastered solid theoretical knowledge of modern agricultural science, but also inspired his strong patriotism and national self-esteem due to various foreign encounters. He was determined to “save the country through education” and “save the country through science.” Professor Ni Genjin, member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and director of the China Agricultural Historical Heritage Institute of South China Agricultural University, has been committed to collecting and sorting Ding Ying’s relevant information for a long time. In 2013, he discovered at the Archives of Tokyo University in Japan that Ding Ying completed the Japanese undergraduate thesis “Comparative Study on the Quality of Rice” in 1924, and was carefully preserved by the school in the form of a 16-open pencil handwritten copy, which proved that Ding Ying’s paper at that time had received considerable attention.
After returning to China after returning from school, Ding Ying was hired as a professor by the School of Agricultural Sciences of Guangdong University (the predecessor of the School of Agricultural Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University).
In order to increase my country’s grain production and end the history of eating “Babaylan” foreign rice, Ding Ying actively carried out research on rice irrigation and fertilizer absorption rules, conducted a large number of investigations into the problem of grain production in Guangdong, wrote articles such as “Improving Guangdong Province Rice Plan” and “Salvation Method Plan”, and recommended that the government allocate 1% of the “Wealth Rice Import Tax” every year as rice research funds. Unfortunately, the government of the Republic of China did not pay attention to agricultural production and its productivity was low. Ding Ying realized that cultivating good varieties was the only feasible way to increase production at that time.
In 1927, Ding Ying took out part of his salary savings to supplement the scarce scientific research funds, walked out of the campus with his colleagues and students, and planned to build my country’s first professional rice farming experimental base – Nanlu Rice Breeding Farm in Gongguanwei, Maoming County, Guangdong Province.
From 1927 to 1939, another 12 years. Ding Ying and his companions successively established the Shipai Rice Farm Testing Farm and a total of 6 rice test sub-farms in Shatian (Dongguan), Dongjiang, Hanjiang, Beijiang, etc., and comprehensively carried out the research on rice pure rice Babaylan line breeding and hybrid breeding.
These two important “12 years” laid a solid theoretical foundation for Ding Ying on the one hand, and on the other hand, they gave him full practice, laying the foundation for his research and development in rice cultivation science.
In 1963, Lu Yonggen (Cinema3rd right) followed Academician Ding Ying (3rd left) to repeatedly make “first” in Ningxia Yellow River Irrigation District
Xie Zhengsheng, director of the Cultural and Cultural Museum (Archives, South China Agricultural Museum), mentioned in an interview with Yangcheng Evening News that since 1924, Ding Ying has actively engaged in rice cultivation research and has cultivated 110 rice varieties. Among them, rice system breeding was carried out, and 84 excellent rice varieties were bred successively; 26 new hybrid rice varieties were bred. He is the first rice scientist in my country to hybridize new varieties with cultivated rice and wild rice, and has created a new way to utilize my country’s rich rice genetic resources.
At that time, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Guangdong University was located in the area of Nonglin Road, Guangzhou. In 1926, Ding Ying found a wild rice plant in the swamp at the tail of the rhino road near the school. He named the seeds of the Cinema wild rice “Rhino Tail”. After 8 years of repeated screening, it was bred to “Zhongshan No. 1”, which is the world’s first new hybrid rice variety with wild rice ties. This attempt greatly alleviated the food shortage of that year.
In 1936, he selected and bred a rice hybrid with as many as 1,000 grains per ear, commonly known as “Thousand Grain Ears” from the offspring of artificial hybridization of the rice planted in South China and the wild rice seeds of India. This discovery shocked China and the world and made great inspiration for the research on exploring the high-yield potential of rice.
Later, he continued to try new rice seeds that were more suitable for the people, and used systematic breeding varieties to hybridize with Indian wild rice, and then carried out hybrid breeding between early-mature, dwarf and relatively large ear varieties, which continued for more than 40 years. On this basis, for more than half a century, the descendants of rice breeders have been committed to the research of “Zhongshan No. 1” and its derivative varieties, and have developed at least 8 generations of 95 varieties, with a cumulative promotion area of more than 123Komiks with a total promotion area of more than 690,000 mu.
In 2003, Ding Ying’s student and assistant and the second principal of Huanong Academician Lu Yonggen pointed out at the first National Wild Rice Conference: “Academician Ding Ying is worthy of being the father of China’s wild rice germplasm resources.”
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Ding Ying was trusted, paid attention and attention from the Party and the government. He was elected as a representative of the First and Second National People’s Congress and Vice Chairman of the First and Second Guangdong Provincial Political Consultative Conferences, and Vice Chairman of the First and Second China Association for Science and Technology.
The “firsts” that Ding Ying made in her life are endless.But he never took all these credits. In 1961, the “China Rice Cultivation” edited by him was published, which is the first monograph on rice textbooks with Chinese characteristics in my country. Xi Li Jinpei, a professor at South China Agricultural University, former member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and former vice-chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, recalled that Ding Ying had initially completed most of the first drafts of the book as early as 1958. At that time, everyone suggested that he publish it in his personal name, but Ding Ying insisted on exerting collective strength. He personally invited some domestic experts to participate in the writing, such as asking Mr. Bao Wenkui to write “Selected Rice Seeds”, Ma E and Chen Yiwu wrote “Wheel Planting”, Zhao Shanhuan wrote “Pest Control”, etc., and finally integrated and handed over to the state for publication.
In the early 1960s, Ding Ying presided over the “Study on the Reaction Characteristics of Chinese Rice Varieties to Light Temperature Conditions”, which is also a rare scientific research collaboration in my country. He organized 12 domestic scientific research institutions to coordinate with 8 provinces and regions to set up 8 experimental points and two attached points to participate in the research. In 1963, at the suggestion of Ding Ying, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and South China Academy of Agricultural Sciences jointly created my country’s first rice ecology research room, gathering forces from all parties to conduct rice ecology research.
Ding Ying’s former residence at South China Agricultural University Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Yi Zhina
Clearly put forward the origin of human cultivation of rice seeds in southern China
Japanese agricultural historian Professor Takeshi Watanabe called Ding Ying the first time when he was editing the book “The Origin of Rice Farming in China” in 1989.
The Origin of Rice in China contains one of Ding Ying’s major contributions, which is his article “The Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Rice Seeds in China” published in 1957, which clearly stated that human cultivated rice seeds originated in southern China.
Ding Ying also clarified some wrong statements in the article. For example, in 1928, Japanese scholar Shimoba Kato and others wrote an article to divide cultivated rice into two subspecies: Japanese type and Indian type. They even believe that China’s cultivated rice is partly from India, and also called the japonica rice that has been cultivated in China for thousands of years as the “Japanese type”. Ding Ying has consulted a large number of ancient agricultural books and combined with the fact that he discovered perennial wild rice in the tropical regions of South my country in the 1920s. After multiple research, it was finally determined that my country’s perennial ordinary wild rice is the ancestor of Asian rice seeds, while Chinese rice seeds originated in South China.
Ding YingCinema believes that more than 2,100 years ago, ancient Chinese books have clearly started from the “sticky and non-stick” of rice, and recorded the geographical distribution and characteristics of two types of japonica and indica. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinema signature characteristics. He changed the Japanese and Indian types divided by the Japanese into japonica subspecies and indica subspecies, pointing out that Japanese rice species were passed down from my country. These conclusions were later recognized internationally.
It is reported that “The Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Rice Seeds in China” won the 1978 National Science Conference Award.
The “Practical Doer” in the History of Agricultural Education
Ding Ying is my country The pioneer of higher agricultural education is a visionary people’s educator.
His student He Yizan recorded in “Biography of Professor Ding Ying”: In 1940, Sun Yat-sen University, which once relocated to Chengjiang, Yunnan, decided to return to northern Guangdong. Ding Ying was appointed as the dean of the Agricultural College of Zhongda in a dangerous situation. He overcame many difficulties and tried every means to strengthen the teaching staff and improve the conditions for running schools, attracting many aspiring young people to study. In the early days of Guangzhou’s liberation, Ding Ying took on important tasks and served as the dean of the institute for the second time, which was severely damaged by the war. Sun Yat-sen University Agricultural College restored normal teaching order; in 1952, the departments of universities nationwide were adjusted, and the agricultural colleges of Sun Yat-sen University, Lingnan University and Guangxi University were partially merged to form the South China Agricultural College, and Ding Ying became the first dean; in 1957, he was appointed as the first dean of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and also served as the dean of South China Agricultural College.
“Holding education to revitalize China’s agriculture” was Ding Ying’s consistent guiding ideology. In the early 1950s, Ding Ying encouraged the students of the graduating class of South China Agricultural College, “to be sufficient.” The courage and confidence to undertake the task of socialist agricultural transformation and construction. “We must love agriculture, farmers, rural areas, agricultural production, sacrifice our current personal interests and devote ourselves to the interests of the long-term farmers in order to achieve the purpose of serving agricultural production.” He emphasized that “this is the minimum condition for us agronomists.” Ding Ying attaches great importance to the educational method that combines teaching, scientific research, and production (promotion). The 6 rice-farming test sites he built not only promote local agricultural production, but also Babaylan closely cooperated with teaching and cultivated a scientific and educational team. This successful experience created a new situation in the agricultural research industry in Guangdong Province, and played an important role in promoting the simultaneous development of agricultural colleges and agricultural research institutions and promoting the cooperation between the “three rural” (District of Agriculture, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and College of Agricultural Sciences). Through the joint efforts of him and his colleagues, the School of Agricultural Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University at that time had become an agricultural college with 8 departments and experimental research institutions; South China Agricultural College at that time;It was established and became one of the few comprehensive agricultural science universities in China with multi-professional and multi-disciplinary research institutions such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sericulture, and agricultural machinery. Today, Huanong has the special collection of Chinese agricultural historical documents with the largest collection of ancient agricultural books in the world, which was also established with the strong support of Ding Ying at that time.
Babaylan According to Wu Zhuonian, a famous rice expert in Huanong, in 1963, Mr. Ding Ying, still at the age of 75, led a team to inspect the Northwest Rice District. Later, his condition worsened sharply. Even though he “pressed the liver pain area with a pillow, he was still sweating all over.” He insisted on completing the inspection report in Jinan, and agreed to send it back to the Beijing hospital. After being diagnosed with advanced liver cancer, he passed away after only 20 days of hospitalization.
Ding Ying said, “I have never been lazy in my life.”
(Data photo provided by South China Agricultural University)
【Interview】
ChinaKomiks was selected as the “Double First-Class” by him. Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter: You have been responsible for the maintenance and remediation of the Ding Ying Memorial Room. You have presided over the “Academician Ding Ying Academic Growth Data Collection Project” by the National Association for Science and Technology, and undertake a lot of work. How do you evaluate Academician Ding Ying?
Ni Genjin (Member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Director of the Institute of Agricultural Historical Heritage, South China Agricultural University): He is a very pure scientist, a person who devotes himself to agriculture and concentrates on research. He did not seek fame, but was a humble gentleman. He was once known as the leader of the “Four Gentlemen” of the Agricultural College and was famous for not showing off his airs. He has written so many articles, and has never written a single article that criticizes others. His “public image” is also quite low-key, he almost never accepts interviews, but he always responds positively and enthusiastically to students and self-study young people. He is active in the fields, is also diligent in writing, has a considerable number of research articles, and is one of the best in the Agricultural College.
Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter: What do you think the impact of Ding Ying’s early rice cultivation research on future generations is reflected?
Ni Genjin: Ding Ying is the “father of Chinese rice-farming studies”. In both China and international agricultural science circles, the academic status is very high. Professor Wang Chunfa, director of the National Museum of China, once said that Ding Ying is a Chinese scholar who can have an equal dialogue with the world’s top scholars.
Professor Ding Ying’s researchBabaylan‘s field, excellent academic style, advanced research methods, etc. have been passed down and promoted by future generations. As for the discipline of agricultural history research I am engaged in, in 1926, Ding Ying discovered wild rice at the tail of the rhino road and began to explore how the ancestors of the Chinese people domesticated it into cultivated rice. This research work is the starting point of the research of the discipline of agricultural history of South China Agricultural University, and one of the starting points of the establishment of the discipline of agricultural history in China, and the prelude to the research on the origin of China’s agriculture.
Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter: Huanong is now listed on the national “Double First-Class” construction university list, and we can also see the shining of the “Ding Ying Spirit”.
Ni Genjin: You can see it like this.
This year, the first-level discipline crop science that was included in the national “Double First-Class” university discipline list. Our subject has a long history and profound background, and Professor Ding Ying makes an indelible contribution. Over the past hundred years, Huanong has successively introduced more than 10,000 agricultural professionals, including five academicians including Ding Ying, Lu Yonggen, Huang Yaoxiang, Lin Hongxuan, and Liu Yaoguang. Cultivating high-quality newcomers of the times who have the feelings of knowing farmers and loving farmers and the ability to strengthen farmers and promote farmers for the country will be truly implemented as the school’s educational goals. At present, the subject culture with the core of “Ding Ying Spirit” and “Lu Yonggen’s advanced deeds” is constantly being promoted and inherited.
【Extension】
Ding Ying and his “academician” disciple
Ding Ying was elected as an academician (member of the academician) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. He also served as a correspondent academician of the Democratic German Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Soviet Union’s All-Sulenin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and an honorary academician of the Czechoslovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
He practiced it himself and inspired future generations to lay a solid discipline foundation for agricultural education in South China and even China, and cultivated a number of agricultural research talents.
In 1936, Huang Yaoxiang entered Sun Yat-sen University to study agronomy and studied under Professor Ding Ying. Later, Huang Yaoxiang became a famous expert in rice genetic breeding and its basic theoretical research in my country, and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1995. Huang Yaoxiang has pioneered the practice of rice dwarf breeding, and has successively bred a series of dwarf-stirred high-yield varieties such as “plaza dwarf” and “pearl dwarf”, making significant contributions to the increase in rice yield in southern China. From 1959 to 1999, Huang Yaoxiang presided over the cultivation of more than 60 large-scale promotion varieties, with a cumulative planting area of more than 11.5 billion mu, increasing the social output by 210 billion kilograms.
The famous rice geneticist Lu Yonggen studied with Ding Ying at South China Agricultural University in 1952. In the 1960s, heThe Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences served as secretary and scientific research assistant to Ding Ying, then president. Lu Yonggen devoted his life to rice genetic research, and has achieved fruitful results. He divided the light temperature ecological type and climatic ecological type of Chinese rice varieties, proposed a new concept of “specific affinity gene”, and established the thick-line karyotype of three wild rice species native to China for the first time. In November 1993, Lu Yonggen was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Lu Yonggen has also been working at the forefront of higher agricultural education for a long time. He served as the president of South China Agricultural University and trained a large number of high-level modern agricultural experts, including a new generation of academicians, such as Liu Yaoguang. In his later years, Lu Yonggen donated more than 8.8 million yuan in his life to set up an education fund, and donated his body to medical research and medical education. In 2019, after Lu Yonggen passed away, he was posthumously awarded the title of “Model of the Times” by the Central Propaganda Department.
In addition, Academician Pu Zhelong, Academician Zhao Shanhuan, Academician Pang Xiongfei, a famous insect ecologist, are also students of Ding Ying.