Review the history of life science in China

The development of life science is of great significance to the exploration of the law of life and the revolution of biotechnology. Issues such as food security, clean energy, environmental protection, health and ageing pose new challenges for the life sciences. Many countries in the world have identified life science as a priority development field, in order to promote the development of bioeconomy as a starting point, to achieve sustainable social and economic development. In recent years, with the rapid development of our economy and the continuous growth of national research and experimental development funds, our country has made remarkable achievements in the field of life science. According to the international public report, the number of papers published in the international life science journals in China ranks first in the world, and the citations rank first. In the list of highly cited scientists in the world in 2021 released by Clarivate, China has 935 people selected (excluding data from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), ranking second in the world. In terms of patented technologies that reflect technological innovation, China's international patents in the field of biotechnology rank second. A number of bio-high-tech companies have entered the world's top 500 enterprises. In the past five years, the number of doctoral and master's graduates has ranked first in the world every year. This huge change has actually been achieved in just 100 years, or the biggest change has occurred in the last 40 years.

Protein & Cell, an international life sciences journal founded in 2010 and based in China, has a special "Memories" column that describes people and events that have made important contributions to the life sciences of our country over the past 100 years. So far, this column has published more than 120 relevant articles, attracting many readers, and opening up a picture for us that our predecessors scientists have worked hard and advanced in spite of wind and rain. More than 40 years of reform and opening up and economic development have provided a strong driving force for the development of life science and technology. When we look back on the history of modern life science in the past 100 years, the cornerstone of the development of life science in our country is still glowing. In order to remember the contributions made by previous scientists to the development of life science in our country, we compiled and published this book. The articles in the book are derived from Recollection columns. In order to give the younger generation of scientists a retrospective understanding of the history of the life sciences in our country, this book focuses on people and events before the 1970s. Due to the limited number of words in the column, each article can only introduce one side of a person or event. Since the original text was published in English, in order to expand the audience, we invited some scientific and technical workers to translate it into Chinese and publish it as a collection. Due to the relatively long history involved, in order to enable the younger generation of scientists to have a comprehensive understanding of this history, understand the development process of China's life sciences, and deeply understand the historical background of specific people and events in a specific period, we have spent a little time in the introduction of this book to make a brief review of the history of China's life sciences.

Before the Opium War, China experienced more than 2,000 years of feudal society, the whole society developed slowly under the old system, and there was a lack of understanding of modern science and technology that arose in the West. For the public, the imperial examination system became the only channel for selecting talents and promoting social ranks. In the middle and late 19th century, if there was any scientific knowledge of modern significance, the popular dissemination in society was mainly the translation and introduction of some western biological works. In 1859, Li Shanlan (an early mathematician) and A. Williamson (Williamson) translated China's first book on the introduction of western modern botany. In 1886, J. Edkins, a British missionary, systematically introduced the preliminary knowledge of zoology, botany and physiology in Chinese based on relevant works. In 1889, Yan Yongjing translated and published American psychologist J. Haaven's Mental Philosophy, which was the first psychological translation in China. The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 brought unprecedented shock to the Chinese nation. All social strata, deeply ashamed and resentful, began to realize the urgency of changing society and saving the country, and explored various ways to save the country and the people. In 1897, Yan Fu, a famous enlightenment thinker, translated Huxley's "The Evolution of Heaven" and introduced it to China for the first time. The theory of "natural selection and survival of the fittest" promoted the formation of social reform and reform thoughts at that time. The intellectual class began to go abroad to learn science and technology from the West and introduce Western science to China. The abolition of the imperial examination system in 1905 marked the end of the feudal education system. Many intellectuals gave up the path of obtaining fame and fortune through the imperial examinations, opening the channel for the introduction of Western science and technology. Subsequently, our country began to establish modern schools, learn from the west, the rise of natural science education. With the spread of western scientific knowledge, people gradually realize that biology is closely related to people's lives and social needs, and is a basic discipline for developing agriculture, medicine and health, developing resources, and improving people's health. Therefore, biology has been favored by more and more young scholars, who embrace the idea of "saving the country by science" and actively devote themselves to this field.