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Editor’s Note: Mr. Bei Shizhang celebrated his 104th birthday on October 10， 2007 in Beijing. A renowned biologist and educator， Bei has made great contribution to the scientific development of China. Wang Guyan， an assistant of Mr. Bei for many years， writes this story for the Cultural Dialogue to share with us Mr. Bei’s fruitful life and work.

“Diamond Doctor”

Bei Shizhang was awarded a doctorial degree on March 1st， 1928 at the age of 25 in the University of Tubingen， Germany. In 1978， the 75-year-old Bei was awarded another honorary doctorial degree by the university fifty years after his first doctorial degree. In 1988， Bei was honored again by his Alma Mater. In 2003， the University of Tubingen awarded Mr. Bei with the title of diamond doctor for his achievement in natural science. The asteroid 36015 Bei Shizhang， discovered on his birthday in 1996， was named in Bei’s honor on his 100th birthday in 2003.

Contribution to China’s Science and Education

Mr. Bei deserves all these kudos and respect. A scientist with a pioneering spirit， he is one of the founding fathers of China’ experimental biology and biophysics. He is a senior academician of China Academy of Sciences and honorary president of the Biophysics Research Institute.

Bei left for studies in Germany in 1921 and came back in 1929. He organized a series of brand new experiments in the field of cytology as soon as he took the deanship of the department of biology at Zhejiang University in 1930， where He taught in various fields of biology. In 1950 he was appointed director of the experimental biology research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1954， he was appointed an academic secretary at the headquarters of the Academy. Though spending a lot of time doing administrative work， he was able to continue with research projects. In 1958， he was appointed director of the Beijing Research Institute for Experimental Biology. In 1958 he founded the Biophysical Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， one of the few research institutes engaged in academic researches in this field in the world at that time. In 1958 he also founded the biological department at the Chinese University of Science and Technology. From 1964 to 1966， he was in charge of research and launch of China’s first biorockets. In 1980， he helped found the China Biophysicists Association.

In addition to being heavily engaged in academic research， he was a deputy to the first to sixth National People’s Congress and member on the standing committee of the third to the sixth NPC. He was a vice director of the editorial committee of the Journal of Chinese Science， China Encyclopedia and director of the editorial committee for the biology volume of the encyclopedia.

Mr. Bei’s Theory on Cells

The “cell theory” was first formulated in the years of 1838 and 1839 by German botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden and zoologist Theodor Schwann. In 1855， the German pathologist Rudolf Virchow came up with a doctrine that “all living cells arise from pre-existing living cells”， thus giving birth to a full-fledged cytology. Scientists of that time believed that cells reproduced themselves by division and that it was the only way that cells reproduced themselves. But in the 1930s， Mr. Bei proposed a new theory on the basis of experiments that cells could also reproduce by reconstruction. According to Bei， the cells we see today had their predecessors before they became what they are today. They can’t have been as complicated and fully developed at the genesis of life as they are now. There must have existed primitive cells before they became what they are today. Over 70 years， Bei has formulated a complete cell reconstruction theory. The cell reconstruction theory may need more evidence to establish itself firmly， but Bei does not believe the orthodox “cell theory” is sound to explain for the genesis and evolution of cells on earth. His theory may exert a big influence on the future development of cytology.

Family Background

Mr. Bei Shizhang was born in a fishing village on October 10， 1903. His grandfather was a fisherman. As a kid， his father looked after neighbor’s cattle and worked as an apprentice and then a shop clerk. He worked hard to learn to write and read and learned to work the abacus. Finally he was able to run a small shop of his own in Hankou， which was an important city in central China， to sell goods made in Beijing， and he later became an accountant in a German bank. Bei Shizhang is the first scientist and professor of the Bei family.

Bei Shizhang went to a private school in the home village. When the school was shut down due to fund shortage， Bei went to another school in another village a kilometer away. From the age of 12 onward， he received education in schools in Shanghai and Hankou. He came back home during winter and summer vacations.

His mother Chen A’hua passed quite a few valuable life tips to her son. For example， his mother said that a boy should learn to be industrious and diligent because he would grow up to be the breadwinner of a family of old parents and young children. Before he left home at 12， the boy always did some house chores every day. For example， he would help his mother weave fishing net after school before supper.

Although the family did not have much money， the parents did everything possible for Bei Shizhang. They borrowed money to send Bei to Germany to study， a journey that has taken the young scholar so far. The parents certainly had no idea that their education investment into their son would make their son， among other honors， a founding father of China’s biology and biophysics.