Breaking a botanist's limit on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau

"World Explorer" Zhong Yang

Zhong Yang took samples in Tibet before his death. Fudan University

The portrait of Zhong Yang was placed in his office. Ye Yuting, reporter of China Youth Daily, Zhongqing Online

In the resettlement room of Tibet University, on the shelf where he entered the door, there were plant trimmers for sampling, scissors, tape, plastic bags and other items. Ye Yuting, reporter of China Youth Daily, Zhongqing Online

Arabidopsis thaliana, a seemingly delicate herb, is often compared to "white mouse" by botanists because of its fast growth, small size, wide distribution and small genome. It is a good material for genetic research. Almost half of botanists in the world are studying it.

In the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, where botanists seldom set foot, persistent Zhong Yang found it. He planted Arabidopsis in the backyard of his settlement house in Tibet University, and took it back to Fudan University as a specimen.

Botanist, science popularization expert, Tibetan aid cadre, education expert... Any identity can be represented in him as a complete life role. In terms of the height and breadth of life, he has been exploring his own boundaries until the day when his life suddenly ended

Hero teenager

"This is my experience of the 1979 college entrance examination: the provincial admission rate is less than 4%, 80% of my classmates are rural hukou, and half of them have been admitted to Peking University, Tsinghua University and University of Science and Technology." Zhong Yang once recalled his experience of college entrance examination, and he studied in the now famous Huanggang Middle School.

In 1977, the school held a grand farewell ceremony on the playground to celebrate the upcoming admission of the first college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination. Four students who entered the university wore big red flowers on their chest, like heroes.

Zhong Yang also aspires to be such a "hero". His father was the local director of recruitment. In order to avoid suspicion, his father refused to let him take the college entrance examination in advance as a student. In spite of his anger with his father, Zhong Yang took the examination of the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China. The competition was very fierce at that time. When Zhong Yang almost lost confidence, he received a notice - he passed the exam!

This 15-year-old boy who was admitted to the radio major of the University of Science and Technology of China began his restless life.

Zhong Yang's mother, Wang Caiyan, recalled that Zhong Yang began to make up for math and physics after he entered the junior class because the teacher said he did not do well in these two subjects. After entering the university, Zhong Yang was busy with the affairs of the publicity committee of the student union, and insisted on writing letters home every month.

At that time, he studied radio and became very interested in botany, so he turned to computer technology to study botany problems. In 1984, Zhong Yang was assigned to work at the Wuhan Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. At that time, he spent two years of spare time listening to the courses of the Department of Biology, Wuhan University.

Recalling this episode, Zhang Xiaoyan, Zhong Yang's wife, who has been working hard in the field of botany, also sighed: "He has very sufficient knowledge reserves in this field."

Compared with Zhong Yang's outgoing and enthusiastic character, Zhang Xiaoyan is much more introverted. At that time, job transfer was very difficult. In addition, Zhang Xiaoyan was unwilling to live in a different place from her parents. Zhang Xiaoyan was always hesitant about her marriage to Zhong Yang.

Once, Zhang Xiaoyan returned to Wuhan after work. When Zhong Yang met her at the station, he suddenly said to the point that he had driven the certificate.

"What proof?" Zhang Xiaoyan asked.

"Our marriage certificate."

"I haven't agreed yet. Why did you open this certificate?"

"No problem. Everyone thinks it's OK. It's time."

"So I was a little 'coerced' to get the marriage certificate," Zhang Xiaoyan said with a smile.

After only a few years of marriage, Zhong Yang, 33, became the deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Botany. Later, this young deputy bureau level cadre, who has been vigorous in life and work, did something that ordinary people cannot understand - giving up everything in Wuhan and going to Shanghai to become a college teacher.

Seed talent

In 2000, Zhong Yang quit his job in Wuhan Botanical Institute and came to Fudan University. After Zuo Qin became his administrative secretary and logistics supervisor.

When Zhong Yang reported for duty in May that year, there was no transition room in the school. Jing Zuoqin temporarily found him a rough room provided by another teacher in the department. When Jing Zuoqin communicated with Zhong Yang about this with guilt, he didn't expect that he accepted this house without complaining, which doesn't even have gas or water heater. He lived in a cold bath for half a year.

More than ten years later, the housing of Zhong Yang and his family has not improved much, but moved into a small house with only dozens of square meters from a rough house.

This is in sharp contrast to the bright and beautiful Shanghai, and also has a huge contrast with his later position as Executive Vice Dean of the School of Life Sciences of Fudan University and Dean of the Graduate School.

In order to provide for their children's schooling, Zhong Yang and his wife sold their only house property, which is now the house of their father-in-law and mother-in-law. The hut is close to a construction site, but there are four members of Zhong Yang's family and his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Although Zhong Yang does not pay attention to the quality of life, he does not settle for the "seed" at all. For his own "seed cause", his footprints extended to the "no man's land" of botanists - Tibet.

From his second year at Fudan University, Zhong Yang began to collect seeds in Tibet. In 2009, Zhong Yang officially became a Tibetan aid cadre of the Organization Department of the Central Committee. According to statistics, over the past ten years, he has collected 40 million seeds of thousands of plants, accounting for 1/5 of the endemic plants in Tibet.

Many people have this question, why does Zhong Yang collect seeds?

"One gene can save a country, and one seed can benefit thousands of people. The Qinghai Tibet Plateau, which accounts for 1/7 of China's territorial area, has plant species accounting for 1/3. Some places have even been untouched for 100 years, and plant resources are seriously underestimated." Zhong Yang once introduced this in a public speech.

He is deeply rooted here and strives to build a "seed ark" from the roof of the world for mankind.