The Story of Zhan Tianyou

Zhan Tianyou, born on April 26, 1861, died on April 24, 1919, the number of family Cheng, the word Dachao, Guangdong Nanhai people, originally from Jiangxi Wuyuan, is China's first railroad engineer, responsible for the construction of the "Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway," and other projects, there is the "father of China's railroads! Zhan Tianyou was the first railway engineer in China, responsible for the construction of the "Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway" and other projects. Zhan Tianyou was born in 1861 (the eleventh year of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty) in an ordinary tea merchant family. When he was a teenager, Zhan Tianyou was very interested in machines, often with neighborhood children, with clay imitation of a variety of machine models. Sometimes, he also secretly dismantled the family's self-tuning clock, fiddled with and touched the components inside, and asked questions that even adults could not answer. 1872, at the age of twelve, Zhan Tianyou went to Hong Kong to apply for the "young children's preparatory course for overseas studies" organized by the Qing government. After he was accepted, his father put his signature on a certificate stating, "In case of illness, life or death, let us all be at peace with God's will". From then on, he left his parents and came to the U.S. to study in the U.S.A. with the ideal of learning Western "skills". In the U.S., the students of the overseas preparatory class, witnessed the great achievements of science and technology in North America and Western Europe, and marveled at the rapid development of machines, trains, ships and telecommunications manufacturing. Some students thus pessimistic about the future of China, but Zhan Tianyou with a firm belief that "in the future, China will also have trains, ships." With the conviction of studying hard for the prosperity of the motherland, he studied hard and graduated with honors from New Haven in 1877. In May of the same year, he was admitted to the Department of Civil Engineering at Yale University, specializing in railroad engineering. In the four years of the university, Zhan Tianyou study hard, with outstanding results in the graduation exams ranked first. 1881, in one hundred and twenty Chinese students returned to China, only two of the degree, Zhan Tianyou is one of them. After returning to China, Zhan Tianyou enthusiastically prepared to contribute what he had learned to the motherland's railroad business. However, the Qing government foreign affairs officials superstitious foreign countries, in the construction of railroads rely on foreigners, even disregard for Zhan Tianyou's professional expertise, sent him to the Fujian Shipmasters Academy to learn to drive the sea ship. 1882 November was sent to the flagship of the "Yangwu" as a pilot officer, directing the drill. 1883, the Sino-French War broke out, the next year, the French fleet, which had been planning for a long time, the French fleet was sent to the United States. In 1883, the Sino-French war broke out, and in the next year, the French fleet entered the Min River one after another and was ready to move. However, the surrender of the Fujian navy minister He Ruzhang, but did not listen to, and even ordered: "not allowed to fire first, violators even if the victory will be beheaded!" At this time, Zhan Tianyou said privately to the "Yangwu" ship management (captain) Zhang Cheng: "The French warships have come a lot of malicious intentions. Although we have received orders, not allowed to fire first, but we must not fail to take precautions." Because of Zhan Tianyou's warning, "Yangwu" was very alert and prepared for battle. When the French fleet launched a sudden attack, Zhan Tianyou braved the fierce fire, calmly and wisely commanded the "Yangwu" left to right; avoid enemy fire, seize the opportunity to use the tail gun hit the French command ship "Volta", so that the French naval expedition commander Kubo almost lost his life. The commander of the French naval expedition, Lobo, nearly lost his life. On this sea battle, the Shanghai British businessmen founded the "Zilinxi newspaper" in the report also had to be surprised to marvel: "Westerners did not expect the Chinese will be so brave and forceful fighting. Yangwu' warship on the five students, to Zhan Tianyou's performance is the most courageous. He faced the enemy without fear, and in the critical moment of life and death can still be calm as usual, courage, in the water to save many people ......" from the post-war to 1888, after several setbacks, and finally transferred to the China Railway Company, as an engineer, which is the beginning of his dedication to the cause of China's railroads. Not long after Zhan Tianyou took up his post, he encountered a test. At that time from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan Jinyu Railway to the Luan River, to build a railroad bridge across the Luan River. The Luan River bed is very deep in mud and sand, and encountered rising water rapids. Iron bridge began to claim that the world's first-class British engineers as the design, but failed; later asked the Japanese engineers obeisance to implement the chartered, also not useful, and finally let the German engineers, and soon also lost the battle. Zhan Tianyou asked by the Chinese to engage in their own, responsible for the project of the British in a desperate situation, had to agree to Zhan Tianyou to try. Zhan Tianyou is a serious and down-to-earth person, he analyzed and summarized the reasons for the failure of the three foreign engineers, dressed in overalls with the workers on the ground investigation, dense measurement. At night, through the dim oil lamp, and carefully study the geological structure of the Luan River bed, repeated analysis and comparison, and finally determine the location of the bridge piers, and boldly decided to use a new method - "pressure caisson method" to carry out the construction of the bridge piers. Zhan Tianyou really succeeded in building the Luanhe Bridge. This event shocked the world: a Chinese engineer actually solved three foreign engineers can not complete the big problem. Immediately after Zhan Tianyou's first success, he encountered a more severe test: in 1905, the Qing government decided to build China's first railroad, the Jingzhang Railway (this is the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway). Both Britain and Russia tried to intervene, but their attempts failed due to the strong opposition of the Chinese people. The British and Russian ambassadors said in a threatening tone, "If the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway is built by Chinese engineers themselves, it will have nothing to do with Britain and Russia." They thought that in this way, China would not be able to build the railroad. At this critical moment, Zhan Tianyou did not hesitate to take over this arduous task and was fully responsible for the construction of the Jingzhang ("Jing" means Beijing, "Zhang" means Zhangjia Lu) Railway. The news came, some imperialists and the British press sarcastically said: "China can build this railroad engineers are still in the womb not born! It will take at least fifty years, if not a dream, for the Chinese to build their own railroad without relying on foreigners." They even attacked Zhan Tianyou as the general manager and chief engineer is "arrogant", "not self-importance". Zhan Tianyou against the pressure, insisted on not appointing a foreign engineer, and said: "China's land is vast, and in all the way to the work must be borrowed from outsiders, I think shame!" "China has woken up, and the Chinese want to build railroads with their own engineers and their own money." In August 1905, the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway was officially opened, and the intense exploration and line selection work began. Zhan Tianyou personally with students and workers with, carrying a marker, latitude and longitude, day and night running in the rugged mountains. One evening, the fierce northwest wind swirling sand and gravel in the Badaling area whistling and roaring, scraping people can not open their eyes, the survey team in a hurry to end the work, fill in a measured number, climb down from the rock face. Zhan Tianyou took the book, while looking through the figures filled in, while asking suspiciously: "Is the data accurate"? "Almost", replied the surveyor. Zhan Tianyou said seriously, "The first requirement of technology is precision, there can not be a little fuzzy and frivolous, 'probably', 'almost' such statements can not the mouth of the engineering staff." Then, he picked up the instrument on his back, braved the wind and sand, and climbed to the rock wall with renewed effort, seriously re-surveyed it again, and corrected an error. When he came down, his lips were frozen blue. Soon the exploration and construction entered the most difficult stage. In the Badaling and Qinglongqiao area, overlapping mountains, steep walls and hanging rocks, to open four tunnels, the longest of which amounted to more than a thousand meters. Zhan Tianyou after accurate measurement and calculation, decided to take the construction method: from the north and south ends of the mountain at the same time to the chisel, and in the middle of the mountain to open a large well, in the well and then to the north and south ends of the chisel. This not only ensures the quality of construction, but also speed up the progress of the project. Cutting holes, a large number of stones rely on artificial spade shovel digging, gushing spring water to be picked out by the quart, as the chief engineer of Zhan Tianyou no frame of mind, and workers with the digging stone, with the water, a face of sludge and sweat. He also inspired everyone, "Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway is the first railroad we built with our own people, our own money, the eyes of the world are looking at us, must succeed!" "Whether it succeeds or fails, it must not be our own success or failure, but our country's success or failure!" In order to overcome the difficulties of steep slopes, to ensure the safety of the train climbed up to Badaling, Zhan Tianyou ingenuity, creative use of the principle of "folding line", in the steep slopes of the Qinglongqiao section designed a section of herringbone line, thus reducing the excavation of tunnels, reducing the gradient. Train here, with two high-powered locomotives, a pull and a push to ensure the safety of the train uphill. Zhan Tianyou on the whole project had put forward "spend less money, good quality, finished quickly" three requirements. The Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway was finally opened to traffic in September 1909 after several struggles by workers. Originally planned to be completed in six years, the result was only four years ahead of schedule, the project cost only one-fifth of the foreigner's estimate. Some European and American engineers visited the car after tsk tsk, praise Zhan Tianyou marvelous. But Zhan Tianyou said modestly: "This is the power of the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway more than 10,000 employees, not my personal credit, glory should belong to everyone." After the completion of the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway, Zhan Tianyou also succeeded the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway Governor and Chief Engineer. At this time, the United States decided to award him a doctorate degree in engineering, and asked him to go to the United States in person to participate in the conferral ceremony. In order to fully participate in the construction of the motherland railroad, he gave up this honor. After the Xinhai Revolution, Zhan Tianyou in order to revitalize the cause of railroads, and peers up to set up the Chinese Engineering Society, and was elected president. During this period, he devoted a lot of effort to the training of young engineers and technicians, in addition to his own behavior to make an example, but also encourage young people to "study academics, in order to invention", and asked them to "do not bend themselves to favor others, do not sell fame and reputation. Receive things in good faith, no small-mindedness, the Guibi bundle body, as an example." Zhan Tianyou engaged in the railroad business for more than thirty years, almost every railroad in China at that time have different degrees of relationship. In his later years, because of the disease, unfortunately died in 1919. Comrade Zhou Enlai once spoke highly of Zhan Tianyou's achievements, said he was "the glory of the Chinese people". During the construction of the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway, Zhan Tianyou defined various railroad engineering standards and submitted a letter to the government requesting that they be adopted by the whole country. China is still using the 4 feet 8 inches and a half standard rail, Jan's automatic hook (Janney Coupler, also known as Jiangni hooks, Zheng's hooks, created by the American Eli Janney) and so on are from the proposal of Zhan Tianyou. In addition, Zhan Tianyou also focuses on the training of railroad personnel, the development of the engineer promotion and transfer of the statute, the assessment of engineering personnel and requirements to make explicit provisions, and set the engineer salary and assessment results linked. The Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway trained many Chinese engineers, and the assessment regulations formulated by Zhan Tianyou were copied by other Chinese railroads. After the completion of the Jing-Zhang Railway, Zhan was awarded a bachelor's degree in engineering by the Xuantong Emperor and served as an examiner for foreign students; in 1910, he became the Premier and Engineer of the Guangdong Hanjiang Railway Company, and in 1912, he also served as the Director of the Han-Yueyue-Chuan Railway Company and was responsible for the construction of the Han-Yueyue and Han-Chuan Railways. Since then, he settled in No. 9 Eha Street (now No. 51 Dongting Street) in the Russian Concession in Hankou. In the same year, he established the "Chinese Society of Engineers" and was elected as the first president. After the establishment of the Republic of China, in 1913, was appointed by the government as the Ministry of Transportation Technical Supervisor, in 1914 was awarded the second class Bao Guang Jia He Chapter. 1916, was awarded an honorary doctorate of law degree by the University of Hong Kong. 1919 early, was appointed to Vladivostok and Harbin as the Allied Powers to supervise the conference of the Far East Railway China representative. April due to illness back to Hankou, April 24 died at the age of 59 years old. Zhan Tianyou and his wife Tan Juzhen buried in the Beijing-Zhangzhou Road, near the Qinglongqiao train station. 1922 Qinglongqiao train station erected a bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou. 1987, near the built Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway, the people of Zhangjiakou will always remember the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway Chief Designer Zhan Tianyou, in 2005 in Zhangjiakou South Station Square, built Zhan Tianyou statue. Zhan Tianyou is China's modern science and engineering history of pioneers, but also China's modern history of outstanding patriotic intellectuals. Qing Xianfeng eleven years (1861) April 26th was born in Nanhai County, Guangdong Province, Qing Tongzhi eleven years (1872), to study in the United States at public expense. Qing Guangxu seven years (1881) in June, graduated from the United States of America Yale University Sheffield Polytechnic Department of Civil Engineering, returned to China in August of the same year. He served as an instructor at the Fuzhou Boat School and the Guangzhou School of Marine and Land Engineers. Qing Guangxu fourteen years (1888) as tianjin railroad company engineer. 1880s, he devoted himself to the cause of China's railroad construction, has presided over China's Beijing-Zhangzhou, Sichuan-Han, Guangdong-Han and other early railroad construction, for the development of China's early railroad construction, dedication to the cause of the lifelong struggle. In particular, he presided over the completion of the Beijing-Zhangzhou Railway (1905-1909), which shocked the Chinese and foreigners, demonstrated the diligence and wisdom of our working people, invigorated the national spirit, and promoted the development of the railroad industry. In the face of the imperialist powers, he was not afraid of violence, unyielding, and put forward the slogan of "Each one learns what he knows, each one does what he knows, so that the country will not be insulted by foreign invasion, in order to stand on top of the earth", which represents the indomitable and unyielding noble national spirit of the children of the Yellow Emperor and will always be a model for the future generations. He was 59 years old. In the same year in the Qinglongqiao station erected a full-body standing bronze statue of Zhan Tianyou.