Chasing dreams with stars: Remembering Yuan Longping丨"He has always been my guiding light"

Editor's note: 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of China's success in overcoming the difficulties of hybrid rice. Half a century ago, hybrid rice was first successfully developed and widely promoted in China. Agricultural scientists represented by Yuan Longping worked together to pursue their dreams, helping China to solve the problem of feeding nearly 1/5 of the world's population with less than 9% of the world's arable land, making great contributions to maintaining national food security and benefiting all mankind. Recently, the Science Popularization China Star Chasing Dreams column interviewed Xin Yeyun, the secretary of Academician Yuan Longping, to commemorate Yuan Longping, inherit his pragmatic spirit, ignite the spark of youth, and pass on the beliefs of the predecessors.

[Biography] Xin Yeyun is a researcher at the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center and the author of "Yuan Longping's Oral Autobiography" (reprinted as "Yuan Longping's Autobiography") and "Yuan Longping's Pictorial Biography". He began working as an assistant to Academician Yuan Longping in 1996 for 25 years.

Became the secretary of Academician Yuan Longping due to a self-recommendation letter

In 1996, Xin Yeyun, who was 30 years old, worked in the office of Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Faced with tedious and repetitive administrative work every day, she was confused about what she should establish at the age of 30 during a chat with her colleagues. After thinking about it, she felt that hybrid rice business was the closest and most meaningful thing to her.

"At that time, Mr. Yuan's reputation was not as great as it is now, but he was also a famous scientist, and it was generally impossible to meet him." So she plucked up the courage to write a self-recommendation letter to Academician Yuan Longping. In the letter, she wrote about her yearning for the hybrid rice industry and her admiration for Academician Yuan Longping. "I copied it many times until I thought there was no flaw at all, and then I tried my best to hand it to him."

But after handing over the letter, there was no news for a long time. Just when Xin Yeyun thought that the letter had fallen into oblivion, a phone call changed her fate. The call was from the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center where Yuan Longping worked. The other party said that they would assign a full-time secretary to Yuan. If Xin Yeyun was willing, she could come to meet Yuan Longping tomorrow.

This interview made Xin Yeyun very nervous. She had prepared a lot of materials, but her mind went blank when she arrived at Yuan Longping's office. "I didn't remember anything I had memorized, but he was very approachable. At first, he just chatted with me and asked about my parents and siblings." The nervousness gradually eased. Then Yuan Longping asked about my English level and some work-related questions. After a conversation, Xin Yeyun became Yuan Longping's work assistant and worked there for 25 years.

“He is like a guiding light that leads me to keep moving forward.”

As the secretary of Academician Yuan Longping, Xin Yeyun also has high requirements for herself. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and management. In order to gain a more professional understanding of hybrid rice, she plans to continue to study for a master's degree. "I thought he was a great scientist and the people around him should not be too ignorant, so I told him that I wanted to study and be his student."

After hearing what Xin Yeyun said, Yuan Longping immediately said, "You are a good student and you are motivated. I support you." Yuan Longping told her that he only taught PhD students, not master's students. Xin Yeyun, who wanted to be Yuan Longping's student, said, "Then I will study for both master's and doctoral degrees." A few years later, at her master's thesis defense meeting, Yuan Longping said in front of all the defense experts, "You can't just study for a master's degree, you have to study for a doctorate." After saying that, he stood up and left. In this way, Xin Yeyun continued her studies and won a doctorate degree in one fell swoop.

"Looking back now, I think this is what he asked of me in the beginning. He guides me to make continuous progress step by step. He has always been my guiding light," said Xin Yeyun.

Review expert: Xin Yeyun, researcher at Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center

Producer: Yang Gu

Executive Producer: Song Leyong

Chief Planner: Zhan Zhao, Song Yajuan

Director: Cai Lin, Xiao Chunfang

Produced by: Guangming.com Science Department

Special thanks: China Science and Technology Museum