View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ASU Digital Repository Biophysics, Rockets, and the State: the Making of a Scientific Discipline in Twentieth-Century China by Yi Lai Christine Luk A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved March 2014 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Ann Hibner Koblitz, Chair Hoyt Tillman Jane Maienschein ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2014 ABSTRACT This study takes biophysics––a relatively new field with complex origins and contested definitions––as the research focus and investigates the history of disciplinary formation in twentieth-century China. The story of building a scientific discipline in modern China illustrates how a science specialty evolved from an ambiguous and amorphous field into a full-fledged academic discipline in specific socio-institutional contexts. It focuses on archival sources and historical writings concerning the constitution and definition of biophysics in order to examine the relationship between particular scientific styles, national priorities, and institutional opportunities in the People's Republic of China. It argues that Chinese biophysicists exhibited a different style of conceiving and organizing their discipline by adapting to the institutional structure and political economy that had been created since 1949. The eight chapters demonstrate that biophysics as a scientific discipline flourished in China only where priorities of science were congruent with political and institutional imperatives. Initially consisting of cell biologists, the Chinese biophysics community redirected their disciplinary priorities toward rocket science in the late 1950s to accommodate the national need of the time. Biophysicists who had worked on biological sounding rockets were drawn to the military sector and continued to contribute to human spaceflight in post-Mao China. Besides the rocket-and-space missions which provided the material context for biophysics to expand in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Chinese biophysicists also created research and educational programs surrounding biophysics by exploiting the institutional opportunities afforded by the policy emphasis on science's role to drive modernization. Biophysics' tie to nationalistic and utilitarian i goals highlights the merits of approaching modern Chinese history from disciplinary, material, and institutional perspectives. ii For my parents, without whose guidance and support I would have been lost years ago. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have accumulated many debts in the process of researching and writing this dissertation. Although my achievement is relatively small, these debts are immense and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who have helped, inspired, encouraged, and assisted me along the way. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful for the advice and support I have received from the chair of the dissertation committee, Ann Hibner Koblitz. She is sympathetic to the linguistic barrier and cultural differences that persistently haunt an international student in an American graduate school, yet she still expects nothing less from me compared to other students as she pushes me to strive for academic excellence as well as self-reliance. Ann reads my dissertation closely and gives me line-by-line editorial advice. While it is my responsibility to avoid any mistakes or deficiencies in writing, any that do remain would likely be much worse if I had not received her most gracious assistance. Each of the two members in my dissertation committee deserves a special note of thanks. Jane Maienschein has constantly reminded me of the importance of the driving question. To borrow Jane's metaphor, I have a tendency to get lost in the surrounding landscape while forgetting the destination or the purpose of the drive. I am grateful for having such a cheerful, clear-headed, and charismatic passenger along the ride. Hoyt Tillman is the vital link between the history of science and China studies; he offered important feedback on the interaction between scientist-intellectuals and the state and encouraged me to consider the intellectual history of science education in modern China. From him, I realize that a good teacher is not one who merely confers good grades and iv makes future career arrangements for the students, but one who encourages relentless questioning of perceived wisdom through discerning complexity where others are inclined to simplify. My dissertation committee is made up of faculty members from different schools and academic backgrounds, but the institutional borderlines and disciplinary boundaries fortunately did not prevent me from reaching out to them. Such was the trans-disciplinary atmosphere of the Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology (HSD) Ph.D. program created by Clark Miller, for whom I am very thankful for the generous academic and financial support I have received over the years. For their friendship and company, I thank Monamie Bhadra, Shannon Conley, Lijing Jiang, Eric Kennedy, Chad Monfreda, Sharlissa Moore, Cyndy Schwartz, and Brenda Trinidad among others. I also wish to thank a handful of diligent and resourceful librarians at the Hayden Library at ASU for their assistance. Qian Liu went beyond her job responsibility to get me valuable information and research materials; Dan Stanton helped me get access to U.S. government documents; Michael Markiw spent hours helping me translate and comprehend German letters and articles. The staff from the interlibrary loan department handled my ever more challenging requests promptly. Outside of ASU, I appreciate the assistance and kindness of Alexander Jost and Michael Wischnath from the University of Tübingen for their willingness to correspond with an inquisitive stranger from a foreign country to get information on a Tübingen- trained Chinese biophysicist. Raffael Himmelsbach from Switzerland helped translate part of the German material. I am grateful to Peter Sidorko and Rebecca Tam at the University of Hong Kong Libraries for replying to my requests to access their digital v collections on the institutional records of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I appreciate the efforts of Lindsey Loeper and other librarians at Special Collections at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County for pulling out boxes of files and papers on the archival record of the U.S. Biophysical Society for me to peruse. I am fortunate to have access to the university archives at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), whose Archivdirektor Ding Yixin was open- minded and welcoming to young scholars. I also wish to thank Ding Zhaojun and the staff at USTC archival office for retrieving invaluable documents and materials for me. I am extremely appreciative of the generosity and hospitality of Xu Fuchun and his family during my stay at the city of Hefei. Without uncle Xu, I probably couldn't have made it to the historical Shijiedu launch pad in rural Anhui, where the first biological sounding rocket was fired more than four decades ago. In Beijing, I thank Ling-an Wu and Wei- mou Zheng from the Chinese Academy of Sciences for sharing with me their wisdom and professional interests. Hsiung Deh-I and George Guttman made my trip fun and inspiring; the couple also opened their lovely home in Washington D.C. to me for my stay. In the Greater China Region, I was happy to have the company of Chan Yuk Wah, Chen Yun, Catherine C. Chiu, Robert Hanlon, Ada Kwok, Graeme Lang, Iris Lee, Ruben Gonzalez-Vicente, and Wang Daxue. A big "thank you" goes to Albert Spurgeon who assiduously proofread and edited my entire manuscript. His patience and kindness make him a great friend. Yuan Zhao has been a reliable study-partner to me. He is supportive and caring, morally truthful and intellectually passionate; he cooks me wonderful food, travels with me, and helps me understand the importance of moderation and self-control at times of emotional distress. vi Last but not least, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents. I wouldn't have made it this far without their unconditional love and unceasing support to me and my education. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents for everything they have done for me in the past thirty years and counting. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. xi PREFACE........... ................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 The Problem: Biophysics, Rockets, and the State in Modern China ....... 2 Who Are the Chinese Biophysicists? ..................................................... 11 Biological Sounding Rockets and "Two Bombs, One Star" .................. 14 Consolidating a Discipline: the Institutionalization of Biophysics ........ 16 Overview of Chapters ............................................................................. 18 2 VIEWS OF BIOPHYSICS: THREE CHINESE BIOPHYSICISTS IN SEARCH OF THE SUBJECT MATTER ................................................................. 20 Views of Biophysics I: Bei Shizhang ..................................................... 21 Views of Biophysics II: Shen Shumin .................................................... 24 Views