Chen Chunxian (; 1934 – 11 August 2004) was a Chinese

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

and businessman. He was the founder of

Zhongguancun Zhongguancun () is a major technology hub in Haidian District, Beijing, China. Zhongguancun occupies a band between the northwestern Third Ring Road and the northwestern Fourth Ring Road, in the northwestern part of Beijing. Zhongguancun is ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, often called China's

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

. He initiated the project to create China's first

tokamak A tokamak (; russian: токамáк; otk, 𐱃𐰸𐰢𐰴, Toḳamaḳ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being d ...

device in 1973.

Biography

Chen Chunxian was born in 1934 in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Province, China. In 1958, he graduated from the Department of

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. From 1959 to 1986, he was a researcher at the

Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences The Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOPCAS ) was the result of a merger, after the communist took control of the mainland China in 1949, between the Institute of Physics of Academia Sinica (IOPAS) founded in Shanghai in 19 ...

. He initiated the development of China's first

device and recruited engineer

Yan Luguang Yan Luguang (; born 6 July 1935) is a Chinese electrical engineer. He is a research professor and former Director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and served as President of Ningbo University fr ...

to the project. In 1973, their collaboration created the CT-6. In 1979, Chen visited

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

in the United States and was greatly impressed. On October 23, 1980, he founded the first non-governmental entity in

, called the "Advanced Technology Service Association". (Only government-run entities can be called "company" in China.) Chen's company was shut down after an investigation, but he received validation from the central government in 1983, when

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Gene ...

mentioned him in a national statement. Many independent high-tech companies were founded in Zhongguancun, including

Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...

. In his later years, Chen lived in poor conditions and without

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. He died on 11 August 2004."Father of 'China's Silicon Valley' Dies"
''China.org.cn'', 11 August 2004. Accessed 26 July 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chunxian 1934 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Chengdu Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union Moscow State University alumni Physicists from Sichuan Theoretical physicists Zhongguancun