Lin Junde (; 13 March 1938 – 31 May 2012) was a Chinese explosion mechanics scientist and researcher at Xinjiang Malan Nuclear Test Base. He had spent 52 years working in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, participating in the nuclear tests there. He held the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

( shao jiang) in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

(PLA). He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Biography

Lin was born in Jiefu Township of Yongchun County,

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

, China on March 13, 1938. After graduating from

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the na ...

in 1960, he was assigned to study at PLA Military Institute of Engineering in

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

province. In May 1963 he was transferred to the PLA General Equipment Department, where he headed the development of pressure recorder for measuring nuclear explosion shock wave. From the explosion of China's first atomic bomb in 1964 to the last underground nuclear test in 1996, he participated in all 45 nuclear tests in China. In 1993 he was promoted to the rank of

( shao jiang). In 2001 he was accepted as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. On May 31, 2012, he died of

cholangiocarcinoma Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma may include abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, generalized itching, and fever. Light colored stool ...

at the Tangdu Hospital,

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

. Before he died, he said: "I've only done one thing in my life, nuclear test. I'm very satisfied." In February 2013, he was honored as one of the "Ten People Who Moved China".

Personal life

In 1967 Lin married Huang Jianqin (), who was his colleague at Xinjiang Malan Nuclear Test Base.

Awards

* 1969 3rd Prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award * 2013 Order of Heroic Exemplar for Distinguished Scientist (Devoted to the cause of National Defense Technology)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Junde 1938 births 2012 deaths People from Quanzhou Zhejiang University alumni Hokkien scientists Physicists from Fujian Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering People's Liberation Army generals from Fujian Explosives engineers