Xiong Qinglai, or Hiong King-Lai (, October 20, 1893 – February 3, 1969),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Dizhi (), was a Chinese mathematician from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. He was the first person to introduce modern mathematics into China, and served as an influential president of

Yunnan University Yunnan University (, Acronym: YNU) is a national key university in Yunnan Province, China. Its main campuses are located in the provincial capital city of Kunming. Founded in December 1922, Yunnan University started to enroll in April 1923. It b ...

from 1937 through 1947. A Chinese stamp was issued in his honour.

Biography

Xiong was born in Xizhai village (nowadays named Qinglai village to honour him) of

Mile County Mile (; ; Hani language: ; Yi: ) is a county-level city located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It is named after the Maitreya Buddha, for which there was a temple located on a nearby mountain, making it the o ...

province. He studied in Europe for eight years (1913 to 1921) before returning to China to teach. During that time, Chinese university-level mathematics was only comparable to Western secondary-school mathematics level. In 1921, he established the Department of Mathematics of

National Southeastern University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianli ...

(Later renamed

National Central University National Central University (NCU, ; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Kwet-li̍p Chung-yong Thài-ho̍k'', Wade–Giles: ''Kuo2 Li4 Chung Yang Ta4 Hsüeh2'' or ''中大'', ''Chung-ta'') is a public research university with long-standing traditions based in Taiwa ...

and

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...

), beginning undertook the task of writing more than ten textbooks on

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

differential equations In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, an ...

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

, etc. It was the first endeavor in history to introduce modern mathematics in Chinese textbooks. In 1926, Xiong became a professor of mathematics at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

, where he influenced the path of

Hua Luogeng Hua Luogeng or Hua Loo-Keng (; 12 November 1910 – 12 June 1985) was a Chinese mathematician and politician famous for his important contributions to number theory and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the Peop ...

, who later became another prominent mathematician. Xiong was persecuted to death in 1969 during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. On 20 November 1992,

China Post China Post, legally the China Post Group Corporation ( zh, 中国邮政集团有限公司, Pinyin: ''Zhōngguó yóuzhèng jítuán yǒuxiàn gōngsī''), is the state-owned enterprise operating the official postal service of China, which provi ...

issued a stamp commemorating Xiong Qinglai as part of the third set of its "Modern Chinese Scientists" stamp series (serial number 1992-19). 76 million copies were printed.

References

External links

China Stamps 1992-19 Scott 2416-19 Modern Chinese Scientists (3rd series)
1893 births 1969 deaths Educators from Yunnan Mathematicians from Yunnan National Central University faculty Nanjing University faculty People from Honghe People persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution Presidents of Yunnan University Republic of China politicians from Yunnan Tsinghua University faculty Yunnan University faculty {{China-scientist-stub