Liang Shoupan (; 13 April 1916 – 5 September 2009) was a Chinese

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

. The chief designer of China's first generation of

anti-ship missiles An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

including the HY-1 and HY-2, he is regarded as the "father of China's cruise missile program". He also designed the C-101,

C-801 The YJ-8 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-4 Sardine) is a Chinese surface-launched subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 The Y ...

and other missiles. He was an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

and the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

. In 2006, he was one of the five scientists who received the Highest Achievement Award of China's aerospace industry.

Early life and education

Liang was born on 13 April 1916 in Fuzhou,

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

, Republic of China. His father Liang Jingchun () was an official in the Ministry of Justice of the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking ( Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...

, and served as an advisor to the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

government in Taiwan after 1949. He spent his childhood in

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 ...

and attended secondary schools in Beijing,

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. In June 1933, Liang entered

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

to study

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

. As soon as he earned his bachelor's degree in June 1937, the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

broke out. He enlisted in the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

and studied at its advanced aeronautical engineering program. In August 1938, he went to the United States to study aeronautical engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He earned his master's degree in just a year, and returned to China in February 1940.

Career

From February 1940 to August 1942, Liang taught aeronautical and mechanical engineering at the

National Southwestern Associated University When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Universi ...

in Kunming. Starting in August 1942, he worked at Guizhou Aeronautical Engine Factory as an engineer and designer for three years. After the surrender of Japan in August 1945, he joined

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 n ...

as a professor, and was appointed chair of the Aeronautical Engineering Department in June 1949. After the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Liang became a professor at Harbin Institute of Military Technology in September 1952. In May 1956, he was transferred to the newly established Fifth Academy (for aerospace and missile research) of the Ministry of National Defense and awarded the military rank of colonel. A leading scientist in the start-up phase of the Fifth Academy, he was put in charge of rocket engine research and later comprehensive design. After the Fifth Academy was upgraded to the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building in 1965, Liang served as head of the Third (Sub-) Academy, in charge of the development of

for coastal defence. He was the chief designer of HY-1 and HY-2 (known in the West as the Silkworm) anti-ship missiles, and the C-101 supersonic missile. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, he was the chief designer of the C-801 anti-ship missile, which was comparable to the

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

of France. After 1982, he served as vice director of the Science and Technology Committee of the

Ministry of Aerospace Industry The Ministry of Aerospace Industry of the People's Republic of China () was a government ministry responsible for its national space program. This ministry was split into the China National Space Administration and China Aerospace Science and Tech ...

(the former Seventh Ministry). Liang served as a delegate to the Third, Fourth, and Fifth

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

es, and was a member of the Third, Sixth, and Seventh National Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Liang died on 5 September 2009 in Beijing, at the age of 93.

Honours and recognition

Liang was elected an academician of the

in 1980 and of the

in 1985. Liang was conferred a Special Prize of the

State Science and Technology Progress Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...

in 1988 and the Qiu Shi Distinguished Scientist Prize in 1994. In 2006, he was one of the five scientists who received the Highest Achievement Award for the first 50 years of China's aerospace industry, together with

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineer ...

Ren Xinmin Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number ( ...

Tu Shou'e Tu Shou'e or Shou-ngo Tu (; 1917–2012) was a Chinese aerospace engineer who was a specialist in structural mechanics. Tu is famous as the chief designer of the Long March 2 rocket and China's intercontinental ballistic missile. Together with ...

, and

Huang Weilu Huang Weilu (; 18 December 1916 – 23 November 2011) was a Chinese aerospace and electrical engineer who was a specialist in the control systems of missiles and rockets. The chief designer of JL-1, China's first submarine-launched ballistic missi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Shoupan 1916 births 2009 deaths Chinese aerospace engineers Chinese colonels Chinese expatriates in the United States Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Delegates to the 4th National People's Congress Delegates to the 5th National People's Congress Educators from Fujian Engineers from Fujian MIT School of Engineering alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences National Southwestern Associated University faculty People of the Republic of China People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian Politicians from Fuzhou Tsinghua University alumni Zhejiang University faculty