"China News Weekly" WeChat public number Author: Fu Yao
third days after the award from Paris, Zhang meman appeared on time in position In the office of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She declined almost all media interviews and activities, as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Mi man. Dong Jiexu, a Chinese News Weekly,
3 month 22, Zhang meinman took over the award of "the world's outstanding female scientist" awarded by UNESCO in 2018. At the award ceremony, she came to the stage with a Chinese style long dress. She wrote the whole course and spoke fluent English. In the meantime, French, Chinese, Russian and Swedish changed freely. The elegant temperament and humorous language made Chinese Netizens feel "stunning". We all enthusiastically call her "net red lady scientist", "Chinese scientific research rose" and "true national goddess".
as a senior academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the foreign academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden, and the winner of the world's top prize for ancient vertebrates "the lore Simpson Lifetime Achievement Award", honor and prestige are no longer a new thing to the world's famous paleontologists. This time, the sudden "popularity" still made her somewhat unaccustomed.
"it's really a surprise." She spoke softly and slowly, "I really didn't do anything, nothing special."
but colleagues know that Mr. Zhang is far more famous internationally than in China. She devoted her life to the research of ancient fish, and UNESCO praised her award in her award: "her pioneering work has provided fossil evidence for the evolution of aquatic vertebrates to land and promoted a new stage of human cognition of the history of biological evolution."
for Zhang Mi man, compared with winning and "net red", the most important thing at the moment is still doing scientific research. For her age, the "retirement" is still a nonexistent concept: 8:30 every morning, 9 to the office, and then a day's work. Every holiday is the happiest time for her - everyone has gone on holiday, so she can quieten and disturb the fossils more quietly.
"we used the remaining fish to make fish soup, that fish soup can drink well"
Zhang Mi man was born in an intellectual family in Nanjing in 1936. My father, who received his Ph.D. degree from University of Chicago, has returned to teach. He has become a professor with considerable achievements in the field of neurophysiology. Influenced by his father, Zhang Mi man was interested in biology and natural science and became a doctor when he grew up.
however, in the 50s of last century, China was in great demand, and geological talent was badly needed in the process of developing industry. When graduating from high school, Zhang Mi man was inspired by the "geological report". Despite his family's opposition, he decided to apply for the Beijing Institute of geology. In 1955, she had just studied geology for a year and was sent to Moscow State University to study paleontology.
"we had no idea what paleontology was doing at that time." In order to meet the needs of the national scientific development plan, a dozen students from the same group were assigned different professional directions. Under the suggestion of zoologist Wu Xianwen, Zhang Mi man embarked on the road of "learning fish".
now in retrospect, it was a day of flashing light: in order to do term papers, young Zhang meman went to a biological laboratory outside Moscow to collect fossilized fish fossilized fossilized fossils on the Bank of the river. Under the starry night sky, a small boat was used to scatter the fish net across the Moscow River, and then to pick up the net at five or six in the morning. All kinds of fish were hit online and collected and compared with fossils to explore the relationship between ancient fish and modern fish.
"in addition to keeping some fish for comparison, we use the rest of the fish for fish soup, and the fish soup is delicious." Zhang Mi man, 82 years old, showed a pure and naughty smile. In
1960, the first study from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was the first study of the fish fossils from Zhejiang. If it was to work hard to learn "the task of organizing", it was only then that she began to really feel the feeling of "love" to these creatures: "those fish stones are about the same fish as they are now, but they are different. What kind of fish do they have to do with them?" No one knows. " For this reason, she consulted experts everywhere, and she thought a little bit, and the process of solving puzzles became more and more interesting. "This interest is gradually coming." She told China Newsweek.
in a lot of people's impression, talking about the study of paleontology, it is naturally associated with the silhouette of the desert Gobi, the mountains and the mountains. That was the norm at that time. In order to find fossils, she spent 3 months in a year with the geological prospecting team. As the only woman in the team, she and all the people carrying tens of pounds of heavy bags across the mountains, walking 20 kilometers a day is a common occurrence. For convenience, she never wears long hair. In some places, the local villagers didn't recognize her as a woman.
it was a hard time. During the day, you can only walk on the road, lodge in the village in the evening or shop in the wilderness. Digging all day in the mud, mosquitoes, fleas, bedbugs, and rats have everything. But this has also become the most cherished day of Zhang Mi man: she is often disturbed by insects at night, but she is still full of spirits during the day. "Everyone is young, they are very happy together, they can carry them down and do not feel hardworking."