Jinxi Distinguished Figures Museum

Jinxi Distinguished Figures Museum

Jinxi has long been a place of flourishing culture and a gathering of talented individuals. Especially in the nearly hundred years since the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period, it has produced over 260 experts, professors, and overseas students. The Jinxi Distinguished Figures Museum showcases 115 notable figures from modern Jinxi. The earliest among them was born in 1872, a tribute student in the 23rd year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign, who once served as the fourth director of the Jiangsu Provincial Library—Mr. Chen Weishi. The youngest is Zhuang Xiaoxi, born in 1966, who graduated from Peking University in 1988, went to the United States in 1990, earned a postdoctoral degree, and currently serves as an associate professor of psychology and doctoral advisor at the University of Chicago.

Among them are two academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, including the late senior academician Mr. Chen Huagui, who obtained his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of London at the age of 25. He was one of the founders of agricultural microbiology in China. He achieved outstanding results in research areas such as symbiotic nitrogen fixation and the biological cycling of nutrient elements in rice fields. The rhizobia he discovered in milk vetch has been internationally named “Huagui Rhizobia.” He was a renowned microbiologist and an outstanding educator in China.

Academician Qin Guogang, an expert in semiconductor material physics, is a professor and doctoral advisor at the School of Physics at Peking University. He was a distinguished student of Professor Huang Kun, a world-renowned solid-state physicist. Under his leadership, the research group achieved systematic and creative results in the fields of semiconductor impurities and defects, porous silicon and nano-silicon embedded silicon oxide luminescence, maintaining a leading position internationally.

Among them, 38 have received the Special Government Allowance from the State Council. Many have been elected as deputies to the National People’s Congress, members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and national model workers. There are revolutionary predecessors who joined the Communist Party of China in 1925, soldiers who participated in three armed uprisings, female heroes who joined the revolution during the Long March, and patriotic democrats who cooperated with the CPC for a long time.

Chen Sancai, styled Dingda, was a native of Jinxi, born in 1902. He graduated from Suzhou Yuanhe School at the age of 14 and was recommended to study at Tsinghua School in Beijing. After graduating in 1920, he went to the United States for further studies. During that time, he served as the president of the Overseas Students Association and captain of both the football and tennis teams. He graduated in 1924 and then worked at the renowned Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the U.S. In 1927, he returned to China and founded the Polar Electric Company in Shanghai. Mr. Chen Sancai cared deeply about national affairs and was enthusiastic about public welfare. While in Shanghai, he served as president of the Tsinghua Alumni Association and president of the Lianqing Society. In 1931, he initiated the organization of the “Chinese Institute of Engineers,” with his teacher Gu Yuxiu serving as vice president. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance, he actively contributed money and effort, personally going to the front lines to assist the military in constructing fortifications. Later, due to the failed assassination attempt on the major collaborator Wang Jingwei, which led to his arrest, he was detained by the “No. 76” secret service and was martyred on October 2, 1940, at Yuhuatai in Nanjing. With the concern of Gu Yuxiu and others, in 2001, during Tsinghua University’s 90th anniversary, the name of martyr Chen Sancai was engraved on the “Patriotic Sons and Daughters – Tsinghua Martyrs” monument in Tsinghua Garden.

To promote the outstanding cultural traditions of the hometown, inherit the spirit of hard study and dedication to the nation of predecessors, and inspire future generations, the Jinxi Distinguished Figures Museum was established in 2003 by the town government.