Return to the Motherland (1957–1978)

Abstract

AbstractComing back from France, Cheng Maolan’s “second life” in Mao’s China had shortly become one of hardship. Based on diverse original Chinese documents, Chap. 2 tells how he started to experience the successive political movements such as the “Great Leap Forward” in 1958, and other episodes of his brand-new life. With the ongoing Cold War and the forthcoming Sino-Soviet split in the early 1960s, China’s relations with the Western and Eastern Blocs were heading towards isolation. The plan for Cheng, as the newly appointed head of the Beijing Observatory “preparation office”, was to focus on the construction of a 2m-class telescope, inspired by the example of the 1.93-m telescope of the Observatoire de Haute Provence in France which he had personally witnessed. To build the new Beijing Observatory, the first step was to select the best possible site. Cheng and his colleagues had to consider many astronomical factors, such as sky quality (low turbulence, number of clear nights, etc.), which tended to favor high mountains. At the same time, there were logistical constraints (roads, electricity, water, etc.) as well. This factor usually favors some proximity to cities, yet cities themselves often cause inconveniences for astronomical activities like light and air pollution. Given these challenges and additional security considerations, it took Cheng and his team many years before finding a fitting site for the observatory. In the end, the chosen location was about 150 km to the NE of Beijing, and it was officially approved in 1964. It is now known as the "Xinglong Station of the National Observatory", situated at an altitude of 950 m. But then, what about the 2-m telescope project itself? Shortly after Cheng’s return to China, an early plan to buy an off-the-shelf foreign-made telescope was quickly scrapped. The new proposal called for "self-reliance", to compensate for the lack of Soviet technological help. With the Cultural Revolution in the background (the "meanders of Mao's China"), the first China-made, 60-cm telescope was installed around 1967, but building a 2m-class telescope posed a much bigger challenge. Unfortunately, Cheng Maolan could not live long enough to see it completed. Indeed, Cheng died on Dec.31, 1978, after a long episode of bad health. His death happened on the eve of a new era for China, with Deng Xiaoping’s “Open Door” policy towards the West. Deng himself spectacularly illustrated this new wind of change through his trip to the USA in January 1979. It took another 10 years for the Xinglong 2.16-m telescope to see its "first light". And yet another 30 years to honor the key role which Cheng Maolan had played in the most difficult times, both in France and in China. This late recognition as a “hero for New China” took the form of the inauguration of a statue and of a Museum of Astronomy and Technology bearing his name, on Aug. 27, 2018, in his native Boye County.