What achievements has Xiong Qinglai made in mathematics?

Xiong Qinglai (1893~1969), courtesy name Dizhi, was from Maitreya, Yunnan.

There have been many extremely brilliant achievements in the field of ancient Chinese mathematics. The origin of modern mathematics began with some students studying in the United States, and Xiong Qinglai was one of them. He studied in France in his early years and pursued the idea of ??"saving the country through science and education" throughout his life. He took mathematics as his lifelong major and devoted himself to cultivating talents for the country, such as Hua Luogeng, Chen Shengshen, etc. He is the founder of modern mathematics research and education in China.

In the spring of 1921, Xiong Qinglai returned from studying in France. With the desire to serve his country, he returned to his hometown of Yunnan and taught at Yunnan Class A Industrial School and Yunnan Road Administration School. In the same year, the newly founded National Southeast University (the predecessor of today's Nanjing University) sent a letter of appointment, inviting Xiong Qinglai to establish the Department of Mathematics. The hero has a place to play. Xiong Qinglai took his wife and eight-year-old son Bingxin to Nanjing, where dragons and tigers dominate, to show off his ambitions. At only 28 years old, Xiong Qinglai was not only hired as a professor, but also as the department chair. Yan Jici and Hu Kunbi, who are well-known in contemporary Chinese scientific circles, have all received help from Mr. Xiong. Xiong Qinglai often sent money to Yan Jici who was studying in France. Once, the school did not pay wages for some reason, so he asked his wife to pawn his leather robe and send money to Yan Jici. Yan Jici studied diligently in France and achieved excellent results. Previously, France did not recognize the validity of Chinese university diplomas. Starting from Yan Jici, France began to recognize that Chinese university diplomas have the same validity as French university diplomas.

In 1926, Tsinghua University was transformed into a university and Xiong Qinglai was hired to found the Department of Mathematics. During his nine years as the dean of the Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University, he worked hard to train a large number of outstanding talents with high reputations at home and abroad. In 1930, when he was the dean of the Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University, he discovered Hua Luogeng's name in an academic magazine. After learning about Hua Luogeng's self-study experience and mathematical talent, he decided to break the rules and invited the 19-year-old Hua Luogeng, who only had a junior high school education, to come to Tsinghua University. University. Under the training of Xiong Qinglai, Hua Luogeng later became a famous mathematician. Some people say: "About half of China's mathematicians come from the Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University."

In 1931, Xiong Qinglai represented China at the World Mathematics Conference held in Zurich, Switzerland. This is the first time that a Chinese representative has attended a mathematics conference. From now on, there are Chinese people among the advanced ranks of the world’s mathematics community! After the meeting, Xiong Qinglai took advantage of the five-year holiday prescribed by Tsinghua University and went to Paris to specialize in function theory. He received the French National Science Doctorate in 1933. The infinite series he defined was internationally known as "Xiong's infinite series". I entered The history of world mathematics. In 1934, he returned to Tsinghua and still served as chairman of the Department of Mathematics. The following year, he hired French mathematician H. Adama and American mathematician N. Wiener, the founder of "cybernetics", to give lectures at Tsinghua University. In 1936, at the initiative of Xiong Qinglai and other senior figures in mathematics, the Journal of the Chinese Mathematical Society was founded, with Xiong Qinglai serving as an editorial board member. This journal is the predecessor of today's "Journal of Mathematics" and can be said to be China's first journal of mathematics.

In 1937, at the invitation of the Yunnan Provincial Government, Xiong Qinglai returned to his hometown after an absence of 16 years and served as the president of Yunnan University. He made a three-part agreement with Long Yun, the provincial chairman: the provincial government will not interfere with school administration; the principal has the power to recruit and fire faculty; students must be admitted through examinations and cannot be introduced by recommendation. During the twelve years when Xiong Qinglai was the president, Yunda University developed from the original three colleges to five colleges, with 18 departments, plus three specialized courses and three preparatory courses, cultivating a large number of useful students for the nation. His talents have made important contributions to changing the cultural backwardness of Yunnan.

When Premier Zhou inspected Yunnan University in 1955, he specifically mentioned this great mathematician and educator who was still abroad at that time. He said: "Xiong Qinglai trained Hua Luogeng. We must respect these people with real talents and learning."