Department of Mathematics and Physics in the Spring of 1941-1952

The "Fudan University Science Charter" in 1924 clearly states that the undergraduate program is divided into three departments: (1) Department of Mathematical Physics, 2) Department of Chemistry, and 3) Department of Engineering. However, in fact, the Department of Mathematical Physics of our school has not been established, and only provides mathematical and physical courses required by the Engineering Department. In 1930, the Department of Science was renamed as the College of Science. The charter of this year stipulated that the College of Science consists of six departments: Department of Mathematics (auxiliary department), Department of Physics (auxiliary department), Department of Chemistry, Department of Biology, Department of Psychology (auxiliary department) and Department of Civil Engineering. The appendix contains the curriculum of the Department of Mathematics (auxiliary department) and the Department of Physics (auxiliary department). However, there are no records of recruiting teachers or recruiting students for these two departments in the faculty and student directories of Fudan University before 1942. The two departments of Mathematics and Physics only exist as auxiliary courses on campus, and they are departments without specialized students. Courses in the minor department are available to students from other departments. The courses taught in the Department of Mathematics for one semester include: determinant theory, equation theory, probability, least square, advanced statistical mathematics, Fourier series, infinite series, variational calculus, and differential geometry; the courses taught for two semesters include: calculus, differential equations, commercial mathematics, statistical mathematics, projective geometry, advanced calculus, history of mathematics, theory of functions of imaginary variables, and theory of functions of real variables. Although the mathematics subject has begun to take shape, due to the lack of full-time professors, the distribution of courses and the scheduling of time are not very systematic. Not all the subjects in the curriculum are offered due to insufficient teachers.

On November 25, 1941, Fudan University changed its status from private to national. On May 12, 1942, Fudan University held its second school meeting after its establishment. The minutes of the meeting at that time contained a proposal to establish a Department of Mathematics and Physics in the School of Science. The resolution was approved and submitted to the ministry for approval. In a later report to the Ministry of Education, the following reasons were stated: "The Department of Mathematics and Science is a basic department of the School of Science. If it has been absent for a long time, it seems that it is not enough to promote. Countless science departments and some important courses cannot hire full-time teachers to conduct research on basic theoretical subjects." Li Zhongheng, acting dean of the School of Science, who participated in this school executive meeting, became the first department head of the Department of Mathematics and Science.

Li Zhongheng (1905-1998), also known as Li Da, was born in Pingjiang, Hunan. He graduated from the Department of Mathematics of National Central University in 1928 and received a doctorate in mathematics from Mingxing University in Germany in 1934. After returning to China, he successively served as professor at Tsinghua University, professor and director of the Department of Mathematics at Shandong University, professor at Tongji University, and professor and director of the Department of Mathematics at National Lantian Normal University. He works on the stability of difference equations. According to the article "Discussions on Curriculum Content of University Mathematics Departments" published in Volume 1, Issue 3, 1941, co-published by him and Professor Zhou Shaolian, Director of the Department of Mathematics of Chongqing University, he presided over the formulation of a four-year teaching plan for the mathematics group of the Department of Mathematics and Physics of Fudan University. In the autumn of 1947, he went to the United States to give lectures and later worked in the United States. On the eve of his departure to the United States, he published the article "Chinese Mathematics in Thirty Years" in the 1947 issue 3 of Science magazine.

In September 1943, after many applications to the Ministry of Education for additional funds to start classes, after many setbacks, it was finally approved. At this point, the Department of Mathematics and Physics began to have teachers. Starting in 1944, the Ministry of Education increased funding to Fudan University to hire teachers and recruit students in the Department of Mathematics and Science. Deng Jinghua was transferred from the Business School to a full-time professor in this department. Zhou Rusong, Sun Zhenxian, Tan Tongkun and other full-time associate professors came to Fudan University in the autumn of 1943 and the spring of 1944. In 1943, three students entered the Department of Mathematics and Physics. After one semester of basic courses in the Faculty of Science, one of them transferred to the Department of Economics and the other two left the school.

The second appointment in the Department of Mathematics and Physics is Professor Chen Chuanzhang.

Chen Chuanzhang (1903-1989), courtesy name Yanru, was born in Huaining, Anhui. Bachelor's degree from National Southeast University, and a doctorate in science from the University of Greenoburg, France in 1935. After returning to China, he successively served as professor at Shandong University, Hunan University, professor and director of the Department of Mathematics at Hunan National Normal University, and editor of the National Compilation and Compilation Institute. In the autumn of 1945, he was appointed professor of Fudan University. In 1946, he was appointed chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Physics. He specializes in analysis and integral equations. He cares deeply about his students. At that time, Li Guozheng, Xu Zisheng, Huang Yuren and others organized the Mathematics and Physics Society, a student club of the whole school, and professors such as Chen Chuanzhang and Deng Jinghua served as the instructors of the society. In 1946, Fudan University was demobilized from Chongqing to Shanghai, and he put in a lot of hard work. In February 1947, he wrote twice to Zhang Yi, the then president, hoping to be allowed to resign from his concurrent position as department head. The reason was that he was "mentally unsatisfied, the department workload was heavy, and his body was even more unwell" so that he could "recuperate and devote himself to teaching." However, according to an article later written by his colleague Mr. Chen Chaolong and others, another statement can be found: "During the anti-hunger, anti-persecution and anti-civil war movements in Shanghai, he angrily resigned from the position of chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Fudan University." In 1949, he once again served as the chairman of the department, and then served as the chairman of the Department of Mathematics after the department was reorganized, until 1966.

From 1947 to 1948, Professor Deng Jinghua served as the head of the department.

Deng Jinghua (1904-1991), courtesy name Junshi, was born in Kaijiang, Sichuan. He studied electrical engineering at the National University of Technology in Beijing from 1922 to 1925, and graduated from the University of Nancy in France in 1930 with a Bachelor of Science degree. After returning to China, he successively served as professor at Shanghai Datong University, Guangxi University, Sichuan Chongqing University, and in August 1942, he was appointed professor at Shanghai Fudan University. His works include "Vector Analysis", "Outline of Differential and Analytical Geometry", etc. In 1949, Deng Jinghua went to Taiwan from Shanghai, where she served as dean of the Department of Mathematics and Dean of Academic Affairs at Tamkang College of Arts and Sciences, and dean of the Department of Mathematics and Dean of the School of Science at Soochow University.

In 1948, with the support of Deng Jinghua, the dean of the department, the activities of the student club - Mathematics and Physics Society reached a climax and the publication "Fudan Mathematics and Physics News" was officially published. Mr. Deng wrote the launch speech. The picture below is the catalog of the first issue of the magazine.

In the list of "consultants of this magazine", Mr. Li Zhongheng, Deng Jinghua, Chen Chuanzhang, Zhou Muxi, Fan Huiguo, Li Ruifu, Zhu Yingshen, Sun Zhenxian, Shu Shijie, Fan Jiping, Tan Tongkun and Ruan Yuanzhen are all listed among them. This list of consultants also objectively reflects the faculty situation of the Department of Mathematics and Science in 1948. These teachers strongly fund and support students' academic activities. The editorial director of the magazine is Li Guozheng, and the director of the circulation department is Xu Zijiang.

In addition to the three department chairs, we will give some more introductions to Professor Zhou Shaolian mentioned above. Zhou Shaolian (1905-1970), also known as Mu Xi, was born in Hanyang, Hubei Province. He graduated from the Department of Mathematics of Southeast University in 1928 and received a doctorate in science from France in 1936. After returning to China, he successively served as professor and director of the Department of Mathematics of Shandong University, professor and director of the Department of Mathematics of Chongqing University, and in the autumn of 1946, he was appointed professor of Fudan University. In 1955, he served as professor and director of the Department of Mathematics at Lanzhou University. In 1947, he also served as the principal of Shanghai Commercial College. Mainly researching topology and geometry, he has translated "Surface Geometry" (1951, Commercial Press), "Riemannian Geometry and Tensor Algorithm" (1953, Commercial Press) and "Computational Theory of Life Insurance" (1945, Zhengzhong Bookstore).

Before 1948, the Department of Mathematics and Physics temporarily opened a mathematics group due to limited equipment. Regarding the fact that the Department of Mathematics and Physics is divided into a mathematics group and a physics group, there are more detailed records in the archives. On August 13, 1945, the school discussed that after returning to Shanghai from Chongqing, the original Department of Mathematics and Physics in the School of Science would be divided into the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics, and the Department of Geography and Geology would be added, but this plan did not become a reality. The Mathematics Group and the Physics Group were formed in the Department of Mathematics and Physics in 1947. The school council meeting decided on April 18, 1948: the Department of Mathematics and Physics was officially divided into two groups: mathematics and physics. In July 1948, among the four graduates, Hu Jiagan, Xu Zisheng and Huang Yuren stayed at the school to become members of the mathematics group, while Li Guozheng went to teach mathematics in other universities.

后排左起:李果正、黄育仁、胡家赣、许自省(该照片由许自省先生的子女许旦云、许亮提供)

Mr. Hu Jiagan once served as associate professor and deputy director of the Department of Mathematics. From September 1956 to January 1957, he taught "Mathematical Analysis" to 160 students in Room 1233 of the First Teaching Building. His clear and rigorous explanations left a deep impression on the students. Later, due to the needs of national defense construction, he was transferred to the Second Machinery Department. His main works include: "Mathematical Analysis" (collaboration) and "Iterative Solution of Linear Algebraic Equations" (Science Press, 1991). Mr. Huang Yuren served as the teaching secretary of Chairman Chen Chuanzhang for many years. In 1958, he was transferred to the newly built Shanghai University of Science and Technology as the first director of the Department of Mathematics, making important contributions to the construction of the new school. Mr. Xu Zisheng transferred from the second year of the Department of Physics of Datong University to the Department of Mathematical Sciences of Fudan University. After graduation, he taught many courses in physics and mathematics. He later participated in the establishment of the Department of Computer Science of Fudan University and was one of the earliest veterans of Fudan University to engage in computational mathematics teaching and research. Except for Mr. Xu, the other three have four years of study records. The courses they have studied and their teachers are as follows:

First class: Chinese (Bao Zhenghu), English (Xu Zongduo), general physics (Li Zhengwu), calculus (Wang Xiqiang), chemistry (Lin Yimin), chemical experiments, physical experiments, elementary equation theory

Chinese (Bao Zhenghu), English (Zhang Xiaosong), Calculus (Li Zhongheng), General Physics (Li Zhengwu), Projective Geometry (Sun Zhenxian), Chemistry (Lin Yimin), Physical Experiment

Second level advanced arithmetic analysis (Chen Chuanzhang), advanced algebra (Tan Tongkun), elementary German (Wang Yuhu), Three People's Principles (Zhao Quantian)

Second level advanced mathematical analysis (Chen Chuanzhang), advanced algebra (Tan Tongkun), elementary German (Wang Yuhu), Three People's Principles (Zhao Quantian), analytic geometry (Sun Zhenxian), infinite series (Li Zhongheng)

Three-level differential geometry (Li Zhongheng), theory of functions of complex variables (Chen Chuanzhang), theoretical mechanics (Begkie), modern algebra (Tang Yanyi), electromagnetism (Begkie), intermediate German (Chen Songmao), general history of China (Zhou Yutong), physical education

Three levels of differential geometry (Zhou Muxi), theory of functions of complex variables (Chen Chuanzhang), level 2 of theoretical mechanics (Begkie), level 1 of modern algebra (Li Zhongheng), level 2 of electromagnetism (Begkie), level 2 of intermediate German (Chen Songmao), general history of China (Zhou Yutong), physical education

Fourth, advanced geometry (Sun Zhenxian), topology (Zhou Muxi), theory of real variable functions (Chen Chuanzhang), calculus of variations (Fan Huiguo), economics (Wang Gongmou), physical education

Fourth, advanced geometry (Sun Zhenxian), topology (Zhou Muxi), theory of real variable functions (Chen Chuanzhang), economics (Wang Gongmou), physical education, graduation thesis

In 1952, the Department of Mathematics and Physics had five mathematics professors: Chen Chuanzhang, Zhou Muxi, Li Ruifu, Zhou Huaiheng and Huang Yuanfang; three physics professors: Ye Yunli, Jiang Renshou and Wang Hengshou; five associate professors including Sun Zhenxian, seven young teachers, and five graduates. This prepared the conditions for the establishment of the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics during the adjustment of departments.

(Contained in Fudan University History Newsletter Issue 122, 2017.9.30)

Machine-translated from the Chinese original 1941—1952春的数理学系 (published 2019-06-16). WeChat original ↗