Tang Aoqing

Tang Aoqing the Chinese chemist (1915-2017) known as the father of quantum chemistry in China, who introduced the theory of the chemical bond to Chinese science, trained generations of theoretical chemists, and served as a leading educator and administrator.

Early Life and Education

Tang Aoqing was born on 18 November 1915 in Yixing, Jiangsu province, into a family that prized education. He studied chemistry at Tsinghua University and graduated in 1935, then remained to work as an assistant while continuing his studies during a time of national difficulty.

In 1946 he went to the United States and entered Columbia University, where he studied under leading physical chemists and mathematicians. He received his doctorate in 1949 for work on the quantum theory of molecular structure, and he remained for a further period of research before the decision to return to China.

The years in New York gave him a thorough command of quantum mechanics and of its application to chemical problems, and he came home in 1950 eager to establish the new theoretical chemistry in a country where the subject was largely unknown.

Founding Quantum Chemistry in China

Tang Aoqing returned to China and joined a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and, later, Jilin University. He set out to introduce quantum chemistry, the application of quantum mechanics to the structure and behaviour of molecules, into Chinese teaching and research, where it had almost no presence.

He wrote one of the first Chinese textbooks on the subject and gave systematic lecture courses that trained the first cohort of theoretical chemists in the country. His expositions of the theory of the chemical bond, of molecular orbital theory and of valence-bond theory made the difficult mathematics accessible to students.

He insisted that theory and experiment must advance together, and he encouraged the growth of computational methods as computers became available. His laboratory developed programmes for calculating molecular properties and used them to interpret experimental results and to predict the behaviour of unfamiliar compounds.

Research on the Chemical Bond

Tang Aoqing's own research concerned the theory of the chemical bond and the electronic structure of molecules. He studied the relationship between the arrangement of electrons in a molecule and its geometry, its stability and its reactivity, and he developed methods for approximating the solutions of the equations of quantum chemistry.

He worked on the theory of the hydrogen bond and on the structure of complex molecules, and he contributed to the understanding of the mechanism of chemical reactions through the analysis of potential energy surfaces. His careful theoretical work clarified the reasons for many observed regularities.

He was especially interested in the connection between molecular structure and the properties of materials, and in the application of theoretical methods to problems of practical importance. His programme of research integrated theory, computation and experiment in a way that became a model for Chinese chemistry.

University Leadership and Reform

Tang Aoqing served for many years as the president of Jilin University, which under his leadership became one of the leading comprehensive universities of China. He built up its science faculties, attracted talented scholars and supported the creation of new research institutes, including centres for theoretical chemistry and for computational science.

He took part in the reform of the national system of education and science and served on important committees responsible for planning and for the selection of scientific talent. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and held senior positions in its governing bodies.

He was known for his commitment to academic standards and for the personal interest he took in the welfare of students and younger colleagues. Many of those he taught and supported went on to leadership roles in Chinese universities and research institutes.

Influence and Legacy

Tang Aoqing is widely honoured as the founder of quantum chemistry in China. He established the subject as a serious field of research, trained its first practitioners and gave it a permanent institutional home, and he was a tireless advocate for basic science and for the union of theory with experiment.

He received countless national awards and honorary degrees and was elected to a number of foreign academies. His name is associated with educational reform and with the growth of theoretical chemistry, and the students he trained carried his methods and his standards across the country.

He died on 12 November 2017 in Changchun at the age of 101, having remained engaged with science and education almost to the end of his long life. His career spanned and shaped the development of chemistry in modern China, and he is remembered with special affection as a teacher.

References

^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

↑ Tang Aoqing, The Quantum Theory of Chemical Bonds, Science Press, 1958.
↑ Tang Aoqing, Molecular Orbital Theory and Chemical Structure, Jilin University Press, 1980.
↑ Chen Kun, Chemistry in Twentieth-Century China, Tsinghua University Press, 2006.
↑ Li Ming, Founders of Chinese Physical Chemistry, Higher Education Press, 2013.

[r1-1] Tang Aoqing, The Quantum Theory of Chemical Bonds, Science Press, 1958.

[r2-2] Tang Aoqing, Molecular Orbital Theory and Chemical Structure, Jilin University Press, 1980.

[r3-3] Chen Kun, Chemistry in Twentieth-Century China, Tsinghua University Press, 2006.

[r4-4] Li Ming, Founders of Chinese Physical Chemistry, Higher Education Press, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]