Wang Jiaji

Wang Jiaji

Wang Jiaji (May 5, 1898 - December 19, 1976), born in Fengxian, Jiangsu Province, is a zoologist, founder of Chinese Protozoology, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher and former director of Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 1920, Wang Jiaji graduated from Nanjing Normal University; in 1924, he received a bachelor's degree in agriculture from National Southeast University; in 1928, he received a doctor's degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania; in July 1934, the Museum of natural history of the national academia sinica was renamed as the Institute of zoology and botany of the national Academia Sinica, and Wang Jiaji became the director of the Institute He was an academician of the Academia Sinica, joined the Jiusan Society in 1952, was elected a member of the academic department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955, and concurrently served as vice president of Wuhan Branch (Central South Branch) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1959. He died of illness in Wuhan on December 19, 1976.

Wang Jiaji founded the Research Institute of Protozoology and rotifers in China. In his early years, he actively carried out biological scientific investigation, obtained the first-hand data of protozoa, freshwater rotifer classification and ecological research in China, and carried out a lot of work in the field of protozoa research. He found 3 new genera, 58 new species, 4 new varieties and 8 new subspecies.

Life of the characters

Wang Jiaji was born in Fengxian, Jiangsu Province on May 5, 1898. He began to study four books and five classics in his study at the age of 3. At the age of 6, he began to receive education in Zhaowen Academy (his father was the principal) until he was 16. Since then, he has successively studied in Shanghai Jiangsu provincial first business school, Jiangsu Nantong private specialized textile school preparatory course and Nanjing private Jinling university high school. In July 1917, Wang Jiaji was admitted to Nanjing Normal University, specializing in agronomy. In 1920, Bingzhi returned from the United States to teach in Nanjing Normal University. Out of respect for Bingzhi, Wang Jiaji explored in his department. In June 1921, after graduating from Nanjing Normal University, Wang Jiaji registered in the Department of biology of Southeast University in July to study as a teacher, making up for the credits of his undergraduate degree. In July 1922, Wang Jiaji was employed as an assistant by the Institute of biology of the Chinese society of Sciences. He studied protozoa under the guidance of Professor Bingzhi, a zoologist. He collected relevant literature and collected protozoa in Nanjing. In June 1923, Wang Jiaji received a bachelor's degree in agriculture from National Southeast University. In January 1925, Wang Jiaji was admitted to the Department of zoology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. During this period, i.e. from January 1925 to September 1928, he was successively employed as a visiting scholar of West Institute of biology and a visiting researcher of Lindong Institute of marine biology. In September 1928, Wang Jiaji received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded the gold medal for outstanding biological workers. In the same year, Yale University employed him as a Stirling researcher with high salary. In 1929, Wang Jiaji learned that foreign countries would send a scientific expedition to collect specimens in China. He thought: China's biological resources belong to the Chinese, and the Chinese should strengthen their own research. He decided to give up the excellent working and living conditions provided by Yale University and return to China to explore the research of Protozoology in China. After returning to China, Wang Jiaji was employed as a research professor in the Department of zoology, Institute of biology, Chinese society of Sciences, Nanjing, and also a professor in the Department of biology, Central University, teaching general zoology, invertebrates, histology and embryology. In 1934, Wang Jiaji, together with Chinese zoologists, founded the Chinese Zoological Society in Lushan, Jiangxi Province. In July, the Museum of natural history of the national academia sinica was renamed the Institute of zoology and botany of the national Academia Sinica. Wang Jiaji was the director of the museum. As the director of the museum, he immediately published sinensia, which not only provides a valuable garden for Chinese scientists to publish scientific research achievements, but also ends the history that research papers can only be published when they are sent to foreign countries in China. At the same time, it makes the Institute and the world two-tier More than 200 research institutions in 9 countries and 66 units in China have established academic exchanges and business contacts. In 1937, when the Anti Japanese war broke out, the Institute was reduced to rubble by the Japanese army. As the director of the Institute, he left his wife and children in Shanghai and led the staff of the Institute of zoology and botany to leave Nanjing and move westward to Beibei, Sichuan. In May 1944, the Institute of zoology and botany was divided into the Institute of zoology and the Institute of Botany. Wang Jiaji was the director of the Institute of zoology. After the victory of the Anti Japanese War, he moved to Shanghai with the Institute. In 1948, Wang Jiaji was elected academician of Academia Sinica. In the same year, at the invitation of Professor Joseph Needham of the British Council, he went to the UK for a study tour, which lasted more than three months. After returning to China, the Kuomintang authorities ordered the research institutes to move to Taiwan, while Wang Jiaji decided to stay in the mainland of the motherland and reserved a number of talents and scientific research facilities for the scientific and technological undertakings of new China. In July 1949, Wang Jiaji was invited to attend the Preparatory Committee for the first national conference of representatives of natural science workers in Peking. Since then, he has participated in the reorganization of the Academia Sinica and the preparation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In August, the Shanghai military Regulatory Commission appointed Wang Jiaji as standing member of the Shanghai District Committee of Academia Sinica and director of the Institute of zoology. In 1950, the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was established with Wang Jiaji as its director. In 1952, Wang Jiaji joined the "93" society and served as a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of Shanghai Branch. In 1954, Wang Jiaji also served as the chairman of Wuhan Branch of "93" society. For the development of freshwater aquatic biology research in China, he supported the decision of the leadership of the Academy of Sciences to move the Institute from Shanghai to Wuhan. In June 1955, Wang Jiaji was employed as a member of the Department of biology and Geosciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1959, Wang Jiaji was also vice president of Wuhan Branch (Central South Branch) of Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the early morning of December 19, 1976, Mr. Wang Jiaji died of illness in Wuhan.

Main achievements

Achievements in scientific research

In 1925, Wang Jiaji published "Research on protozoa in Nanjing" for the first time in Chinese journals. This paper is the first paper on protozoa research in China, marking the beginning of protozoa research in China. During his study in the United States, Wang Jiaji's paper ecological research on seasonal distribution of protozoa in freshwater ponds was a continuation of the research on protozoa ecology. During this period, he also published papers on the classification, physiology and ecology of protozoa in American authoritative journals such as science. After four years of investigation, Wang Jiaji traveled to Qilu in the north, Fujian and Guangdong in the south, Chuankang in the west, and coastal areas in the East. He made a detailed investigation of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. He was the first to obtain the first-hand data of Protozoology in China, and found many new genera and species of marine and freshwater protozoa, which laid a foundation for the investigation of protozoa flora in China. In 1950, Wang Jiaji published the paper "the fiber system of Cladocera paricularis". By using the method of protein silver staining, he first found that although the cilia of ciliates degenerated, the fiber system under the membrane still existed, which has a certain significance for studying the phylogeny of protozoa. In 1960, freshwater rotifers of China, edited by Wang Jiaji, was officially published. This monograph is the first to classify and describe the common rotifer species in China's swamps, ponds, lakes and reservoirs. It includes 252 species belonging to 79 genera and 15 families. Among them, 4 new species and 2 new families are briefly described from "order" to "Genus", with a key. The description of species is particularly detailed. All 252 species are attached with one or more images, a total of 533, summed up into 27 plates. The relationship, morphology, physiology and ecology of rotifers were discussed. This achievement won the National Science Conference award in 1978 and the science conference award of Hubei Province. In the 1970s, Wang Jiaji completed the first papers on protozoa of Mount Everest, protozoa of Mount Everest and protozoa of parts of Tibet Plateau, recording more than 400 kinds of protozoa in this area. As of September 2005, Wang Jiaji has completed 39 works, including 9 in Chinese (including 2 Monographs) and 30 in English. There are 24 papers on protozoa taxonomy, 5 papers on protozoa physiology, ecology and morphology, 4 papers on Rotifer ecology and taxonomy, and 4 papers on rodent physiology. His monograph, freshwater rotifers of China, describes for the first time the morphology, physiology, ecology and kinship of 252 species of common rotifers distributed in swamps, ponds, lakes and reservoirs in China. The atlas of micro animals in wastewater biological treatment, which he presided over, is his achievement in applying the knowledge of Protozoology to the research of environmental governance in China, and has been rated as an excellent participating country International Book Fair.

Publishing works

Journal Papers

Wang Jiaji. Protozoa in parts of Tibetan Plateau. Current zoology, 1977 (2): 17-46

Honorary recognition

Social service

Character evaluation

He is not only a scientist, but also a leader of science. He is loyal to his duty, loves science and is strict with himself. Wang Jiaji is the founder of Chinese Protozoology, and has made important contributions to the establishment and development of Chinese Protozoology. Wang Jiaji has been director of the Institute of zoology and botany of Academia Sinica since 1934

Chinese PinYin : Wang Jia Ji