CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Zeng Chengkui's main achievements

Zeng Chengkui's main achievements

1. In the field of seaweed resource investigation and taxonomic flora research, he published a series of academic papers at the international and domestic advanced level. He discovered and reported the original green algae of the Xisha Islands for the first time, and compiled "China Economic Seaweed" (1962) and "China Common Seaweed" (1983, English version). The latter won the third prize of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Science and Technology Progress Award in 1986; the investigation and research on marine life in the Xisha Islands won the third prize of the National Natural Science Award in 1987.

2. In the research of kelp cultivation biology, he carried out the cultivation of kelp summer seedlings and pottery fertilization, participated in and completed the experiment of commercial kelp cultivation in the south, and successfully cultivated kelp in a large area of ​​sea south of the Yangtze River in China; and co-edited "Kelp Cultivation" (1962). This research won the National Science Conference Award in 1978.

3. In the field of laver research, his “Study on the Life History of Laver” won the third prize of the National Natural Science Award in 1956. He proposed a method for mass cultivation of the laver conchoderma stage.

4. A method for extracting brown gum from Sargassum was proposed, and its industrial application method was successfully tested.

5. By comparing the research results of photosynthesis in seaweed, the evolutionary path of photosynthetic organisms was proposed.

6. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan period, leaders carried out research on seaweed biotechnology, especially seaweed genetic engineering, and established China's first seaweed genetic engineering laboratory.

In 1989, he was named one of the first ten news figures in the overseas Chinese community in the new era. In November 1991, he was awarded the honorary title of Outstanding Contribution Scientist by the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government. In June 1995, he was awarded the "Shinkishi Hatai Medal" at the 18th Pacific Science Conference held in Beijing. In August 1996, he was awarded the Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Group Award by the Hong Kong "Qiushi Science and Technology Foundation". In September 1997, he was awarded the "Science and Technology Progress Award" by the Hong Kong "Ho Leung Ho Lee Science and Technology Foundation". In April 2001, he was awarded the "Outstanding Contribution Award" by the American Algae Society.

Zeng Chengkui is a pioneer and leader of my country's marine agriculture, creating a new era of kelp and seaweed farming in New China. Zeng Chengkui is also an advocate and promoter of marine aquaculture. Zeng Chengkui's theory and practice of marine aquaculture pasture and cage farming directly promoted the comprehensive development of fish, shrimp, shellfish, algae, crab, sea cucumber and abalone in my country's marine aquaculture. It has made a sensation in the world, and my country has become a major marine aquaculture country in the world. At present, the construction and development of marine ranches in my country is in the ascendant, and the marine ranch science and tourism tour will also be fully displayed.

Who is Zeng Chengkui, the contributor of seaweed?

China did not produce kelp in the past, and wild laver was also very rare. But now, China has become the world's largest producer of kelp, and the production of laver ranks third in the world. How did this miracle happen? This is first attributed to marine biologist Zeng Chengkui.

When he was in middle school, Zeng Chengkui saw the poor people struggling on the line of starvation, so he was determined to transform China's agriculture, so he named himself "Zenong". After graduating from Xiamen University, he stayed on to work at the university. During this period, he developed a strong interest in seaweed. From then on, his "Zenong" ideal was to "cultivate the sea". He said: "I want to add a few dishes to people's dinner tables." He did it, and kelp and laver are two delicious sea vegetables he dedicated to people.

Zeng Chengkui has a long-term and profound scientific accumulation in the development of kelp and laver. Since the publication of his first scientific paper "Seaweed and Other Economic Seaweeds in Xiamen" in January 1933, Zeng Chengkui has published more than 260 papers and edited or co-edited 9 monographs. Before the founding of New China, he alone conducted a survey and research on seaweed resources across the country, and collected thousands of seaweed specimens on uninhabited beaches and mysterious seabeds. These specimens became the earliest seaweed data in China. After the founding of New China, he trained a group of algae taxonomists, systematically conducted a comprehensive survey of benthic seaweed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and carried out research on China's seaweed resources and taxonomic flora, discovering dozens of new species, several new genera, a new family and a phylum of algae (Prochlorophyta).

All these efforts paved the way for his successful development in the artificial cultivation of kelp and laver.

Artificial kelp cultivation is difficult to expand, mainly due to seedling cultivation. In the early days of kelp cultivation in China, autumn seedling cultivation was used. Although this method can collect kelp seedlings, the growth period is short, and most of them die before midsummer, and there is a threat of algae. In addition, the productivity of autumn seedlings cultivated at sea is extremely low.

Zeng Chengkui, who has studied the distribution, morphology and life history of Chinese algae, carefully observed the changes of kelp in early summer and found that kelp also releases spores in late spring and early summer. His mind suddenly opened up: Can summer seedlings replace autumn seedlings? This new idea has brought about a qualitative leap in China's artificial cultivation of kelp.

Zeng Chengkui and his assistants adopted the artificial low-temperature cultivation method for summer kelp seedlings, successfully cultivated summer kelp seedlings in a refrigerator illuminated by lights, and safely spent the hot summer. In autumn, the seedlings were cultivated in the sea, which was a success. Since then, kelp "seedlings" have entered the stage of mass production, increasing the yield per unit area by 30% to 50%. By 1985, China produced 250,000 tons of kelp products annually, accounting for 80% of the world's annual production at that time, becoming the world's number one kelp aquaculture production country. Kelp, which was much more prestigious than shrimp in the early days of the founding of New China, has now become a common dish on people's dinner tables.

Laver is another delicacy Zeng Chengkui presented to the people. Zeng Chengkui conducted in-depth research and concluded in the early 1950s that the conchospores generated by conchospores in late autumn germinate into larvae and then grow into thallus laver. Thus, he figured out the entire life history of laver. Furthermore, he confirmed in the laboratory that the large number of spores that appeared on the sea surface in autumn were conchospores, which were exactly the spores needed for laver cultivation. In this way, the history of relying entirely on the "seeds" given by nature came to an end. The term "conchospore" was coined by Zeng Chengkui, which was generally recognized by the international algae community and has been used ever since.

Since the late 1950s, this achievement has been promoted in coastal areas, leading to the rapid development of artificial laver cultivation. China's annual laver production has reached more than 10,000 tons of dry products, making it the third largest laver producer in the world.

“When you drink water, remember the well digger.” When we eat kelp that can supplement iodine and drink seaweed soup, we can’t help but pay respect to scientists like Zeng Chengkui. It is his sense of responsibility, love and unremitting efforts that make these originally expensive foods popular. Science is a magical power and a very magical productivity, but to use it for the people, it is inseparable from the meticulous efforts of scientists. Science is always the magic weapon to solve all problems.