Nobel laureate Yang Chen-ning dies at 103
發佈日期: 2025-10-18 20:08
TVB News
Chinese physicist Yang Chen-ning has died in Beijing at the age of 103 after an illness. Yang became a Nobel laureate in 1957 -- the first time a Chinese person to be awarded the prestigious prize.
Born in Anhui province, Yang Chen-ning enrolled at the National Southwestern Associated University
before completing his master's degree at Tsinghau University. In 1945, Yang went to the U.S. for PhD studies.
The theoretical physicist specialised in two fields: statistical mechanics and symmetry principles. In 1956, Yang and another physicist, Lee Tsung-Dao, formulated a theory that the law of symmetry does not apply to weak interaction, meaning that mirror-image versions of events can be different.
The discovery won the Nobel Prize in 1957, as Yang and Lee became the first Chinese Nobel winners.
Apart from his international scientific contribution, Yang promoted academic exchange between China and the U.S. He raised funds to sponsor almost a hundred Chinese scholars for further studies in America.
Yang became a professor at Tsinghua University in 1999. The Nobel winner had also assumed the position of visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 1986.
In a statement, CUHK says Yang was a "cherished mentor" who has made a "profound impact" on the university community. Tsinghua University, meanwhile, describes Yang's life as a "timeless chapter in human history."
