Chapter 31 30 Before and after the explosion of the first atomic bomb in my country

Counting from the moment when my country's first atomic bomb test was successful, nearly a quarter of a century has passed.However, Premier Zhou Enlai's concern for cutting-edge science and technology is still shining like a star in our memory. Due to my working relationship, I have more opportunities to listen to Premier Zhou's teachings and feel the influence of his rigorous scientific attitude and work style.On the occasion of Premier Zhou's 90th birthday, I only remember a few things to show my admiration and remembrance. The first time I was taught face-to-face by Premier Zhou was at the special committee meeting on December 4, 1962.Liu Jie, Qian Sanqiang and other comrades reported on the production and construction of the atomic energy industry, the two-year plan, and the development of the atomic bomb. I attended the meeting and made a supplementary report.

The meeting was held in Xihua Hall.At that time, the conference hall was small in size, and there was no other furnishings in the hall, as if there were only a few sofa chairs tightly arranged in a circle.Premier Zhou and the leading comrades of the special committee sat together to discuss major issues related to national security. At that time, our country was threatened by nuclear powers on the one hand, and had to overcome economic difficulties on the other.The situation is very serious.Whether it can speed up the development of its own atomic energy industry has become a crucial issue.To this end, Premier Zhou and Vice Premier Nie Rongzhen entrusted Zhang Aiping, Liu Jie and other comrades to conduct several months of investigation and research work in units affiliated to the Second Ministry of Machinery. In November 1962, the Second Ministry of Machinery put forward a two-year plan for the development of atomic aerial bombs.This special committee is to review this plan.Because it affects almost all fronts in the country, many issues need to be discussed at the meeting. The meeting lasted from morning to afternoon, and the prime minister invited us to have lunch.The dining room is behind the conference hall, and there is not much room for two large round tables.Every table is a large pot of meatballs boiled with cabbage and tofu.Place a few small dishes of pickles and sesame seed cakes around.Premier Zhou and other central leading comrades ate at the same table as us and ate the same meals.Several years later, Comrade Yu Qiuli told us: This big pot of vegetables is a traditional meal of the State Council created by Premier Zhou, which is both nutritious and convenient.

This traditional meal has remained unchanged through the country's economic upturn.A comrade who worked beside Premier Zhou also told us a short story: a dinner in 1963 was also such a meal.After everyone was seated, Marshal He Long, who arrived later, entered the restaurant, glanced at the food on each table, and said to the Prime Minister humorously: "Prime Minister, the national economy has improved, why hasn't your table reflected the good situation?" come." The Prime Minister smiled and said: "The good situation is achieved by everyone's hard work. In the future, when the country becomes prosperous and strong, we must not lose the tradition of hard work and simplicity."

In the prime minister's house, even at the dinner table, there is a warning demeanor. In the special committee in 1962, after the report in the afternoon, the Central Committee discussed and approved the two-year plan, and Premier Zhou gave important instructions.He talked about 4 points, 1 word: seek truth from facts, proceed step by step, persevere, guard against arrogance and impetuosity.We are required to act in accordance with objective laws in our work.Seeking truth from facts is both a way of thinking and a guiding principle.We must understand objective laws and not be afraid of failure.In scientific experiments, sometimes failures, or even repeated repetitions, are necessary to succeed.It is necessary to proceed step by step, and it is not enough to jump over the stage.Also persevere.To do anything, always rely on surprise is not enough, only when there is a certain possibility.Regardless of success or failure, guard against arrogance and impetuosity.It is not good to be proud of a little achievement, but it is easy to make mistakes if you are impatient.On the basis of the existing industry, we can rely on our own efforts, gain a foothold in the whole country, and come up with something famous.

The content of this special committee was later turned into the actions of the people of the whole country. In less than two years, my country's first atomic bomb test was successful.Then, step by step, the "triple jump" plan to develop atomic aerial bombs, nuclear warheads and hydrogen warheads will be realized.A few years later, I found out that this was the third meeting presided over by Premier Zhou in more than half a month since the establishment of the special committee.Who would have thought that such a major historical event would start in Premier Zhou's very ordinary small conference hall.

Comrades on the national defense science and technology front all keep in mind Premier Zhou's sixteen-character teaching in May 1965: serious, thoughtful, meticulous, safe and reliable, and foolproof.This is the magic weapon of our success.Years of practice have proved that following it will lead to victory; ignoring it will lead to failure. Premier Zhou asked us to do this, and he himself is a model of practicing.When listening to a report before each nuclear test, he always carefully inquired about various key links that may affect the success or failure, and also asked us to take various unfavorable or unexpected factors into consideration.For example, what should I do if the weather changes after the bomb has been loaded on the plane?What if the bomb cannot be dropped?Will the bomb accidentally unhook when the plane returns to the airport with the bomb?What reliable insurance measures should be taken in this case?etc.Sometimes he can't get a satisfactory answer, so he will temporarily suspend the meeting, give us a period of time, let us go back to find more comrades for further research, and not resume the meeting until we have a reassuring answer, and then discuss and make a decision.He solemnly reiterated the 16-character policy he had put forward many times, and warned us earnestly that the nuclear test is of great importance and there must be no slack in the slightest.Our country is poor, and we must be considerate in everything we do.A slight mistake will increase the burden on the people.

It is precisely because of Premier Zhou's serious and kind teaching and the power of example that the strict and meticulous style of the national defense science and technology team has been cultivated and tempered.Since then, in every major scientific research experiment, the sixteen-character policy must be reiterated, and mass anticipation and prevention activities must be carried out, plans and measures must be formulated.It is possible to enter the test field without hidden dangers and go to the sky without hidden dangers, making my country the country with the highest success rate in the world in the same type of cutting-edge scientific and technological experiments.

Premier Zhou had strict requirements on us at work, and gave us great encouragement after the test was successful. In May 1965, after the successful aerial bomb test, he sent a special plane to the northwest to bring a group of scientific and technological backbones and leading comrades to Beijing.Before takeoff, everyone was still dressed in winter clothes. When we arrived in Beijing, it was already the windy and sunny early summer. One day at the end of May, as soon as we entered the Great Hall of the People, we were welcomed by Premier Zhou, General Secretary Deng Xiaoping, Marshal Chen Yi, Marshal He Long, Marshal Nie Rongzhen, General Luo Ruiqing, and many other leading comrades of the Central Committee, as well as responsible comrades from the State Council and headquarters.

While shaking hands with us, Premier Zhou said apologetically, "Everyone has worked hard. I was supposed to meet with you last October. I'm sorry for the delay until now because of busy schedules. This air blast was successful and the plan was successfully completed. The bosses are very grateful." I am happy, I will all come to meet the meritorious ministers." Boss Chen laughed loudly and said, "I'm here to drink the celebration wine!" After taking a group photo, the bosses greeted us with laughter.Each table is accompanied by a leading comrade to eat.In the cordial, harmonious and joyful atmosphere, we felt that the Party Central Committee attaches great importance to the cause of national defense science and technology, and cares for the scientific and technological personnel on this front.

The Prime Minister delivered a speech impromptu, encouraging us to continue to work hard to learn Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, work together, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and make persistent efforts; we will make greater contributions to climbing the next peak, mastering hydrogen bomb technology as soon as possible, strengthening national defense, and safeguarding peace. The collective reception of the heads of the central government gave us great encouragement.This summer, we studied "On Practice", "On Contradiction" and Premier Zhou's "Government Work Report" at the First Session of the Third National People's Congress, mobilized the masses, and focused on discussing the next step of tackling key problems.

In May 1966, a nuclear test containing thermonuclear materials was carried out, which was the third nuclear test in my country.After the communiqué was published, it gave great encouragement to the people of the whole country, and it also had a great influence abroad.Premier Zhou decided that August 1st Film Studio would edit the three live nuclear tests into a documentary and show it to the whole country. In the past, a documentary about the first atomic bomb test was shown to deputies in the Great Hall of the People in December 1964.Many representatives said it was too short and didn't see enough.In order to satisfy the wishes of people of all nationalities, it was decided to make a documentary and show it to the public. Soon, the Prime Minister asked someone to inform us to go to a hotel auditorium to participate in the film review. At that time, because several people from the "Cultural Revolution Team" did not show up on time, the review work was delayed for a long time.A few of us took the time to chat in the lounge on the side of the auditorium. The prime minister had reviewed the film beforehand, and he came to the lounge to ask us for our opinion. "Is it okay to edit the documentary like this?" He sat down and asked, "Can anyone who is interested see any secrets?" We said that the pictures of the third test should not appear too much. The Prime Minister smiled and said: "The masses are not satisfied with the lack of content." Then he asked us: "Can you think of a way to let the masses watch more of the live action?" Agree with the Prime Minister's opinion.At this time, the "Cultural Revolution" movement had already started, and the Prime Minister was still very concerned about whether we had any difficulties in our work, whether our living order was guaranteed, asked whether anyone ransacked our home, and so on. We are deeply moved that Premier Zhou is so considerate of the people, and he takes the work and life of science and technology fighters to heart in spite of his busy schedule.Yes, the people of the whole country endured hardships during the difficult period of three years and saved as much financial and material resources as possible to support the development of nuclear bombs. Now that the three nuclear tests have been successful, it is time to give them more scientific and technological information and report to them.Let the people of the whole country know more about the progress of national defense science and technology, understand the present and future of New China, and work together to realize our lofty ideals. After the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb were successfully tested, the development process of nuclear submarines was also accelerated. In July 1970, the nuclear power land-based model reactor operation test was ready, and Premier Zhou sent a special plane to pick up relevant personnel to report to Beijing. On July 15th and 16th, the special committee discussed the issue of starting up the model reactor and increasing its power.At this meeting, Premier Zhou focused on reviewing the safety of start-up and operation, requiring careful study of every link, and instructing the Second Ministry of Machinery to recruit some experts from outside the department to "find faults."This is consistent with the spirit of Premier Zhou's sixteen-character policy of "serious, thoughtful, meticulous, reliable, and foolproof" for nuclear tests.The meeting decided to send experts from Tsinghua University, the Second Academy of the Second Ministry of Machinery, and leaders from relevant departments to the scene immediately after the meeting, and work with the leaders there to deal with problems in a timely manner.Premier Zhou has strict requirements on his work, and considers problems thoughtfully and meticulously.I remember that after the second meeting, the comrades took off by plane, and he even considered and asked whether the weather was good at that time and whether it would affect the departure on time.During the start-up and operation test, he also gave two telephone instructions, asking the test participants: Don't worry, do the work carefully, strengthen the inspection, go all out, and be meticulous.That test was also successful. It was at this special committee to review the nuclear submarine land-based model reactor that Premier Zhou pointed out: This is the starting point of nuclear power and the foundation of nuclear power plants. At a special committee meeting in November 1970, Premier Zhou listened to a report on the development of nuclear power plants in Shanghai.At that time, Tsinghua University in Beijing also had a preliminary plan for the development of nuclear power.Premier Zhou said that the Second Ministry of Machinery should not just be an "explosion" department. In addition to nuclear bombs, it must also develop nuclear power plants.According to Premier Zhou's request, experts from the Second Ministry of Machinery prepared information on the development of foreign nuclear power plants, including how many types, power, characteristics, development prospects, etc., and made a report at the meeting.That is, at that meeting, Premier Zhou made it clear that my country's development of nuclear power plants should follow the guidelines of "safety, applicability, economy, and self-reliance". By 1974, the nuclear power plant developed by Shanghai decided to use the pressurized water reactor plan, which was finally affirmed. From the end of March to mid-April 1974, the last special committee chaired by Premier Zhou, the first topic was to review Shanghai's nuclear power plant construction plan code-named "Project 728".Premier Zhou was already ill at that time, and together with Ye Shuai, he affirmed Shanghai's plan.The other two topics, reviewing the construction adjustment plan of a nuclear material production plant of the Second Ministry of Machinery and discussing several urgent problems to be solved in the experimental nuclear power plant project of Tsinghua University, were continued to be studied at the meeting on April 13.There was interference from the "Gang of Four" in Shanghai at that time, and progress was slow after the meeting.Tsinghua University also had a similar problem, and later stopped because the funds could not solve it.In short, in the mid-1960s, the initial construction of my country's nuclear power plants was studied and arranged. However, due to the disturbance of ten years of turmoil, the development of nuclear power plants was abnormal, and it did not improve until after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee. In early 1979, an accident at a nuclear power plant in the United States leaked radioactive material. At the end of April 1986, a nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union had a more serious problem, which aroused great repercussions in the national standard and had some impact on our work.In fact, nuclear power is a safe and clean energy. There is no need to doubt it. The key lies in quality and management.What Premier Zhou thought of was the prosperity of the motherland, the happiness and security of the people, and the lasting peace of the world. He started to arrange the peaceful use of atomic energy in our country very early on. In 1970, Premier Zhou made it clear at the special committee meeting that the construction of nuclear power plants should follow the guidelines of "safety, applicability, economy, and self-reliance", and the first thing to emphasize is safety. In 1972, Nixon and Tanaka visited China one after another. After the opening of the diplomatic situation, many Chinese American scholars visited, and the scientific advisor of the President of Pakistan also visited.They put forward many suggestions for my scientific research work, emphasizing that we should attach importance to scientific theoretical research, properly arrange long-term subjects and basic theoretical research, carry out academic exchanges, vigorously train young people, and pay attention to the role of existing scientific talents.Premier Zhou thought these suggestions were very good, and repeatedly instructed the relevant units to discuss and discuss this issue. In October of this year, the central government decided to send a scientific and technological delegation to visit the United States. The delegation was composed of famous scientists such as Bei Shizhang, Qian Weichang, and Zhang Wenyu.Before departure, Premier Zhou met the delegation in the Great Hall of the People and gave a speech, discussed several issues with everyone, and explained the matters that should be paid attention to.Before the meeting ended, Premier Zhou asked if there were any other questions, and Comrade Zhang Wenyu raised a question involving high-energy physics.At that time, a high-energy particle reaction event was observed at the cosmic ray experimental station in Luoxueshan, Yunnan, which may mean that a new particle has been discovered.Comrade Zhang Wenyu asked whether this discovery could be announced before the delegation arrived in the United States.Premier Zhou said, what kind of situation do you have?How sure are you?To deepen the research.At that time, Professor Li Zhengdao happened to be in Beijing.Premier Zhou instructed that he has extensive experience abroad and is familiar with the situation, so talk to him first and listen to his opinions.So an academic event like this was arranged.After learning about the discussions, the Prime Minister instructed that we must seek truth from facts, write articles and reports, and be truthful.In accordance with the instructions of Premier Zhou, and after careful analysis and discussion, the research results were published in the Chinese "Physics" magazine, printed as a separate book, and sent to the delegation for distribution and exchange abroad.Not long before this incident, 18 scientific and technological workers including Zhang Wenyu, Zhu Hongyuan, and Xie Jialin jointly wrote a letter to Premier Zhou, putting forward their clear propositions for the development of high-energy physics in our country, reflecting some of the problems in their work. difficulty.Premier Zhou personally wrote back on September 11, instructing that research on high-energy physics and prefabrication of high-energy accelerators should become one of the main projects of the Academy of Sciences.In this way, the establishment of the Institute of High Energy Physics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences was decided. Premier Zhou not only led and commanded the vast number of scientific and technological workers in our country, who worked hard and made great achievements from attacking cutting-edge technology to strengthening basic theoretical research, but also nurtured us to grow with his brilliant dialectical materialism thought and practice.There are endless examples like this, and the above are just a few fragments of my personal experience. Today, the situation in our country is getting better and better.Our country's science and technology already have different levels of overall planning arrangements.A younger generation of talent is also emerging. Let us all make unremitting efforts to realize Premier Zhou Enlai's last wish, march toward modern science and technology, and work together to revitalize China and accelerate the process of the four modernizations.