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古植物学的故事（69）：为什么要编写《古植物学的故事》?
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古植物学的故事（69）：
为什么要编写《古植物学的故事》?
Story of Palaeobotany Series (No.69)：Story of Palaeobotany---“The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me” by Qigao Sun (in English with Chinese introduction)
关键词：古植物学的故事；写作背景；
2010年6月7日，我致信David Dilcher教授，该信主题为“Story of Palaeobotany---The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me，”主要谈及编写《古植物学的故事》的一些背景和想法。信中有关统计数字均截止到2009年底。现将这则科学通信稍作修改，权当《古植物学的故事》的“序言”之初稿。
David Dilcher教授系国际知名古植物学家、美国科学院院士，他为推动国际古植物学事业做出了重要贡献。David Dilcher教授知识渊博，诲人不倦。在写作过程中，承蒙David Dilcher教授热情鼓励和指教，在此特别致谢。
孙启高
2010年9月6日
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To: Professor David Dilcher, NAS
Subject: Story of Palaeobotany---"The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me"
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 13:55:49 +0000
Dear David,
Many thanks for your email. As far as I know, you have visited many Chinese colleagues, students as well as many Chinese institutions since you began your first visit to China in 1986. You once visited Jen Hsü (Xu Ren, 1910—1992). I think that you have become Palaeobotany Ambassador to China. You should be proud of your great contribution to Chinese palaeobotany and the Friendship Award given by the Chinese government last year.
(1) About well-known families of palaeobotany
I am writing to you to send you a copy of my recent article, i.e. the 43rd issue of the Story of Palaeobotany about some well-known families of palaeobotany. I expect that Hongshan will spend some time interpreting this article for you soon.
I think that you are very familiar with the following names in the article:
Henry Potonié (1857--1913) and Robert Potonié (1889--1974), Zlako Kvacek(1937--) and Jiri Kvacek(1963--), Evangelos Velitzelos（father）and Dimitrios Velitzelos (son);
James Morton Schopf (1911--1978) and his two sons [（Thomas James Morton Schopf (1939--1984) & James William Schopf）];
Charles Hazelius Sternberg (1850 --1943) and his three sons [George F. Sternberg (1883--1969), Charles Mortram Sternberg (1885--1981) & Levi Sternberg (1894--1976)].
As you know, Walther Gothan（1879--1954）was one of Henry Potonié’s (1857--1913) students. Sze Hsing–Chien [(Si Xing–Jian) ，1901–1964] studied with Walther Gothan in Berlin from 1928 to 1931. So, Sze Hsing–Chien may be considered as a grand-student of Henry Potonié although Sze Hsing–Chien is called as “the father or founder of Chinese palaeobotany” in Chinese palaeobotanical community.
(2) Why do I write my articles of the Story of Palaeobotany in Chinese first?
Today, China is quite different from what it was like when Dr. Henry Kissinger (1923--) visited China in the early 1970s. China seems very important to world issues in various aspects. Chinese language plays more and more important roles on many world issues including scientific topics. Absolutely, it seems much quicker for me to write such a series of articles of the Story of Palaeobotany in Chinese. In this case, it seems much more convenient for Chinese readers to catch my meaning. I expect that the wide Chinese readership includes my family members or relatives, my colleagues or administrators, policy-makers or science reporters, beginning scientists or young students, etc. I dare to say that future students of Chinese palaeobotany will have strong interests in these articles.
I am not worried about the international significance of my writings in the current Chinese version. I believe that the more I belong to China, the more I belong to the world. Currently, Chinese students or scholars are seemingly distributed at every corner of the world. They can interpret my work for American colleagues, British colleagues…
Of course, I have planned to translate most of my Chinese writing into English in the future. Hopefully, the English version of the Story of Palaeobotany will serve as an ideal window to observe and analyze the historic and cultural process of the modern sciences in China.
(3) About aims, responsibilities and dreams
I hope that a series of articles of the Story of Palaeobotany will consist of a systematic and profound work / monograph with some historical perspectives on the history of Chinese palaeobotany emphasizing the close connection with outside world. The aims of this work are to popularize the subject of palaeobotany in China, point out the current situation and future direction of Chinese palaeobotany and stimulate young students’ interests in palaeobotany so as to produce long-term influences on the fate of the Chinese palaeobotany.
As a pure and responsible researcher, I should be honest and serious to observe and state some intrinsic difficulties of Chinese palaeobotany at present. However, I believe that the rapid development of the Chinese palaeobotanty in the following 100 to 200 years is of great importance to the bright future of world palaeobotany.
The past 30 years saw great change in China in many aspects, including the progressive history of Chinese palaeobotany. It is well-known that Chinese economy is continuously booming, but there are some problems in China. It seems reasonable that Chinese economy will be elevated to a higher level in the coming 30 years. Hopefully, some money will be correctly and efficiently invested for the palaeobotanical studies in China in the future. A batch of young Chinese palaeobotanists need to be encouraged to initiate a series of projects so as to make the number of curated fossil plant specimens in China’s museums accrue quickly and get the creativity and competitiveness in Chinese palaeobotanical studies much improved in the next 30 years. I understand that this is a very critical time for the fate of Chinese palaeobotany in the near future.
(4) About the very low amount of curated fossil plant specimens in China
Considering China’s large territory, the really superficial and fragile aspect of the Chinese palaeobotany lies in the very low amount of curated fossil plant specimens in China. The positive understanding of this fact is that there seems to be great potential for the development of Chinese palaeobotany in the future.
It is said that the Museum of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) houses 50,000 fossil plant specimens, which is surely the largest palaeobotanical collection in China. Besides these curated fossil plant specimens, there are about uncurated 20,000 specimens for some on-going projects.
The Palaeobotany Lab of the Institute of Botany, CAS, was established in 1959. So far, a total of about 15,000 accessions of fossil plant specimens have been curated into a two-story museum in the institute, but with very bad management for quite a long time. It is a pity that lots of slides have been thrown away for whatever reason.
Obviously, there is so much work left to build solid basis for an indispensible national infrastructure for the future of Chinese palaeobotany particularly pertaining to the palaeobotanical collections. Fossil plants should be collected as many as possible both in China and in its neighboring regions because the amount of the curated specimens of fossil plants in China is too limited to provide stronger evidence and better illustration for the evolution of plants and environmental change in the China’s large territory in the geological past. The paucity of the curated fossil plant specimens in Chinese museums with poor scientific credits, accounting for a humiliating level of integral accumulation in the palaeobotancial studies of China, definitely brings about the much weaker competitiveness in international collaborative projects for Chinese side. Fast accumulation of the curated specimens of fossil plants in the scheme of good management system is badly needed for the initiation of the seminal and sustainable research for Chinese palaeobotanists and their co-workers abroad.
(5) About the two palaleobotanical associations in China
It is fact that the system of China’s academic societies or associations quite differs from that of western countries for some reasons. Since the late 1970s science has grown significantly to China's credit and benefit. China should encourage scientists to build learned societies or associations [Nature 457, 935 (19 February 2009)].
There are two separate palaeobotanical associations of China, one affiliated with the Botanical Society of China and the other affiliated with the Paleontological Society of China. During 1996—2000 the two palaeobotanical associations conducted an unusual but successful co-operation to sponsor the 6th conference of IOP (International Organization of Palaeobotany) in Qinhuangdao, China. Absolutely, this is a long story, and reflective of the complexity of working mechanism of the academic association in China. It does not seem realistic that the running system of IOP or BSA (Botanical Society of America) is expected to be copied and transplanted to Chinese palaeobotanical community at present. However, some conceptual principles and practical architecture of IOP or BSA can be borrowed to promote the profound reformation of the palaeobotanical associations of China, thus indicating a universal value of academic society.
(6) About the combination of the realistic and idealistic spirits
It is no wonder that the position of a professional palaeobotanist has become a career or job in modern society. Currently, it is not easy to play with fossil plants as a career in the world. It seems understandable that some colleagues are forced to struggle for their subsistence and research. However, talent and responsible palaeobotanists are badly needed for the development of Chinese palaeobotany.
China is right in the process of its speedy industrialization, modernization and globalization. Chinese colleagues are confronted with the glory and glamour of China’s long history as well as the complexity and contradiction of its social reformation. It is high time to try our souls because we often have some innate confusion with history and hope as well as success and perplexity. The reason is that sometimes we have lots of options, but sometime we don’t have any option at all!
Publish or perish. This is actually a law in scientific community. It is a good thing to see an SCI-oriented assessment policy stimulate Chinese palaeobotanists to publish more and more papers in SCI-ranked international journals. The big problem is who writes these papers or who is the ghost-writer? Because English is not a native language for most Chinese colleagues it is necessary for Chinese colleagues to co-work with those whose native language is English and maximize the benefits of each side. If such collaboration was developed into a specific approach just for Chinese colleagues to publish SCI papers it would be very difficulty for Chinese colleagues to work independently on palaeobotany and obtain good credit and reputation in a global scientific community.
At last, let me cite great thinker and philosopher Immanuel Kant’s (1724---1804) words to end up this long email message, i.e. “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” Kant’s words are believed to bring about meditation and courage as well as aspiration and fortitude for many intellectual elites in the world.
Best wishes,
Qigao Sun
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https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-225931-360204.html
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