Notes for Visiting KL Hiong House

The 85^th Anniversary of The Appointment of Professor KL Hiong
as The Chancellor of Yunnan University

Jeffrey Zheng
June 28, 2022

Kinglai Hiong or Xiong Qinglai 熊庆来 熊慶来 (1893-1969) is a renowned mathematician and educator. From 1937 to 1949, he served as the Chancellor of Yunnan University. During the twelve-year period, he developed Yunnan University from a small local university into a large-scale national university with significant influence in China, sending numerous talents to Yunnan Province and the whole country. Focusing on the Analysis of Complex Functions, Professor Xiong has proposed the Infinite-Order Logarithmic Meromorphic Functions on Complex Functions which are named as "Hiong Infinite Seria" by the international mathematical community. Since 1921, Professor Xiong has successively established Three Mathematics Departments in Chinese universities including Southeast University, Tsinghua University, and Yunnan University, and the Research Division of Mathematics in Tsinghua University.

As a great educator, Professor Hiong recognized the brilliance of Luokeng Hua [1] in 1932 with his superior vision. He hired Luokeng Hua from a family grocery store in Jintan, Jiangsu province, as an assistant in the department of Mathematics, Tsinghua University, responsible for the management of books, official documents, typewriting letters and other duties. This is acknowledged in a series of blogs [2] on the sciencenet.cn composed by Mr. An Chen in memory of the 37^th anniversary of Professor Lookeng Hua (or Hua Luogeng 华罗庚) death. The outstanding research achievement of Professor Lookeng Hua, especially his top international achievements described in the Foundation of Multivariate Complex Functions is a special gift from Professor Hua in 1944 to celebrate the 50^th birthday of the eminent teacher, Professor Kinglai Hiong.

In 2022, Yunnan University marks the founding hundred anniversary [3] in which Professor Hiong [4] has served as the 85^th anniversary of the Chancellor of Yunnan University. As a teacher of Yunnan University, a descendant of a medical doctor of South Western Associated University [5], and the original creator on the Vector Logic Foundation of Multivariate Complex Functions  –  Variant Construction [6], I write this blog in memory of Professor Hiong for the 85^th anniversary of his position as the Chancellor of Yunnan University. Key events of the time and places are referred by [4].

This note describes the visit to Professor Hiong family house at Zhuyuan town, Mile city, Yunnan province.

In memory of Professor Hiong: a noble, helpful, thoughtful, and excellent life advisor. Hiong’s Infinite series set up the Foundation of Logarithmic Complex Functions, he was the ancestor and the leader on Analysis of Complex Functions ...

Visiting Zhuyuan

KL Hiong left his hometown Xizai Village 115 years ago near Zhuyuan for the first time to study in Kunming. In 1907, the 14-year-old Hiong went to Kunming. From Zhuyuan to the southwest direction, he took a slide pole and horseback riding on dirt roads for 60KM to reach Kaiyuan County, and then transferred to the most advanced railway in Chinese built by the French at that time. A railway, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway meter-gauge train, went 220KM northwest to Kunming. After arriving in Kunming, the school he attended was "Dialect School", which was the "Foreign Language School" in the late Qing Dynasty…

In August 1968, the middle schools resumed classes in China. According to the map of Kunming at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the location of the "Dialect School" was the middle school of the Kunming Normal College at that time.  

In "Father Kinglai Hiong", it is recorded that 53 years ago, on February 3, 1969, Professor Kinglai Hiong died in Beijing at the age of 75.

It was also at that time in mid-January 1969, I first visited Zhuyuan Town, Mile County on my way to visit relatives. During the winter vacation, I went from Kunming to Mile County, Hongxi Town, Liujiazhuang Village to visit my parents and sister.

At that time, my parents, sister and all the teachers and students of the Department of Physics of Yunnan University were evacuated from Kunming and relocated to Liujiazhuang Village, Hongxi Town, Mile County. Since Liujiazhuang in Hongxi is located in a mountainous area, the transport is inconvenient. The feasible way was to take the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway from Kunming to Kaiyuan, and then transferred to a long-distance bus from Kaiyuan to Mile Zhuyuan. Although the straight-line distance from Zhuyuan to Liujiazhuang in Hongxi is about 10KM on the map, only a mountain road is feasible. After getting off the long-distance bus, it is necessary to climb the steep stairs in the west of Zhuyuan and cross the ridge. After that, along the rugged mountain road, it is necessary to walk for more than 10KM to reach Liujiazhuang …

As a 13-year-old boy that time, I can still clearly evoke the travel practice that I could complete the trip by myself safely ...

For the first journey from Zhuyuan to Kunming, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway is the main traffic line. KL Hiong and I traveled in opposite directions in the interval of 62 years. We took the same Kunming-Kaiyuan section. In the 1960s, from Kaiyuan to Zhuyuan, country roads replaced ancient dirt roads, stone + asphalt pavement has been paved to Zhuyuan, and long-distance vehicles have replaced sliding rods and horseback riding on dirt roads.

I have heard that Zhuyuan is the hometown of KL Hiong, the ex-Chancellor of Yunnan University. After a long-distance hiking trip, the unique style of Zhuyuan seen by myself will never be forgotten.

As one of the production areas on high-quality brown sugar in Yunnan, Zhuyuan is a typical tropical and subtropical agricultural flat-area, and various tropical fruits such as sugar cane, bananas, citrus, green dates, pears and papaya could be seen everywhere. Most of the farmland is planted with corn, rice and various vegetables, which is completely different from other hilly regions in Yunnan.

In Zhuyuan, I saw groups of farmers and sellers along the street, placing piles of fruit sugar cane sweet and juicy, all kinds of golden oranges in plump. The famous Zhuyuan brown sugar and rock sugar were sold at stalls everywhere. There are also many people selling local delicacies: Mile Braised Chicken and Braised Chicken Rice Noodles. The restaurant had the cooked braised chicken and widely distributed strong scents of the braised chicken attractively in the air.

The journey from the long-distance bus station in Zhuyuan to the starting point of the mountain is not far away. Before climbing the mountain, I tasted the local delicious food …

Revisiting Zhuyuan

On January 20, 2022, the Yunnan Society of Microbiology, together with other societies, including physics, computer technology, and mathematics societies, to be composed of “8+3” eleven interdisciplinary scientific and technological societies in Yunnan province, held the 2021 Joint Interdisciplinary Conference at the Hot Spring Hotel in Mile County. This provides an unique event for various scientific researchers to exchange academic and industrial applications.

As one of the interdisciplinary speakers, I presented an invited talk on "Genomic Index = Phylogenetic Tree" at the conference. The talk covered Bioinformatics, Complex Feature Measurement, Complex Analysis on Network Topology, Massive Measurements on Genetic Sequences, Large-Scale Data Feature Clustering Distribution and Visualization, Quantum Cryptographic measurements, Non-Equilibrium Statistics of Complex Networks, Global Conjugate Invariants, Feature Analysis on Information Entropy, etc.

Due to the terse absence of the leader of the Provincial Mathematical Society. I was appointed as the representative of the Yunnan Mathematical Society to participate in the group photo of the Eleven Joint Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Societies.

After the end of the conference, on January 22, in order to realize the long-cherished wish, a special trip was arranged to visit the "KL  Hiong Family House" in Xizai Village, Zhuyuan town, Mile county.

The traffic situation has improved significantly 53 years later from the first visit to the revisit of Zhuyuan. A high-speed train has been opened from Kunming to Mile, and the distance between Kunming and Mile is nearly 150KM, which can be reached in less than one hour by the high speed motor vehicle. From Mile to Zhuyuan, there is still a distance of 50KM.

There are expressway connections between the country sites and major towns. With some low-grade road among local villages and towns, cars canbe easily arrived within an hour and a half.

The vertical altitude is lower than 800M from Mile to Zhuyuan. Following the car movement, the distribution of plants along the road obviously changes gradually with the decrease in altitude. After entering the Zhuyuan area, temperature was increased by 10C^o. You could identify sugarcane forests everywhere, various plants and vegetable greenhouses in the fields were built up and well distributed in beautiful colors.

Passing through the Zhuyuan area, we met the local market day. All kinds of goods and huts were everywhere along the road, which seriously affected the normal driving of cars. It was difficult to pass through the jammed market center area of Zhuyuan. The distance from Zhuyuan to Xizai has 13KM, and it was only connected by village-level roads. There are rolling mountains along the west side of the road, which is in sharp contrast with the flat Zhuyuan area on the east side.

It also stirred me the memory of walking to Liujiazhuang in Hongxi 53 years ago to start climbing from the foot of the mountain in the west, following more than 10KM on steep mountain paths ....

Continuing the journey, we went through the narrow rural roads surrounded by farmland on both sides. The road was filled with the breath of various fresh green plants. On the roadside, you could see mango trees randomly appearing along the road, and fruit clusters of mango trees hanging from the branches …

Xizai is located in the south and west of Zhuyuan. The terrain is flat, the farmland is fertile, the climate is hot, there is a small river not far away, and there are large clusters of village buildings in the area. It is a typical tropical and subtropical land of rich villages associated with productive fish and rice.

Visiting Hiong Family House

Using the mobile navigation, we found the exact location of KL Hiong's family house. After parking. Although it was the opening time when we arrived, the gate of the house was locked and closed, and only a small gap could peep into the courtyard. Fortunately, a few enthusiastic neighbors told us that we can find someone to take the key and there is a special person in charge of reception.

After a while, the manager came, knowing that we were teachers from Yunnan University who were in memory of the ex-Chancellor. She enthusiastically opened the door and invited us to visit the house. The manager explained that due to the impact of the epidemic, the number of people who visited the house was very small. The local epidemic prevention and control needs, and it was necessary to avoid in forming large-scale clusters of people and infect each other. Therefore, usually without special circumstances, the house does not admit visitors.

Entering the family house area from the main gate, the first sight is a large courtyard, decorated with local plants and flowers, and there are visiting routes describing the family house, as well as a brief introduction to the exhibition hall.  The wall of the house is thick, the materials of base are stone, the outer wall and pillars are in brick, the door beams and windows are carved and painted wood materials.

On the right side of this area, there are two circular door openings to enter the inner courtyard. Observing the inner courtyard from the round door, the sculpture of Professor Kinglai Hiong, is placed in the center of the courtyard. The sculpture is made by the world-famous artist Pingming Hsiung 熊秉明，the second son of Professor Kinglai Hiong. From the expression and character of the black statue, it expresses Professor Kinglai Hiong's research attitude towards the essence of mathematics in a sincere and generous style. No matter what angle you look at with, Professor Kinglai Hiong's inherent proud spirit and profound philosophical life blow to his face.

The core building of the inner courtyard has been opened as Professor Kinglai Hiong showroom, with various exhibits, ranging from photos, books, booklets, papers etc. In the part of recording the courses studied during his learning period in France, multiple certificates of large-scale on course completion are in very attractive positions. After careful observation, I realized that every formal course passed in France that time is issued with an officially recognized certificate of completion. The printing quality of such certificates in those days was very beautiful in higher qualities than the modern doctoral certificates.

Professor Hiong carefully selected series of courses: general physics, calculus, astronomy, theoretical mechanics etc., laid the foundation of many pioneering achievements after him returning to China. The series of high-level courses that Kinglai Hiong passed in order to obtain a master degree was regarded as a leading position among the students in the field of mathematics and physical sciences who were studying in France at that time. The selected relevant content was systematic and requires many reserved pre-knowledge, and its difficulty level was amazing!

The doctorate certificate displayed is the French National Science Doctorate Certificate. The logarithmic meromorphic complex function proposed in the doctoral dissertation created a precedent for the use of infinite series representation, and was named "Hiong Infinite Series" by the international mathematics community. In order to accurately describe the Entropy Function representation of Complex Dynamics in the Non-Equilibrium State of Complex Variable Functions: Thermodynamic Entropy, Information Entropy etc., the algorithm calculation basis of algebraic function representation has  established.

As a superior educator, the proudest achievement is naturally to support a large number of outstanding students. The photos and introduction of the ten scholars in the showroom are extraordinary: Keci Yan, Lookeng Hua, Zhongyao Zhao, Xitai Zhuang, Shiingshen Chern, Huanwu Peng, Sanqiang Qian, Weichang Qian, Le Yang, Guanghou Zhang.

They are the top core group of the highest level physicists and mathematicians in China in the twentieth century.

Photos On The Way

Mile Scenic Spot

Natural Environment

Zhuyuan Market

Family House

Certificates

Distinguished Scholars

Explaination of Notes:

[1] Who Sincerely Supports The Younger Generation:

Wei Zhang, The Biography of Kinglai Hiong, Yunnan Education Publishing House, 2003

[2] Chen An, sciencenet.cn blog series in memory of the 37th anniversary on Professor Lookeng Hua's death:

Today is the 37th anniversary of  Professor Lookeng Hua's death https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-53483-1342660.html  

Professor Lookeng Hua in "The Biography of Shiingshen Chern" https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-53483-1343771.html  

Professor Lookeng Hua in "The Biography of Qikeng Lu" https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-53483-1344049.html  

Professor Lookeng Hua in "The Biography of Kinglai Hiong" https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-53483-1344510.html 

[3] The Centennial of Yunnan University:

Yunnan University was founded in Kunming in 1922 under the name of Donglu University, and officially opened on April 20, 1923 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4Ai1VxsPLchPPU8S66TNyw

[4] Related Basic Event Information:

Bingheng Xiong and Bingqun Xiong, Father Kinglai Hiong, Yunnan Education Press 2015

[5] Descendants of The Medical Doctor of Southwest Associated University:

•  Xinjian Zheng (grandfather 1892-1981) served as the school doctor of Southwest Associated University from 1938 to 1940, director of the division of Internal Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College from 1950 to 1970.

• Fumin Zheng (1^st uncle 1927-1993) 1945 Graduated from the High School of Yunnan University, 1945-1950 studied in Hsiang-Ya School of Medicine，1950-1993 director of Abdominal Surgery, Changchun Bethune Medical University

• Xiuwen Zheng (Aunt 1930-2014) 1948 Graduated from the High School of the Kunming Normal Collage, Associate Professor of the division of Physiology of Chongqing Medical University

• Zhemin Zheng (3^rd uncle 1932-2021) 1950 Graduated from the High School of the Kunming Normal Collage, 1957-2021 Professor of the Life Sciences School, Shaanxi Normal University, a famous expert on locust

• Sumin Zheng (father 1933-) 1951 Graduated from the High School of the Kunming Normal Collage, 1955-1998 Professor of Yunnan University, expert in Radio Information Technology Expert

• Tianmin Zheng (fifth Uncle 1939-1987 ) 1956 Graduated from the 5th High School of Kunming, 1957-1965 studied Physics undergraduate & postgraduate levels in Yunnan University, 1965-1987 Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Yunnan University, expert in theoretical physics

• Lanze Yin (mother 1932-2007) 1957-1986 Lecturer, Department of Physics, Yunnan University, expert in Laser Optical Technology 1986-1992 Deputy Director of Yunnan Women's Federation

• Zhiying Zheng (sister 1958-) 1986 -2013 Librarian of Yunnan University Library

[6] The Original Vector Logic Meta-Knowledge Model, Variant Construction, Series of Monographs and Blogs:

   English Monograph:

Jeffrey Zheng, Variant Construction from Theoretical Foundation to Applications, Springer Nature Press 2019 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-13-2282-2

   Chinese Monograph:

Jeffrey Zheng, Variant Construction Foundation Theory and Application Volume 1 Theoretical Foundation and Applications, Science Press 2021 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/qxUyVoMGWkKHJ0vX6O5VHQ

   Two Blogs Both Chinese and English in Memory of Professor Kunii,

introduce Conjugate Transformation, Meta-Knowledge Model and Variant Construction, which have continued for 40 years of exploration and development.

   Links to Original Core Papers Included:

Conjugate Classification, Conjugate Transformation, Non-Equilibrium Complex Dynamics, Hierarchically Structured "3+2" Elements, Meta-Knowledge Model, Paradox-free Clustering, Variant Logic, Variant Measurement, Variant Visualization, Combinatorial Entropy, Average Entropy, Integrated Entropy, Topological Entropy, Möbius-type Paradox for Conjugate Ring Solution, Meta-Knowledge Analysis and Design Architecture, Future Meta-Knowledge Intelligent Complex Information Systems Beyond the von Neumann Architecture.

   In Memory of Professor Tosiyasu L. Kunii: The Founder of the Meta-Knowledge Model

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-629831-1333249.html  (Chinese)

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-629831-1333561.html  (English)

Chinese version of the blog: 熊庆来故乡旅行散记  https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-629831-1344550.html