Yang Zhongjian
Encyclopedia
Yang Zhongjian (June 1, 1897 – January 15, 1979), courtesy name (Zi)
Keqiang (克强), also known as C.C. (Chung Chien) Young, was one of China's foremost paleontologists
. He has been called the 'Father of Chinese vertebrate paleontology'. He was born in Huaxian, Shaanxi
province.
in 1923 and in 1927 received his doctorate at the Munich University, in Germany. In 1928 he worked for the Cenozoic Research Laboratory
of the Geological Survey of China
and took charge of the excavation at Peking Man
Site in Zhoukoudian
.
He had professorial posts at the Geological Survey, Peking University
, and Northwest University
of Xi'an. Yang's scientific work was instrumental in the creation of China's Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
in Beijing, which houses one of the most important collections in the world. He was director of both the IVPP and the Beijing Natural History Museum.
He supervised the collection and research of dinosaurs in China
from 1933 into the 1970s. He presided over some of the most important fossil discoveries in history, such as the prosauropods Lufengosaurus
and Yunnanosaurus
, the Ornithopod
Tsintaosaurus
, and the gigantic sauropod Mamenchisaurus
, as well as China's first stegosaur
Chialingosaurus
.
His cremated remains are buried at Zhoukoudian beside those of his colleagues Pei Wenzhong
and Jia Lanpo
.
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
Keqiang (克强), also known as C.C. (Chung Chien) Young, was one of China's foremost paleontologists
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
. He has been called the 'Father of Chinese vertebrate paleontology'. He was born in Huaxian, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
province.
Biography
Yang graduated from the Geological department of Peking UniversityPeking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
in 1923 and in 1927 received his doctorate at the Munich University, in Germany. In 1928 he worked for the Cenozoic Research Laboratory
Cenozoic Research Laboratory
The Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China was established at the Peking Union Medical College in 1928 by Canadian paleoanthropologist Davidson Black and Chinese geologists Ding Wenjing and Weng Wenhao for the research and appraisal of Peking Man fossils unearthed at...
of the Geological Survey of China
Geological Survey of China
The Geological Survey of China is a government-owned, not-for-profit, Chinese organization researching China's mineral resources. It is the largest Geoscience agency in China since being reconstructed in 1999.-History:...
and took charge of the excavation at Peking Man
Peking Man
Peking Man , Homo erectus pekinensis, is an example of Homo erectus. A group of fossil specimens was discovered in 1923-27 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing , China...
Site in Zhoukoudian
Zhoukoudian
Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system in Beijing, China. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, dubbed Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris...
.
He had professorial posts at the Geological Survey, Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
, and Northwest University
Northwest University
Northwest University is a regionally accredited, Christian coeducational institution offering a wide variety of associate, baccalaureate, master's and doctorate degrees...
of Xi'an. Yang's scientific work was instrumental in the creation of China's Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China is a prominent research institution and collections repository for fossils, including many dinosaur and pterosaurand cat poo specimens...
in Beijing, which houses one of the most important collections in the world. He was director of both the IVPP and the Beijing Natural History Museum.
He supervised the collection and research of dinosaurs in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
from 1933 into the 1970s. He presided over some of the most important fossil discoveries in history, such as the prosauropods Lufengosaurus
Lufengosaurus
Lufengosaurus is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southwestern China.-Discovery and species:...
and Yunnanosaurus
Yunnanosaurus
Yunnanosaurus is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur from the Early to Middle Jurassic Period, a position in time that makes it one of the last prosauropods. It is closely related to Lufengosaurus...
, the Ornithopod
Ornithopod
Ornithopods or members of the clade Ornithopoda are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that started out as small, bipedal running grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, and dominated the North American...
Tsintaosaurus
Tsintaosaurus
Tsintaosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur from China. It was about long, tall and weighed 3 tons. The type species is T. spinorhinus, first described by C. C...
, and the gigantic sauropod Mamenchisaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Mamenchisaurus was a plant-eating four-legged dinosaur, known for its remarkably long neck which made up half its total length. It is known from numerous species which ranged in time from 160 to 145 million years ago, from the Oxfordian to Tithonian ages of the late Jurassic Period of...
, as well as China's first stegosaur
Stegosauria
Known colloquially as stegosaurs, the Stegosauria are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods, being found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America and China....
Chialingosaurus
Chialingosaurus
Chialingosaurus is a genus of stegosaur similar to Kentrosaurus from the Upper Shaximiao Formation, Late Jurassic beds in Sichuan Province in China. Its age makes it one of the oldest species of stegosaurs, living about 160 million years ago...
.
His cremated remains are buried at Zhoukoudian beside those of his colleagues Pei Wenzhong
Pei Wenzhong
Pei Wenzhong was a Chinese paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist. Professor Pei is considered the founding father of Chinese anthropology....
and Jia Lanpo
Jia Lanpo
Jia Lanpo was a Chinese prehistorian. Professor Jia was one of the founders of Chinese anthropology.He graduated from the Huiwen Academy in 1929 and went on to work as a trainee at the Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China...
.