1936.2.12.–2012.4.6.
→ Exile 1990 · natural causes
“China’s Sakharov”, the astrophysicist known for the 1986 student protests and his 1989 refuge in the US embassy
Astrophysicist and Chinese dissident who argued that repression of thought damaged both science and society.
An astrophysicist from Beijing, labelled a rightist in 1957 and later rehabilitated, he became vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China. In 1986 lectures he openly questioned Marxism’s scientific authority and party leadership, was named the spiritual guide of that winter’s student protests, and in 1987 was expelled from the party — a pretext for Hu Yaobang’s fall. In January 1989 he wrote an open letter to Deng Xiaoping asking for Wei Jingsheng’s release; after the crackdown of 4 June he and his wife Li Shuxian took refuge in the US embassy for thirteen months before being allowed to leave. He taught at the University of Arizona and died in 2012.
Also known as: Fang Li-chih
Activities and affiliations
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1955–1959
Science and technology
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1958–
People’s Republic of China state institutionsVice-President of the University of Science and Technology of ChinaMain
Science and technology -
–1987
Science and technology
Career Timeline
- 1955–1959CCP membership before the 1959 expulsion
- 1957–1958Sent to hard labour in Zanhuang, Hebei
- 1958Assigned to the faculty of USTC
- 1984–1987Vice-President of the University of Science and Technology of China
- 1987Expelled from the CCP over his liberal activism
- 1989–1990Took refuge in the US embassy in Beijing before leaving China
- 1992–2012Professor of physics at the University of Arizona
Related historical events
- 1956–1957From the Hundred Flowers to the Anti-Rightist CampaignPhysicist persecuted during the Anti-Rightist CampaignWas subjected to forced labour from December 1957 to August 1958 and expelled from the party in 1959; he was later rehabilitated and readmitted.
- 1966–1976The Cultural RevolutionPrisoner subjected to re-educationIn 1966, soon after the Cultural Revolution began, he was confined for a year and sent to a communal farm for re-education.
- 1976–1992Reform and opening: the Deng Xiaoping eraSpiritual guide of the 1986 student protestsHis lectures stirred the protests; expelled from the party in 1987.
- 1989The Tiananmen protests and the crackdown of 4 June 1989Initiator of the prisoner petition; refuge in the US embassySpent thirteen months in the embassy after the crackdown before leaving.
Confinement and a Turn toward Cosmology during the Cultural Revolution
At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Fang was confined for a year and then sent to a communal farm for “reeducation.” Isolated from the scientific community during this period, he shifted his field from solid-state and laser physics toward cosmology. After being released to teach in 1969, he was still required to publish his work under a pseudonym. In the mid-1970s, his party membership was restored and he was permitted to attend conferences abroad, after which he continued work in astrophysics.