"Winning the Nobel Prize does not mean a person's personality is perfect," Chiang Tsai-chien (江才健), biographer of Symmetry and Beauty -- Yang Chen-ning (楊振寧), told the Taipei Times yesterday.
Chiang was commenting on a falling out between the first two Chinese Nobel laureates, Yang and Lee Tsung-dao (
Yang's biography was launched in conjunction with his 80th birthday and was released at the end of October.
The 80-year-old Yang landed in Taipei last Monday for a four-day visit to join a seminar hosted by Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University.
When attending the press conference for the release of his biography last Monday, Yang avoided talking about his relationship with Lee, his former research partner until 1962.
"It is not necessary for me to reconcile with Lee," Yang said responding to a question about whether he wished to try to mend their relationship.
Chiang's biography of Yang gave detailed account of the two men's friendship and their later difficulties.
"I don't think there is anything more I can say about our disagreements. In my 1983 book Selected Papers 1945-1980 with Commentary I wrote about our close partnership and the pains brought about by our breakup," Yang said.
Yang said the issue is still attracting attention. "You may have read my 1983 book and done some research on the subject," Yang said.
Chiang, a friend of Yang's and an acquaintance of Lee's, began writing the biography four years ago after obtaining Yang's consent.
Chiang noted at the end of the biography that he thought about not releasing the book because of the material concerning the differences between the researchers.
"There are many interpretations on the quarrels and discord between Yang and Lee. But the final word on the story has yet to come out," Chiang wrote.
The biographer said the biggest stumbling block when writing the book was his inability to get information from Lee.
Chiang and Lee had a dispute over an American science program in 1992 that Lee wanted Taiwan to participate in. "The event was very complicated. Anyhow, my relationship with Lee was spoiled as a result," Chiang wrote.
The author said he wrote Lee a letter before writing Yang's biography, hoping Lee might offer some insight into their relationship. "Of course he didn't reply," Chiang said.
In an interview with the Taipei Times yesterday, Chiang said he considered the rift between the two a natural course of events.
"Good friends quarrel. Husbands and wives quarrel. It is simply inevitable that people quarrel," Chiang said.
"It is stupid to ask whether Yang and Lee might resolve their differences with each other. Why should they?" Chiang said.
"Neither Yang nor Lee denied that an article that appeared in the New Yorker magazine on May 12, 1962, was one of the major reasons for their breakup," cited the author.
The article, "A Question of Parity," was written by physicist Jeremy Bernstein. After the article's publication, Yang and Lee had a long talk on April 18, 1962.
According to the biography, both men were concerned about how their names appeared in the article.
Yang felt that he was responsible for the lion's share of the work that netted the two men the Nobel prize, but the article suggested that Lee was the primary researcher.
"Yang didn't deny that he cared very much about how Bernstein handled the names in the article."
Yang's meeting with Lee on April 18 was a very emotional scene," Chiang wrote.
During Yang's visit, he said a number of books and articles have speculated about his breakup with Lee. "They are all fiction," he said.
"But Chiang's book is true. He interviewed my family and friends," Yang said.
Yang was born in 1922. He and his wife Tu Chih-li (
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
RSS