Concept

Luke Chia-Liu Yuan

Summary
Luke Chia-Liu Yuan (; April 5, 1912 – February 11, 2003) was a Chinese-American physicist. He is the husband of the famous physicist Chien-Shiung Wu, who disproved the conservation of parity. Born in Anyang, Henan, Yuan is the grandson of Yuan Shikai, the second president of the Republic of China, via his third Korean concubine Lady Kim. Yuan lived a simple middle class life during the early years, and his father Yuan Kewen was an intellectual who did not agree with his family's ambitions, especially that of his father. He criticized his father's seizure of power from Sun Zhongshan in a poem, “Pity that there are frequent storms up there; It is not wise to climb all the way to the top floor of a mansion.” Yuan Kewen was under house arrest after the years he spent away from Beijing in Tianjin and Shanghai. During this time, the young Luke was raised by his mother in the then-provincial Anyang village in Henan. Yuan would make trips with his mother, sister, and two brothers every New Year's Day to visit his Kewen's older brother Yuan Keding. Keding had the same views on power and politics as Yuan Shikai and required Luke to dress up formally and kowtow to him during every visit, which made Luke intimidated of him. The family had to depend on Luke's uncle Keding for financial support. Luke studied in Anyang then at age 13, he went to Nankai High School in Tianjin for a month, but then transferred to The Academy of Modern Learning, run by a London-based missionary. Luke received a rather good science education there, with a Cambridge University educated Dr. Hart teaching physics, and his maternal uncle teaching mathematics. Luke matriculated at the College of Industry and Commerce in 1928 as a major in engineering. He transferred to Yenching University in 1930, where the Chinese theoretical physicist Xie Yu-Ming was a professor. Luke's interest in radio led to radio communications as a serious hobby. He graduated in 1932, stayed in the graduate school for two more years, and received a master's degree.
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