Wang Pinxian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the School of Ocean and Earth Science of Tongji University, has become an online influencer in China after publishing science-related content focusing on Earth and its oceans.

The 87-year-old university professor boasts a following of more than 1.7 million after around two years of posting on video-sharing social media platform Bilibili and another 668,000 followers on Douyin, a Chinese version of Tiktok.

His team has helped him record more than 100 videos in the past two years, an average of one short video per week.

"I am very happy to be able to use new technologies and new ways to do my work," he told CGTN in an interview.

Science popularization

Wang said that he attached great importance to the popularization of science by scientists.

"On the one hand, scientists bear social responsibilities. On the other hand, they do this for themselves."

He said that a scientist with robust research should be able to explain one's work clearly in a few sentences, just like a good teacher imparting lessons in class can teach vividly, regardless of the complexity.

The professor said he believes popularization of science matters in particular for interdisciplinary research, which promotes mutual understanding.

He added that he never expected his content to be so popular or that he would have so many fans.

However, he revealed that he would stop uploading short videos on social media this year.

All good things must come to an end, he said, using a Chinese proverb.

"I now have very strong interests in other aspects," said the professor.

He said one of them is to write about his professional achievements researching the South China Sea, many of which have not been written yet; the other is to study the relationship between the Chinese and Western civilizations.

"I think we have not made it clear in many cases until now, and the international community has not understood the Chinese, thus leading to negative views of China around the globe," he said.

Pioneer of China's deep-sea research

At Professor Wang's proposal, the International Ocean Drilling Program, an international marine research collaboration that explores the Earth's history and dynamics, drilled in the South China Sea. The drilling cruise turned out to be very successful.

It was the first time China had joined international deep-sea research. Three more drilling expeditions, led by Chinese scientists, have been completed recently in the South China Sea.

From 2011 to 2018, the professor led a major research project, the Deep Sea Processes and Evolution of the South China Sea, breaking the traditional view that the South China Sea is similar to the Atlantic Ocean in its geological formation.

"It is thanks to the recent research progress that China has regained or won the dominance of deep-sea research in the South China Sea," Wang said, adding that the research in the South China Sea is the best of marginal sea research in the world.

China called for more efforts to build it into a maritime power from 2012. The professor said that they have received much more support since then and "overachieved."

In May 2018, the country's self-developed deep-sea manned submersible, the Deep Sea Warrior, made its scientific maiden voyage in the South China Sea, during which the then-82-year-old man dived to a depth of more than 1,400 meters three times. 

One of his discoveries was deep-water coral forests thriving in dark waters, with which skeleton can record the history of deep water.

"We found that the temperature at a depth of 1,000 meters in the South China Sea was one degree Celsius higher 9,000 years ago than it is today. This is an important discovery," said the academician.

Basic science

China has called for the implementation of a strategy for invigorating the country through science and education, and urged the strengthening of basic research.

"It is excellent," said Wang, but he also mentioned that one should not forget natural science has not been introduced into China for a long time.

From his perspective, basic science is essential to China's development. "There is still a long way to go," he added.

He believes the new science field is just beginning. "It is not left to old men like me; it is left to young people, and the prospects of their research are limitless," he said.

(Cover: Wang Pinxian walks out of the Deep Sea Warrior, China's self-developed deep-sea manned submersible, May 21, 2018. /School of Ocean and Earth Science of Tongji University)

 

Videographer: Wen Tingyu, Science Specialist, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Tongji University

Video editor: Zhao Yuxiang

Cover image: Liu Shaozhen, Zhu Shangfan