Peking University, October 21, 2019: On October 16, the awarding ceremony of the 2019 Great Nation Ingenuity Salute hosted by the Beijing News was held in Beijing. 91-year-old Academician Han Jisheng, a famous neurophysiologist and honorary director of PKU Neuroscience Research Institute, won the 2019 annual “tribute to ingenuity” award.

As the award words said, “With a western medicine background, Han Jisheng spent over 50 years managing to prove the principle of pain relief by acupuncture. He won the National Institutes of Health Research Fund for 12 consecutive years. His invention of ‘Han’s acupoint nerve stimulator’ has greatly promoted the application of acupuncture in the world. Moreover, He has also made a significant contribution to the establishment of the department of pain medicine in China.”

Han (sixth from the right) with other prize winners

During his academic career of over half a century, Han Jisheng has been honored with numerous awards, including two National Natural Science Awards, the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, International Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Award, the first Bauhinia Award, Ho Leung Ho Lee Award, Cai Yuanpei Award of Peking University, and Science and Technology Grand Prize of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies. Besides, Han has also been elected by the International Association for the Study of Pain as its only honorary member from the Chinese mainland.

Han said in an interview before the awarding ceremony: “My life is as busy as an ant’s, and all I do is to confirm the analgesic effect of acupuncture, basically clarify its principle, and apply it to detoxification, treatment of autism and infertility, etc. With the deepening of the research, our research results have received international recognition and formed a scientific basis for acupuncture and moxibustion in the world. Thanks to these research results, I also gained transnational friendship with many scholars from other countries.”

“Actually, I also expect to see great natural scenery with my wife, or practice calligraphy every day, but life is so limited that I have to treasure it and make the best use of time in order to make further progress and realize my childhood dream of “Jisheng” (meaning to “save all beings”)! Although I’m already in my nineties, I’m unwilling to break up with scientific research.”

Han Jisheng making his acceptance speech

In his acceptance speech, Han expressed his gratitude for his teachers and thanked his team for their joint effort.

Since 2016, the Beijing News has launched a series of reports on “Great Nation Ingenuity” and has been continuously covering the stories of the nation’s great artisans and national craftsman brands. It dialogues with craftsmen of the age and records the wisdom behind the insistence on quality. The report series has attracted great public attention and made people feel the power and preciousness of “ingenuity”.

Written by: Wan Yiwen
Edited by: Zhou Yijing
Source: PKU News (Chinese)