MaoZedong--AGreatManinChineseHistory

　　一代伟人毛泽东

　　MaoZedong,alsowellknownasChairmanMao,isagreatmaninhumanhistory.Hisdramaticpersonallife,hismilitarytalent,hisartistpoems,hispoliticalskill,hisfamousthirdworldclassificationtheoryandhisdictator'sleadingstyleinhisyearshaveinfluencedgenerationsofpeople.InordertofullyunderstandthemodernhistoryofChina,itisindispensabletostudythefatherofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.

　　MaoZedongwasbornonDecember26,1893,anddiedonSeptember9,1976attheageof83.HewastheheadoftheChineseCommunistPartyforforty-oneyearssincethehistoricZhunYimeeting(1935)duringtheLongMarch.HebuilttheRedArmy(Late,referredtothePeople'sLiberationArmy),tookpartintheanti-JapaneseWarandthecivilwarinChinaandfinallychasedtheGuoMingDangtoTaiwanandestablishedthePeople'sRepublicofChina.HewasoneofmostinfluentialpeopleinthemodernChinahistory.

　　林肯

　　Lincoln,Abraham(1809-1865),16thpresidentoftheUnitedStates(1861-1865)andoneofthegreatmenofhistory.Ahumane,farsightedstatesmaninhislifetime,hebecamealegendandafolkheroafterhisdeath.LincolnrosefromhumblebackwoodsoriginstobecomeoneofthegreatpresidentsoftheUnitedStates.InhisefforttopreservetheUnionduringtheCivilWar,heassumedmorepowerthananyprecedingpresident.Ifnecessitymadehimalmostadictator,byferventconvictionhewasalwaysademocrat.Asuperbpolitician,hepersuadedthepeoplewithreasonedwordandthoughtfuldeedtolooktohimforleadership.HehadalastinginfluenceonAmericanpoliticalinstitutions,mostimportantlyinsettingtheprecedentofvigorousexecutiveactionintimeofnationalemergency.

　　IntheAmericanCivilWar,hischiefconcernwasthepreservationoftheUnionfromwhichtheConfederate(Southern)slavestateshadsecededonhiselection.In1863heannouncedthefreedomoftheslaveswiththeEmancipationProclamation.Hewasre-elected1864withvictoryfortheNorthinsight,butwasassassinatedattheendofthewar.

　　居里夫人

　　BornMarjaSklodowska,MarieCuriewasborninWarsawonNovember7,1867.Herfathertaughthighschoolphysics.In1891shewenttoParis(whereshechangedhernametoMarie)andenrolledintheSorbonne.Twoyearslatershepassedtheexaminationforherdegreeinphysics,rankinginfirstplace.ShemetPierreCuriein1894,andtheymarriedin1895.MarieCuriewasinterestedintherecentdiscoveriesofradiation.WilhelmConradRoentgenhaddiscoveredXraysin1895,andin1896AntoineHenriBecquerelhaddiscoveredthattheelementuraniumgivesoffsimilarinvisibleradiations.Curiethusbeganstudyinguraniumradiations,and,usingpiezoelectrictechniquesdevisedbyherhusband,carefullymeasuredtheradiationsinpitchblende,anorecontaininguranium.Whenshefoundthattheradiationsfromtheoreweremoreintensethanthosefromuraniumitself,sherealizedthatunknownelements,evenmoreradioactivethanuranium,mustbepresent.MarieCuriewasthefirsttousethetermradioactivetodescribeelementsthatgiveoffradiationsastheirnucleibreakdown