The first Chinese Nobel laureate, Professor Yang Chen-ning, distinguished professor and director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), passed away on October 18, 2025, at the age of 103. The university has set up a condolence room in the university history museum within the university library for the public to sign the condolence book and leave messages in memory of his remarkable contributions.
Professor Yang, along with Professor Li Zhengdao, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their theory of parity transformation, paving the way for Chinese scholars to receive this honor. In 1954, he and Mills proposed non-abeliangauge theory (known as Yang-Mills theory), laying the theoretical foundation for modern particle physics. His academic achievements are numerous, and he received many awards throughout his life, including the Nobel Prize (1957), the Enrico Fermi Medal (1979), the Rumford Premium (1980), the Oppenheimer Memorial Plaque (1981), the US National Medal of Science (1986), the Moscow State University Medal (1992), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (1993), the Bower Award (1994), the Albert Einstein Medal (1995), the N Bogoliubov Prize (1996), the Lars Onsager Prize (1999), the Academicum Pontificium (2000) and the King Faisal International Prize (2001), Lifetime Achievement Award for Global Chinese Influence (2006), and the Qiushi Lifetime Achievement Award (2019).
Professor Yang's generosity as an academic is evident throughout his career, and most vividly for us through his long association with CUHK. In 1964, he was invited by CUHK to give a lecture on his work on parity. The lecture, to an overflowing audience in the then newly opened City Hall, was a sensation. In 1982, Professor Yang was made an Honorary Professor at CUHK, and then in 1986 graciously accepted a special Chair as Distinguished Professor-at-Large. With Professor Yau Shing Tung, he established The Institute of Mathematical Sciences at CUHK in 1993 and with Professor Yau, became its co-director. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, by CUHK in 1997. In 1999, Professor Yang generously donated many awards, articles, letters, and manuscripts, including his Nobel Prize, to the university. In 2002, the university established the CN Yang Archive, digitizing the collection and creating the CN Yang Archive Online System for public and scholarly access.
Details of the condolence room for Professor Yang Chen-ning:
- Dates: October 23 to October 30 (closed on public holidays)
- Hours: Monday to Friday: 9 am to 8 pm; Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm; Sunday: 12 pm to 6 pm
- Location: Lower level of the university history museum in the CUHK library, Sha Tin
Flower Arrangement: Visitors may place flowers beside the statue of Professor Yang Chen-ning in the garden on the rooftop of the Lady Shaw Building.
Transportation: The university provides shuttle bus services for visitors to and from the MTR University Station (Exit A) and the university library (approximately every 20 minutes).
Public Inquiries: 3943 8603
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