Zhang Yuzhe

Who was Zhang Yuzhe?

Zhang Yuzhe or Yu-che Chang was a Chinese astronomer who is widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese astronomy.

He was born in Minhou, Fujian province. In 1919, he entered Tsinghua University and graduated in 1923. That same year he went to the United States and, in 1925, entered the University of Chicago and got his Ph.D. in 1929. That same year he returned to China and took up a teaching post at National Central University.

While studying in Chicago in 1928, he discovered an asteroid, which was given the provisional designation 1928 UF and later the number 1125. He named it "China" or "中華". However, this asteroid was "lost", that is, it was not observed beyond its initial appearance and a precise orbit could not be calculated. In 1957, the Purple Mountain Observatory in China discovered a new asteroid, and with his agreement the new object 1957 UN1 was re-assigned the official designation 1125 China in place of the lost 1928 UF. However, in 1986, the newly discovered object 1986 QK1 was confirmed to be a rediscovery of the original 1928 UF, and this object was named 3789 Zhongguo. Note "中国" is the Mandarin Chinese word for "China", in pinyin transliteration, and Zhōnghuá is a slightly older word for "China".