Recently, Zhejiang University unveiled archival footage revealing that as early as 1978, computer scientist He Zhijun — upon founding the university’s Department of Computer Science (now the College of Computer Science and Technology) — established artificial intelligence as its core research priority and enrolled the inaugural cohort of graduate students in this field. Among this pioneering group was Pan Yunhe, now a renowned academician. In 1991, Qian Xuesen wrote to Pan, lauding his groundbreaking efforts to enhance computers by leveraging imagery thinking to overcome the inherent constraints of logical reasoning.
Many of Qian Xuesen’s visionary foresights have since become reality. In 1992, he championed the decisive pursuit of electric vehicles. He also coined the Chinese translation for “virtual reality” as Lingjing (灵境, or “spiritual realm”), and in 1998, he advocated for a concerted national initiative to advance quantum information technology. Today, these very fields — new energy vehicles, virtual reality, and quantum technology — have all made remarkable strides.
