The Scientist
As one of the first government-sponsored overseas academics after China's reform and opening-up, Chen Zhongyi worked as a senior visiting scholar at University of British Columbia in Canada and the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. He then returned home, leading research into Chinese Magnoliaceae, Zingiberaceae and mangrove forest.
Chen Zhongyi at University of British Columbia
Chen Zhongyi at University of British Columbia
Identifying and classifying plants is the fundamental job of a plant taxonomist.
Chen and senior engineer Chen Shengzhen spent 22 years researching just one new species, Alpinia Rugosa. Finally the new research was published in Novon, the Journal for Botanical Nomenclature from the Missouri Botanical Garden in 2012, honoring Chen Shengzhen, who had passed away by then.
New species Alpinia Rugosa (right) published on Novon
The botanical trilogy
Yu and Chen have learned together, worked together, and supported one another for nearly half a century.
After Chen and Yu retired, they linked arms on a book about Chinese Zingiberales.
It contains 87 botanical paintings by hand from four artists at SCIB: Yu Feng, Deng Yingfeng, Yu Hanping and Deng Jingfa. Chen wrote the Chinese-English bilingual description of the plants. Sadly, Deng Yingping and Deng Jingfa have now passed away.
Botanical artists at South China Botanical Garden (1991)
The former director of SCBG, Chen Fenghuai (1900-1993), called for three books of botanical paintings to be published: Magnolia plants, Zingiberales and orchids.
The Magnoliaceae of Chinawas finally published by Liu Yuhu, creator of the magnolia park in SCBG, just one day before he died in 2004.
Chinese Zingiberaleswas published by Yu Feng in 2012. Now she is working on completing the trilogy, with the book about orchids.
Chinese Zingiberales and Magnolia plants
