QU NTUM STU Y SIMPLIFIEV IN PEl CHING UNIVERSITY NOTHER VIOTORY
FOR THE M O TSE TUNG IDEOLOGYLPollowing is the ful l translation of
an articleappearing in pei-ching i h ~ p o (Peking Daily);24 May
1960, page Instructors and students of Peking University s
theoretical physics instruction study group, using Mao
Tse-tungideology as a weapon, have uncovered the bourgeois
idealiSmand ontology in quantum mechanics, II and thus have opened
upthe world struggle between two concepts. These efforts
havechanged the face of this course and improved the quality
ofteaching.Quantum mechanics is an important subject in physics.I t
is a science devoted to the study of the movements ofelementary
particles (such as the electron, neutron, e tcI t is the basis for
theories of such advanced sciences asnuclear physics and the
physics of semiconductors. Quantummechanics used to be considered a
diff icult subject for teach
ing as well as learning. Many students reacted to i t as
follows: (1) afraid to learn, (2) hard to understand,3 lido not
know how to apply, 4 easy to forget. Last October, under the
leadership of party commissarof the school, the instruction study
group launched a teaching reform campaign among teachers and
studentsv In the beginn ing, the opinions raised by students made i
t seem thatthe main problem was the teaching method.The party
commissar believed that in order to raisethe quality of teach ing,
we must use Marxism-Leninism as aweapon to appraise the basic
problem in the teach ing of thissUbject. The instruction study
group la ter staged a move-. ment to study Chairman Mao I s theory
of practice and theory
of cont radic tion .Equipped with Mao Tse-tung s ideology, the
study groupfinally found the root of the difficulty. I t was due to
theeXistence of concepts of bourgeois idealism and ontology
inteaching materials, which were contrary to Chairman Mao'stheory o
f p ra ctic e and to the principles of
Marxist-Leninistepistemology. In the past, some teachers thought
that thetheory of quantum mechanics was buil t from logical
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while the students' attitude was that the theory had droppedfrom
heaven. Some teachers even advocated during theirlectures the
ridiculous idea t ~ r t science j.s the product ofthe brains of a
few 'gifted scient ists . They thought thatsome men are born with
ta lent o ~ dealihg with logical concepts and that others are not.
~ i s theory created an auraof mystery around science in the minds
of students .Teachers and students have repeatedly studied Chair-
.man Mao s theory of practice and IItheory of contradiction,and
have thus come to understand that IItheory comes frompractice.
,Teachers now tend to believe and teach that theoryis shaped after
experiments and analysis have been conducted,in accordance with the
spir i t of the IItheory of practice. This reformed way of teaching
has changed the study of quantummechanics. Lectures on quantum
mechanics are now much moreeasily absorbed by students.
Furthermore, teachers and students both have learned that theory no
t only comes out ofpractice but also should be used to direct
practice. nd atthe same time, theory is advanced and proved in the
courseof practice. They have learned also that only by viewing
theouter manifestations to stUdy the inner contradictions canthey
come to understand the nature of the matter. In otherwords, only by
viewing phenomena due to neutron and electronmovements to study
their origins can we understand the natureof these particles.
Teachers and students began to studythese problems by applying
dialect ical materialism. For example, in the spectroscope we could
see different colors dueto atomic specta (the phenomenon). Why is
the spectrum ofone atom different from that of another? This is
determinedby the state of movement in the atom i ts l f
Therefore,through viewing the atom's spectrum we can study the
movementinside the atom. The bourgeois intel lectual 's
so-calledIltheory of unknowability,1I which reasons that because
theneutron and electron are not visible and touchable i t is
impossible to study their nature, was thus shattered.ThUS under the
leadership of the party, teachers andstudents jointly grasped and
studied the main problems, applying dialect ical materialism and
Mao Tse-tung's ideology in theanalysis and appraisal. They not only
collected theses anddata but also visited production agencies for
opinions, sothat theory and practice could be consolidated. By
doingthese things, they fin ally la id bare the influence of
bourgeoisidealism on quantum mechanics.Since the exposure of the
idealis t Viewpoint, thissubject has undergone a great change.
Before the reform,quantum mechanics was considered a I book of
heaven, but nowthis subject is much more easily understood.
Teachers andstudents have more faith in the subject and on this
basis
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they have compiled a draft of new instruction material on
thequantum mechanics.For both teachers and students the course of
instruction reform led to the ~ e f o r m of their conceptions of
theworld. All c me to realize that the struggle between two
conceptions of the world in the teaching of natural science
andscientific research is very profound. Previously some hadthought
that o Tse-tung ideology did not have to be appliedto the study and
t e h i ~ g of natural sciences. But now fromtheir own practical
experience they realize that without thedirection of o Tse-tung
ideology the natural scienceswould sink into a deep muddy pi t
Therefore l l are nowearnestly studying Chairman Maols works and
seeking to reformtheir own conception of the world and their method
of teaching. The reform in the teaching of quantum mechanics has
inspired reforms in the teaching of other f ields of
science.MeanWhile grasping o Tse-tung ideology as their weaponl l
sections in the science department /Of Peiping Universitihave
launched an effort to reform their individual f ields
ofteaching.
