Deepest condolences! Professor Yang Chen-ning has passed away at the age of 103.

Edited on 2months ago

Mr. Chen-Ning Yang, renowned physicist, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor at Tsinghua University, and Honorary Dean of the Institute for Advanced Study at Tsinghua University, passed away in Beijing on 18 October 2025 at the age of 103.

Yang Chen-Ning (Frank) , born 1 October 1922 in Hefei County, Anhui Province (present-day Feixi County, courtesy name Bogui , theoretical physicist, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Foreign Member of the Royal Society (UK), Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nobel Laureate in Physics, Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Bowen Chair Professor , Honorary Dean and Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University, and Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Stony Brook .

Yang graduated from the Department of Physics at the Southwest Associated University in 1942. In 1944, he obtained a Master's degree from the Graduate School of Tsinghua University . In June 1948, he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Physics from the University of Chicago. From 1949 to 1966, he was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton . In October 1957, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics with Tsung-Dao Lee ‘for their discovery of the violation of parity in weak interactions and the consequent important discoveries of elementary particles’. He became a naturalised citizen of the United States in March 1964 . In 1965, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1966, he became Einstein Professor and Director of the Physics Research Institute at the State University of New York at Stony Brook . He formally retired from Stony Brook in January 1999 . On 1 April 2015, he renounced his American citizenship . In February 2017, he became an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences .

Yang's primary research focused on statistical mechanics, symmetry principles, and particle physics . In the 1950s, he collaborated with R.L. Mills to formulate non-Abelian gauge field theory. In 1956, alongside Tsung-Dao Lee, he proposed the law of parity non-conservation in weak interactions, becoming the first Chinese recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 . His formulation of the Yang-Baxter equation pioneered new avenues in quantum integrable systems and many-body problems. His honours include the Qiu Shi Lifetime Achievement Award , the Einstein Medal, the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, the Pauli Prize, the Fermi Award, and the 2021 Touching China Figure award.

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Weng Fan, born in July 1976 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, holds a PhD in Architectural History from Tsinghua University. She is the second wife of Chinese theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, Chen-Ning Yang.

Weng Fan attended Jinshan Middle School in Chaozhou for her secondary education. In 1994, she enrolled at Shantou University to study English Language and Culture. In August 1995, during the Overseas Chinese Physics Conference hosted by Shantou University, she was selected as a reception guide for Yang Chen-ning and Du Zhi-li. After graduating, she took up a position at a Shantou-based enterprise but resigned after little over a month, subsequently joining a golf club in Shenzhen. During her three years in Shenzhen, she married an employee of a Hong Kong company, though the marriage ended in divorce within two years. In 2002, she enrolled in the Master of Translation programme specialising in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. In May 2004, she became acquainted with Yang Zhenning. On 5 November 2004, she became engaged to Yang Zhenning. On 24 December, she and Yang Zhenning registered their marriage. In January 2005, the couple held their wedding ceremony. She graduated with her Master's degree in July of the same year. On 6 January 2008, she and Yang Zhenning published their new book, Dawn Collection. In 2010, she and Yang Zhenning published the paper ‘Opportunity and Vision: Insights from Einstein’ in the journal Chinese Inventions and Patents. [September 2011: Enrolled in the doctoral programme of the Department of Architectural History at Tsinghua University. 2016: Accompanied Yang Zhenning in presenting awards to the Annual Science and Technology Figures. 10 May 2018: Released the new book Dawn Collection with Yang Zhenning at the Tsinghua University Institute for Advanced Study. In 2019, she published the paper ‘An Exploration of the “Theory of Individuality” Reflected in the Works of British Georgian Architect John Soane’ in Architectural Review; ‘The “Initial Principle” and John Soane's Architectural Creation’ in World Architecture; and ‘A Study on the Formation, Development, and Influence of Soanean Domes’ in Architectural History. In July 2019, Weng Fan obtained a PhD in Architectural History from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. In 2022, she collaborated with Yang Zhenning on the adaptation and translation of the song ‘Dreams Point the Way’. On 18 October 2025, her husband Yang Zhenning passed away.

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