Qian Xuesen passed away, at 98, on Saturday, leaving behind not just his fame as father of China's rocketry. He will live in the memory of many as a symbol of patriotism, earnestness and perseverance in academic pursuit.

He may have enjoyed better working conditions and achieved world fame had he chosen to stay in the United States even after he was wrongly imprisoned and stripped of security clearance there. But he was determined that his career would definitely be in his motherland, and so would be his achievements and his final destination.

Without such dedication to the motherland, he would not have made the tremendous contribution he did to the development of rocketry and nuclear industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s when conditions were extremely hard for research. Without deep love for his country, he could not have helped to initiate higher studies in science and technology when New China was badly in need of scientists for its development.