Chapter 167: Space Race (4)
Volume 6: Rising and Falling · Chapter 167
Superficial "lack of staying power" did not equate to substantive backwardness. In the past four years, China's development in electronic technology, particularly in computers, had changed with each passing day. Computer operating systems, instruction sets integrated into processors, programming for general-purpose computers... hundreds of technical teams composed of young mathematics and electronic engineering personnel from dozens of universities across the country finally produced their own products.
On November 11, 1955, the evaluation meeting personally attended by Chen Ke was officially convened. Various teams, harboring immense respect for the senior figures of the scientific community and the founder of the Republic, as well as a mindset of never admitting defeat, engaged in fierce comparisons. Everyone hoped that the products they developed would receive support. The final result was astonishing. Chen Ke put forward some "most basic" viewpoints, defining the concepts of hardware and software, including operating systems and drivers. In the current stage of computer development, these contents were often conflated. Even if some people recognized these issues, they had no better ideas, or rather, lacked the authority and ability to decide the future direction.
After Chen Ke proposed and discussed these points, the modular approach from hardware to software was established. Just like the role Chen Ke had played in the history of Chinese science and technology, once he mapped out an industrial chain, followers quickly clarified their direction, and the outstanding ones quickly found their own positioning.
From then on, every November 11th, the Chinese computer industry would hold a seminar for the new year, making it a highly significant day for the industry. Since most programmers were full of "occupational diseases," namely "total control desire," coupled with heavy workloads, many remained in a long-term single status as "bare branches" (guanggun). After the development of computer e-commerce, November 11th was created as "Singles' Day" by e-commerce professionals. This most famous unofficial Chinese festival henceforth became China's annual feast of online shopping.
Of course, the Chinese computer and mathematics workers of 1955 did not know of this teasing outcome in the future. The young people were exerting all their strength to create a future that belonged to them. In the following two years, the development of China's military and civilian computer software and hardware advanced by leaps and bounds.
By 1957, China's first geostationary satellite, originally scheduled for three years of service, passed away after six years of work. Under the command of China's satellite control, the Chinese satellite altered its orbit on its own and crashed into the designated sea area of the Western Pacific. In that same year, 1957, China launched seven geostationary orbit satellites in succession within a single year, initially establishing a satellite broadcasting and television system covering the vast region from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
It was also in this year that the Soviet Union and the United States respectively completed tests of returnable satellites. China's "indolence" led both the Soviet Union and the United States to believe that if development continued at this speed, they could both catch up to or even surpass China. The eyes of the United States and the Soviet Union coincided in falling upon the geostationary orbit.