Yao Shouzhuo

Yao was born in Songjiang County (now Songjiang District), Shanghai, on 6 March 1936.^[1] His grandfather was killed by Japanese soldiers during the Japanese invasion of China. In 1952, he was accepted to Nankai University, two years later, he was sent to study at Leningrad State University (now Saint Petersburg State University) on government scholarships.^[1]

Yao returned to China in 1959 and became a professor at Tsinghua University.^[1] In 1962, he moved to Hunan University.^[1][2] In 1970, he was sentenced for the crime of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country. During his imprisonment, he completed the development of the "sulfur-absorbing battery", established a laboratory for testing non-ferrous metals and other raw materials at Hunan Motor Factory, and authored a book titled "Practical Rapid Chemical Analysis for Factories". He was rehabilitated in 1979. He joined the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party in 1986. In 1997, he was recruited as a professor at Hunan Normal University, serving in the post until his retirement in September 2018.^[1]

On 27 August 2025, Yao died in Changsha, Hunan, at the age of 89.^[1][3]

• November 1999 Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)^[1]