On November 6, 2017 (September 18, 2017 in the lunar calendar), Liu Jiankang, a centenary academician of Wuhan, passed away. It was learned from the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences that on November 6, 2017, Academician Liu Jiankang, honorary director of the Institute of Hydrobiology, China Academy of Sciences, a famous ichthyologist and freshwater ecologist, passed away at the age of 100. He was the first person in the world to discover the hermaphrodite phenomenon of eel. In 1934, 18-year-old Liu Jiankang was admitted to the Department of Biology, School of Science, Soochow University. In his sophomore year, when he learned that there were currently no professors in the department who studied fish, an idea quietly sprouted in his mind. On the way back to Suzhou, Liu Jiankang couldn't help but express his interest to his teacher: "I want to study fish." The title of his college graduation thesis was "The Bone System of Carp", which truly allowed him to deal with fish research. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, through Dr. Joseph Needham, director of the China-UK Science and Technology Cooperation Center, Liu Jiankang went to McGill University in Canada to pursue a doctorate in January 1946. After that, he served as an associate researcher at the Woods Hole Experimental Cell Laboratory in the United States and researcher of the Animal Cancer Research Fund Project at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Overseas scholars greatly appreciated Liu Jiankang's talents and advised him to stay in the United States, but he made it clear that his scientific research career was in the motherland. In February 1949, after a long wait, Liu Jiankang finally returned to Shanghai by sea liner. He was the first person in the world to discover the hermaphrodite phenomenon of eels, and published "The Original Hermaphrodite Phenomenon of Eels" in 1944, which attracted great attention from the international zoology community. In 1947, the scientific journal Nature published a special review, saying that the research findings "provide new and interesting evidence on the mechanism of sex determination in lower vertebrates and open the door to a novel area of research." Black carp, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp are the four major freshwater fish in my country. Liu Jiankang successfully carried out artificial insemination and incubation of grass carp and silver carp, laying the foundation for the future artificial reproduction of my country's "four major domestic fish". In 1957, he presided over a survey of fish ecology in the Yangtze River, which took three years to summarize a set of systematic data, filling the gap in freshwater fish ecology in my country. He first paid attention to "Wuchang fish" in August 1954. In order to solve the problem of people across the country having difficulty eating fish, the Institute of Hydrobiology of China Academy of Sciences began to move from its original location, Shanghai to Wuhan at the request of the central government and China Academy of Sciences. The relocation work had not been completed, and the Institute of Hydrobiology decided to conduct a comprehensive fish ecology survey on Liangzi Lake, which was located in Ezhou, Wuchang and Daye counties at that time, led by Mr. Liu Jiankang. This work lasted until 1957 and had a lasting impact on subsequent ichthyological research. Liangzi Lake is a medium-sized lake on the alluvial plain of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River in eastern Hubei, covering an area of 555,000 acres. There is Liangzi Island in Liangzi Lake, namely Liangzi Town. The Fish Ecology Investigation Team of the Institute of Hydrobiology stayed at the Liangzi Town Police Station. The working conditions at that time were harsh, with only kerosene lamps lighting at night. The tools for fish research are scalpels, dissecting scissors, tweezers, etc. that are provided to each person. Many scientific researchers at the Institute of Hydrobiology have worked in Liangzi Lake. Mr. Liu Jiankang is the leader of those engaged in the research of fish individual ecology, and Cao Wenxuan, who later became academicians, and others have participated. During the investigation of Liangzi Lake, the most famous discovery was the amblycephala, which local fishermen once called "amblycephala", also known as "Wuchang fish." According to later scientists, at the end of a fishing industry (an ancient fishing method) catch statistics, it happened to be a weekend, and Liu Jiankang said to buy some fresh fish for everyone to "make a tooth sacrifice." Looking at the lively fish that the fishermen had just caught, Liu Jiankang asked,"Should I buy Changchun bream or Trigonaria bream?" Fishermen suggested buying a group of head bream, saying that this fish is different from triangular bream and delicious. Liu Jiankang asked what was the difference between the two fish. The fisherman replied: The mouth of the bulbfish is round, and the mouth of the bulbfish is sharp; the first thorn of the dorsal fin of the bulbfish is shorter than that of the bulbfish; the bulbfish has three obvious markings, but the bulbfish does not. According to previous literature records, there is only one species of Megalobrama distributed in the Yangtze River system, namely Megalobrama tricornis. Liu Jiankang was keenly aware that the fish called by the fishermen might not have been recorded in taxonomy, so he arranged for Yi Bolu and others to carefully observe and study it. Through detailed comparisons of the external shape, bones, swim bladder, gill rakers, etc., Iberu discovered that there are indeed two species of Megalobrama, and published "New Information on the Species of Megalobrama" in the "Collection of Hydrobiology"(No. 2, 1955), naming the new species "Megalobrama amblycephala". Although there are two types of bream in Liangzi Lake, bream tricornis are also produced in other lakes in our country. If the name is to be correctly defined, the name "Wuchang Fish" will be exclusive to megalobrama amblycephala. Seven academicians once celebrated his birthday. On September 1, 2017, Liu Jiankang spent his 100th birthday at home. At the age of 90, he could get up at 5 o'clock every day and walk for an hour. Except for one vitamin D supplement every day, he did not eat any other health products. He drank some wine and stopped smoking when he was 50. According to his family, Academician Liu was a person who paid great attention to appearance during his lifetime. He would wear formal clothes and tie whenever he went to formal occasions. September 1, 2016 is Liu Jiankang's 99th birthday, celebrating his 100th birthday in accordance with China tradition. Academician Chen Yiyu, former director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and director of the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Tang Qisheng of the Yellow Sea Institute of China Academy of Aquatic Sciences, Academician Ye Chaohui of the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Academician Cao Wenxuan, Academician Zhu Zuoyan, Academician Zhao Jindong and Academician Gui Jianfang of the Institute of Hydrobiology congratulated him on his birthday. Academician Liu Jiankang was at his home at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo by reporter Ren Yong According to the official website of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences: Liu Jiankang was born on September 1, 1917 in Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province, Han nationality. In September 1938, he graduated from the Department of Biology, School of Science, Soochow University, with a bachelor of science degree. From January 1946 to July 1947, he studied in the Department of Zoology at the Graduate School of McGill University in Montague, Canada, and obtained a doctorate in philosophy. After 1980, he successively served as deputy director, director, and honorary director of the Institute of Hydrobiology, China Academy of Sciences. Published more than 100 papers (departments) and trained dozens of graduate students. In November 1980, he was elected as a member (academician) of China Academy of Sciences. According to a report by Changjiang Daily in September last year: Academician Liu Jiankang discovered the phenomenon of androgyny and sexual inversion in eel for the first time in the world, opening up a new field of research; His research results have made it no longer difficult for hundreds of millions of China to eat fish; he organized and compiled my country's first freshwater fish ecology monograph "Yangtze River Fish". His academic thoughts on freshwater ecology are the main scientific research direction in the field of freshwater ecology in my country.