Thirty-nine years ago today, on July 21, 1986 (June 15, 1986 lunar calendar), Zhang Yuzhe, the main founder of modern Chinese astronomy, passed away. Zhang Yuzhe, February 16, 1902 - July 21, 1986 On July 21, 1986, Zhang Yuzhe, the main founder of modern Chinese astronomy, passed away at the age of 84. In 1928, at the age of 26, Zhang Yuzhe studied at the Yerkes Observatory in the United States. On November 22, Zhang Yuzhe accidentally discovered a short strip of astrology on a negative taken with a 60cm light-returning telescope. He tracked and observed it continuously for more than a month, and after calculating the exact position and orbital elements of the new celestial body, he confirmed that it was a newly discovered asteroid. At that time, the International Minor Planet Center asked Zhang Yuzhe to name it, and in order to express his nostalgia for the motherland far away, he named it "Zhonghua". The asteroid Zhonghua was numbered No. 1125 in the star catalog. He became the first Chinese person to discover a new asteroid. After liberation, under the leadership of Zhang Yuzhe, the Purple Mountain Observatory conducted more than 5,000 asteroid observations in more than 20 years, and found more than 400 asteroids and three comets one after another. It calculated the orbits of more than 100 of them, and 24 of them have been officially numbered and named internationally. In recognition of Zhang Yuzhe's contributions, the asteroid 2051 discovered in the United States in recent years has been named "Zhang" internationally. It has made outstanding contributions to the astronomy of the motherland. Zhang Yuzhe served as the director of the Purple Mountain Observatory for 42 years.