On this day, 64 years ago, on January 31, 1961 (December 15, 1960, the lunar calendar), Han An, one of the founders of China's modern forestry industry, passed away. Han An (1883-1961), also known as Zhuping, was born in Chaoxian County, Anhui Province. Born on January 17, 1883, died on January 31, 1961, at the age of 78. A forestry scientist is one of the founders of modern forestry in China, the first recipient of a master's degree in forestry among China overseas students, and the earliest government official in China who was a forestry scientist. Han An 'an studied at Huiwen College in Nanjing in 1898 and stayed there to teach after graduating in 1904. In the summer of 1907, he went to the United States for further study. He studied at Cornell University's School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Michigan, and obtained a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Forestry respectively. After returning to China in 1912, he successively served as director of the Forestry Bureau of Jilin Province and the Forestry Bureau of the Three Northeast Provinces, and director of the Afforestation Office of the Jinghan Railway Bureau; in 1922, he served as a professor at the National Beijing Agricultural College and director of forestry affairs. The following year, he succeeded Liang Xi and concurrently served as the director of the Forestry Department of National Beijing Agricultural University. He was one of the first scholars to serve as a professor, academic director of the forestry department and chairman of the forestry department at China Agricultural University. He made important contributions to the construction and development of the forestry department at that time and to the development of modern forestry education in China. After 1924, he successively served as director of the Industrial Department of Chahar Special Zone, director of the Industrial Department of Suiyuan Special Zone and General Office of Reclamation Affairs, member of the Anhui Province Government and mayor of the provincial capital Anqing City and director of the Education Department. After 1929, he served as a counselor of the government of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, director of the Education Bureau of Qingdao City, director of the Northwest Office of the National Economic Committee of the National Government, deputy director of the Forestry Bureau of Shaanxi Province, chairman of the Agricultural Group of the Production Planning Committee of the Construction Department of Sichuan Province, and director of the Central Forestry Laboratory. When he was young, Han An established the ambition of studying forestry and greening the motherland, and became the first pioneer in China to obtain a master's degree in forestry. He participated in the editing of China's first agricultural and forestry journal, the "Agriculture and Forestry Bulletin" published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and in early 1913 published his compilation of the article "General Trend of State-owned Forests in Countries around the World" in this journal. This was the first scientific and technological document for China to introduce the general situation of forestry in other countries in the world to China. In 1915, Zhou Ziqi, then chief of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, adopted the initiative of Han An, Ling Daoyang and others to establish "Arbor Day" in China. With the approval of the "President", in July of the same year, he ordered the annual "Qingming Festival" to be "Arbor Day", stipulating that a tree planting ceremony should be held on this day every year to advocate afforestation. It was still implemented continuously during the National Government period, but the date was changed to March 12 every year, and the name was changed to "Tree Planting Ceremony to Commemorate the Death of the Prime Minister." In the summer of 1917, Han An, as the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, proposed building a water source forest to protect the embankment and protect the road. In his article "Opinions on Afforestation and Waterproofing", he explained the principle of the growth and decline of floods and gave advice to the authorities. In 1918, when he served as the director of the Afforestation Office of the Beijing-Han Railway Bureau, he created a large-area nursery in order to provide sleepers and telephone poles needed for railway construction, setting the first in China to create road protection forests. It was a pioneering undertaking in China's railway seedlings, afforestation and road protection. In 1920, he repeatedly stated the important role of forests to Feng Yuxiang, and promoted the troops led by Feng Yuxiang to carry out afforestation activities in the Jigong Mountain area. This move has created a precedent for afforestation by modern military workers in China. In the 1940s, after he served as director of the Central Forestry Laboratory, he further promoted the development of China's forestry industry. Han An has been engaged in forestry for more than 50 years and has held a leadership position for a long time. He is magnanimous, inclusive in employing people, and has no prejudice from the family. He wrote a line: "The spirit of science is to take matters into account; the spirit of democracy is to treat people as people", taking this as the motto.