Lofty aspirations born of sacrifice – In remembrance of Y. S. Ma, China's first female geologist, and her two colleagues who were murdered at the same time

Abstract. As China's first truly scientific education and research institution, the Geological Survey of China (GSC) achieved tremendous success within just a few years of its establishment, creating many firsts in Chinese geological education, research, and mineral exploration, and even some world firsts. However, this came at a heavy price; many geologists died young for various reasons. Especially during World War II, with the Japanese occupation of most of eastern and central China, almost all universities and research institutions in these developed regions had to relocate to the western rear areas of the war effort to continue geological surveys and research. At that time, bandits roamed freely in China, especially in the southwestern border regions, posing a significant threat and causing immense losses to the developing GSC. Following the tragic murder of the brilliant Chinese geologist Y. T. Chao by bandits in Zhaotong, Yunnan Province in 1929, 15 years later, in April 1944 during the War of Resistance against Japan, three more young geologists were killed by bandits in Guizhou Province, bordering eastern Yunnan. Among the three were Ms. Y.S. Ma, the only female geologist in China at the time, a young geologist fluent in five foreign languages ​​despite never having been abroad, and Mr. T. Y. Hsu and Mr. K. Chen, both budding and accomplished geologists. They were killed on the same day, at the ages of 25, 36, and 28 respectively. This year marks the 82nd anniversary of their tragic deaths. This article is dedicated to these three young scholars who died before achieving their goals, leaving future generations deeply saddened.