Chi Jishang

Chi, born in Anlu County of Hubei Province, was the fourth of five children. When she was four, the family moved to Beijing. for working in highly risky remote areas as a woman (Ma Yisi was an early woman geologist murdered by bandits while doing field work). In Yunan province, she discovered a quality iron mine. Nevertheless, she taught and trained students and researchers in the Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hebei provinces and conducted field work on kimberlites in the Hubei, Liaoning, and Henan regions. As the Cultural Revolution ended, she became involved in the establishment of the Wuhan College of Geology (now China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)) from 1975 to 1984, where she headed several sections and departments of the institute, eventually becoming vice-president. She also chaired the "721 University" system in collaboration with the Hubei province department of mineralogy. During this period, she developed numerous textbooks and training materials in Chinese. Chi married Li Pu in 1946, a fellow petrologist at the geochemistry institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His death in 1967 was attributed to the Cultural Revolution. They have one son. Chi fell gravely ill in 1991, dying in 1994 in Beijing. ==Research==

Chi led important geological surveys of China, including the Sino-Soviet geological survey of the Qilian Mountain from 1955 to 1956, a four-year survey of central and western Shandong in 1958 with the students and staff of Beijing Geological School, and a rock survey and classification of the Yanshan granite in the Badaling area close to Beijing in the early 1960s. The four-type classification system for granite is still used to this day in Chinese geology. In 1965, the first diamonds were discovered in China. Chi was placed in charge, by the Ministry of Geology, to lead the technical affairs of the Shandong 613 Scientific Research Team, which conducted fieldwork and lab work to map diamond-bearing kimberlite in the Shandong area. In two years, the team completed research papers, training sessions, studies, and offered guidance on diamond-containing kimberlite. Their work was recognized in the 1978 National Science Conference. The team disbanded during the Cultural Revolution. After the cultural revolution, Chi worked at the Wuhan College of Geology (now China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)), where her projects included the investigation of Hubei kimberlite. She participated in many international events as a representative of the Chinese governemtn, including the United Nations International Geological Cooperation Plan (IGCP). One of her major works, "A Study on the Cenozoic Besalt Rocks and Upper Mantle of East China (Including Kimberlite)," was the result of fieldwork in east China from 1981 to 1984. It set a new standard in both the theory and applied science of mining and prospecting and won First Prize in the Ministry of Geology and Mining's Achievement in Science and Technology Awards in 1989. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Chi was involved in projects funded by the National Natural Sciences Foundation, the Ministry of Geology and Mining, the State Education Commission, Science and Technology Foundation, and parts of the Seventh Five-Year Plan of China. In total, the range of her fieldwork covered more than 20 Chinese provinces and self-governing areas. ==Legacy==

Chi was the first scientist to propose a formula to identify kimberlites that contain diamonds. On her 90th anniversary, the Chinese journal "Geoscience" published a special issue while the China University of Geosciences hosted a memorial conference in her name. ==Selected publications==

• Chi-Shang, Ch’ih, 1950. Structural Petrology of the Wissahickon Schist near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with special reference to granitization, Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 61, 923–956. • Turner, F.J., Chi-Shang, C., 1950. Notes on survival of fabric character in Yule Marble after heating to 700 deg C. American Journal of Science, 248, 347–354. • Turner, F.J., Chi-Shang, C., 1951. Deformation of Yule Marble: Tart III – observed fabric changes due to deformation at 10,000 atmospheres confining pressure, room temperature, dry. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 62, 887-906 • Chi-Shang, Ch’ih, 19XX. A study on the Cenozoic Basalt Rocks and Upper Mantle of East China (including Kimberlite). ==References==