Yi Zhongtian, awarded 200k yuan

Ask AI · How will Yi Zhongtian, who is nearing his eightieth birthday, look ahead at his future academic career?

On the morning of April 6, Xiamen University held a development conference for the 105th anniversary of the university in the Jian Nan Auditorium. At the conference, honors including the Nánqiáng Outstanding Contribution Award and the Jiageng Medal were awarded—

Economics School Professor Zhang Xin, and Yi Zhongtian, President of the Higher Institute of Humanities and Arts Research, received the Nánqiáng Outstanding Contribution Award;

Material Science School 2022 PhD student Hu Jianfei, and Flexible Electronics (Future Technology) Research Institute 2023 PhD student Liu Chang, and Physical Education Teaching Department 2025 undergraduate student He Jinshao received the Jiageng Medal.

Professor Zhang Xin, Professor Yi Zhongtian receive awards

According to a report by Xiamen Daily, the Nánqiáng Outstanding Contribution Award and the Jiageng Medal are the highest honors at the university level in Xiamen University. Among them, the Nánqiáng Outstanding Contribution Award is currently the highest-level award among the university-level teaching award funds that is given to teachers; each recipient is awarded 200,000 yuan.

Professor Zhang Xin is a well-known public finance scholar and a nationally recognized teaching master. He has made outstanding achievements in areas such as comparative public finance and third public finance, founded the “Theory of Chinese-Style Public Finance” and the “Dual-Mode Finance Theory,” and has become a banner leading research into China’s public finance theory. He has devoted more than 40 years to the teaching front, building model courses that are deeply loved by students; he has won the national teaching achievement award twice, cultivating a large number of pillars in the field of finance.

After receiving the awards, Yi Zhongtian, in an interview with the media, said: “Actually, I haven’t made any contribution; I feel undeserving of receiving this.” He said: “I’m already 79 this year, and I’m about to turn 80. If you ask what I plan to do in the future, I can’t say it now—I don’t even know when Heaven will call me. I can only say that I will carry forward the Xiamen University motto of self-improvement and perseverance; I’ve been working hard to do that.”