The engineer retired, his creativity did not
Print Edition
THE home of 78-year-old Tang Zhenchang looks pretty much the same as any elderly residence, but looks are deceiving.
Long before “smart” homes became a buzzword and “innovation” became a government obsession, Tang and his wife were adapting their two-bedroom apartment in Xinzhuang Town into an “intelligent” household.
Their home is full of his own inventions, such as electricity-saving devices, an infrared warmer and various therapeutic apparatus.
All the household appliances can be controlled by one remote.
The bathroom is equipped with an automatic electric night stool, a water heater that “speaks” and a hand dryer.
Tang has a patent on his electricity-saving device, and it is now being applied to other homeowners.
“I am happy that my inventions can benefit other people,” said Tang. “If they just exist in my home, they don’t have the same value. Inventions should serve people and be shared.”
Before retirement, Tang was an engineer with the Shanghai Patent and Technology Office.
Born on Shanghai’s Chongming Island, he started to take an interest in motors and generators when he was young. In Chongming High School, he read all the books available on engineering and endlessly plied his teachers with questions.
Tang attended college in Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province, where he majored in hydraulic engineering. Inventing new devices has always been a passion.
In the 1970s, when Tang was working for the Chongming Water Bureau, he made a voice command doll, which was the first of its kind in the country. All his colleagues were amazed by the invention, and Tang became a minor celebrity in the bureau.
“After that, my boss gave me more space for developing inventions, hoping that I would make something benefiting my professional field,” said Tang.
He didn’t disappoint. A remote control system he devised was implemented in the township water management scheme.
With that achievement in 1983, Tang became a full-time engineer. In the next three decades, he received more than 100 patents and countless awards. His inventions spanned technology for household electric appliances, medical treatment equipment and water engineering.
His theory of “household science” says you can create anything you want, as long as you follow certain logical procedures.
His inventive mind didn’t bring Tang big fortune, however. Nearly all the proceeds he received from patent transfers were reinvested in research.
“Inventions need materials and experimentation, which all cost a lot,” he said. “But I like spending money on them rather than on recreational activities.”
Retirement didn’t stop his innovation. He used his pension and payments from academic papers to support research on new inventions.
He still lives in the same apartment he and his wife have inhabited for more than 10 years, and he gets around by bicycle.
“I never take a taxi or go to restaurants,” he said. “And I never regret the life I’ve chosen. Unremitting struggle is the only soil that nurtures a great career.”
In 1998, an Australian company showed an interest in one of his inventions and invited him to move there and work as a consultant. Tang declined, saying that he had an obligation to stay in Shanghai and take care of his mother. She’s still living in the old family house in Chongming and is nearing 100 years old.
“I couldn’t be with her all the time, so I have used my inventions to try to make her life as easy and comfortable as possible,” said Tang.
All the electric appliances in his mother’s small cottage are controlled by voice command. She need only say “ah” or “oh” to turn on the lights. He also concocted a water recycling system that allows bath water to be reused in the laundry.
“My mother stayed for awhile in a seniors’ residence home in Chongming,” he said. “But she didn’t like that. She wanted to live in her own home, like so many elderly people do. So I made it my goal to turn her house into one that is friendly for someone her age.”
Nowadays, Tang’s devotes three hours a day to study and eight hours to work, writing books on water generator theory. Six hours are spent on research.
“I retired from my job, but I have never retired from invention and research,” he said. “As long as my health permits, I’ll never stop creating.”
If he has inherited his mother’s longevity genes, that means there are still many wonderful inventions ahead from Tang.
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