Du Zhili

Du Zili, born December 29, 1927, is the eldest daughter in a family of six. Her father, Du Yuming, was a military leader in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the Nationalist government; her mother, Cao Xiuching (Cao Xiuqing), was from Mizhi, Shaanxi, and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

She graduated in July 1944 from Guangxi Private Zhongzheng Middle School (junior high), then studied at the affiliated high school of the National Southwestern Associated University, where she met mathematics teacher Yang Zhenning (Chen-Ning Yang). In 1946 she was admitted to the Foreign Languages Department of Fu Jen Catholic University in Beiping. In 1947, due to the civil war, she moved with her family to the United States to pursue study, first attending Wells College to study English literature, but due to financial difficulties transferred to Mont Saint-Vincent College to continue her studies.

In 1949 she met Yang Zhenning in Princeton; on August 26, 1950, they were married in Princeton. They had three children: the eldest son Yang Guang-nuo, born in 1951, who later worked in computer science and quantum computing research; the second son Yang Guang-yu, who later pursued research in chemistry and astronomy; and daughter Yang You-li, a physician. In 1952 she accompanied her family back to Hualien, Taiwan, where they lived for more than a year, and she taught English at Hualien High School.

In 1957 she accompanied Yang Zhenning to Sweden to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony. In 1966 she and her husband moved to Long Island. In 1972 and 1973 they twice returned to the homeland to visit relatives and give lectures, and were received by Premier Zhou Enlai and by the Shaanxi CPPCC, respectively. In 1981 her father died, and Du Zili made several return trips to China to visit. In 1986 she accompanied Yang Zhenning to Taiwan to attend a birthday celebration for teachers and friends and to visit. In November 1993 she photographed in Toledo, Spain.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, together with her husband, she helped establish a Center for Advanced Studies at Tsinghua University, living on the Qinghuayuan (Qinghua Garden) campus; later, due to illness, she returned to the United States for treatment. In 2001 she underwent cataract surgery again and visited her daughter and other places. In January 2003, Yang Zhenning hosted a birthday banquet for her in Stony Brook, and she died on October 19, at the age of 75.