Ying Ding

Ding Ying (1888-1964) was a distinguished agricultural scientist and educator, and is widely regarded as one of the principal founders of modern rice science in China. He was the founder and first president of South China Agricultural College (now South China Agricultural University) and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Throughout his career, Ding Ying devoted himself to rice research and agricultural education. He achieved systematic and groundbreaking results in the study of rice origin, classification, ecological regionalization, breeding, and cultivation. Through rigorous scientific inquiry, he established China's prominent position in global rice research. Renowned for his scholarly integrity and prolific achievements, Ding Ying exerted a profound and lasting academic influence. He not only laid a solid foundation for the development of rice science and agriculture in China, but also made outstanding contributions to global rice research and food production. Internationally acclaimed, he is remembered as a master of rice science whose legacy continues to shape agricultural scholarship and practice worldwide.