Wang Wencai was a Chinese plant taxonomist, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
12 Facts About Wang Wencai
1.
2.
Wang Wencai was a member of the China Democratic League.
3.
Wang Wencai's father Wang Lanyu was a merchant and his mother Zhao Yanwen was a native of Peiping.
4.
Wang Wencai had an elder half brother and two elder half sisters.
5.
In 1937, Wang Wencai moved to Peiping with his mother, where he attended Beiping No 4 High School.
6.
Wang Wencai was assigned as an assistant to the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences in March 1950, becoming assistant research fellow in 1953, associate research fellow in 1978, and research fellow in 1982.
7.
On 16 November 2022, Wang Wencai died from an illness in Beijing, at the age of 96.
8.
Wang Wencai was engaged in the taxonomic research of Ranunculaceae, Urticaceae, Boraginaceae, Cichoriaceae and other families, and had found 28 new genera and about 1370 new species; According to the evolutionary trends revealed by him, the taxonomic systems of Delphinium, Thalictrum, Adonis, Clematis, Stephania, Boehmeria, Epinephelus and Cichorium were revised and a taxonomic system was established for the three genera: Sarcandra, Microporus, and Epinephelus.
9.
Wang Wencai proposed 16 discontinuous distributed specimens and 3 migration routes of East Asian flora, which is a comprehensive study on the classification of Ranunculaceae, Gesneriaceae, Urticaceae and other taxa.
10.
Academician Wang Wencai took the lead in organizing the compilation of the "Illustrated Book of Higher Plants of China" and was one of the main contributors to the "Flora of China".
11.
Wang Wencai made important contributions to understanding the status of China's plant resources and promoting the development of my country's agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry.
12.
Wang Wencai devoted special efforts to the development of medicinal plant taxonomy.