Wang Xuan (1937--2006) was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. He is an innovator of the Chinese printing industry and an academician at both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Party profiles: Inventor Wang Xuan

He is a well-known computer application specialist, who was awarded the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award in 2001 by President Jiang Zemin in Beijing. Started in 2000, this highest degree prize of science and technology in China had only been awarded to 9 scientists by 2006. He was also the vice-chairman of the CPPCC.

Wang Xuan graduated from the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at Peking University in 1958 and devoted himself to computer science education and research ever since. He was mainly involved in research into computer processing of words, graphics and images.

Since 1975, he had been in charge of the research and development of laser typesetting systems in the Chinese language and of electronic publishing systems. Surpassing Japan's second-generation optical designation and the third-generation CRT designation, the fourth-generation laser typesetting system he invented has not yet come onto the market in other countries. Thus he is dubbed "the Father of Chinese Language Laser Typesetting".