On the eve of its anniversary celebration, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics received a special donation: 1,440 grams of gold. The donor is Gu Xianjue, a member of the Class of 1953 majoring in instrumentation, who is now 91 years old.
In the autumn of 1953, Gu Xianjue carried an old suitcase from Wuhu, Anhui Province, to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, and walked through the gates of NUAA. After graduation, she went to Shenyang Factory 119 (an aviation instrument factory). In the early winter of 1958, as one of the factory's 17 elite members, she traveled to Beijing to participate in building what was then Asia's largest aviation instrument factory 鈥?Factory 232 (Beijing Qingyun Aviation Instrument Co., Ltd.).
After retirement, Gu Xianjue was rehired by the China Academy of Railway Sciences and Times Company to continue standardization work, reviewing technical documents and training employees at all levels in standardization knowledge. She only truly retired after cultivating successors for the company. She compiled and published the Concise Standard Manual for Aviation Instrument Product Design, participated in the drafting and revision of multiple aviation industry standards, and received the fourth prize for major scientific and technological achievements from the Ministry of Aviation Industry.
In 2023, Gu Xianjue donated her lifetime collection of treasures to the Wuhu City Museum without compensation. In 2026, she donated 1,440 grams of gold to her alma mater. In her heart, her hometown is the native land that raised her, while her alma mater is the starting point of her career in serving the country through aviation.
Gu Xianjue spent a lifetime accumulating this 1,440 grams of gold. When she was young, she converted the money she saved into gold, and over decades she gradually built up this weighty token of affection. "Keeping these things by my side is not as good as giving them to places that need them more," she said. "I have long been away from the front lines of society, but NUAA has a bright future. I believe the university will certainly make good use of this fund."
Gu Xianjue left the decision to the university and also entrusted her expectations to the younger generation. This token of affection is not just gold itself, but also the trust an elderly woman accumulated over a lifetime.
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