Remembering a Special Editor

Greetings again. I hope you’re doing well.

Late one night earlier this month, I checked my email. It contained a message from China, where I have many colleagues and former students. Usually such messages bring happy greetings. But this message was sad.

The message regarded editor Qian Shouchu, with whom I had worked long ago and who remained a good colleague and friend. Qian’s son was writing to tell me that his father had died.

I first met Qian in the 1980s, when I was working in China. Four days a week, I taught research writing there. One day a week, I worked at the Chinese Medical Association, where Qian was an editor.

As well as being an excellent editor, Qian was a talented artist. Over the years, he gave me several pieces of his work. A Chinese editorial trainee of mine has written an article about Qian as an editor and artist.

Qian also wrote books on scientific writing. In addition, he wrote the preface to the Chinese version of a book I coauthored.

During visits to China, I continued to meet with Qian. Last May, when I was about to visit, he said he was very ill. A Chinese colleague took me to the hospital to see Qian.

Qian's health seemed to improve for a while. But late last month Qian succumbed to his illness.

Long before AuthorAID existed, Qian was already aiding authors. His editing helped many researchers to publish good papers. And his writings have helped strengthen scientific writing in China. Please join me in honoring his memory.

Until the next post—

Barbara