Samuel C.C. Ting’s speech at the Nobel Banquet, December 10, 1976

(Translation)

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Professor Burton Richter and I wish to thank the Nobel Foundation and the Royal Academy of Sciences for the great honor which has been conferred on us.

Having grown up in the old China, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize to young students from developing nations the importance of experimental work.

There is an ancient Chinese saying “He who labours with his mind rules over he who labours with his hand”. This kind of backward idea is very harmful to youngsters from developing countries. Partly because of this type of concept, many students from these countries are inclined towards theoretical studies and avoid experimental work.

In reality, a theory in natural science cannot be without experimental foundations; physics, in particular, comes from experimental work.

I hope that awarding the Nobel Prize to me will awaken the interest of students from the developing nations so that they will realize the importance of experimental work.