Dr. Zeng Qingyuan was born in October 1925 in Zhengzhou Village, Luoxi Town, Taihe County, Jiangxi Province, into a humble farming family. Although resources were limited, his parents and relatives placed great importance on education and supported him wholeheartedly. At the age of eight, he began four years of study in a traditional private school, where his quick intellect and exceptional memory became evident. During this time, he read widely and completed more than ten classical works, including The Analects, Mencius, Zuo Zhuan, The Book of Songs, and Guwen Guanzhi. After two years of formal primary education, he entered Taihe County Junior High School, where he consistently ranked among the top students, particularly in mathematics, and independently studied Fine’s College Algebra.

In 1943, Dr. Zeng entered the senior division of National No. 13 Middle School in Ji’an, Jiangxi.

In 1946, he was admitted to the Department of Civil Engineering at National Chung Cheng University in Nanchang (now Nanchang University).

Upon graduating in 1950, he remained at the university as a teaching assistant.

Following the nationwide restructuring of higher education in 1953, he joined the Department of Bridge & Tunnel Engineering at the Central South Institute of Civil & Architectural Engineering in Changsha. Later that year, he was selected by the Ministry of Higher Education for graduate study in timber structures at Harbin Institute of Technology. As Soviet experts had not yet arrived, he first spent six months learning Russian. In August 1954, he was reassigned to Tsinghua University to pursue graduate studies in steel structures under Soviet specialists.

After completing his graduate programme in July 1956, Dr. Zeng returned to the Central South Institute of Civil & Architectural Engineering.

In August 1960, shortly after the establishment of Changsha Railway University, he was transferred to the new institution to teach steel and timber structures in the bridge, tunnel, and railway engineering programmes, serving concurrently as Deputy Director of the Structural Engineering Teaching and Research Office.

In 1976, he participated in an experiential teaching initiative at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge construction site, where he served as administrative coordinator of the educational practice team.

Dr. Zeng joined the Communist Party of China in 1988.

In November 1999, he was elected Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Despite the efforts of the medical staff, Dr. Zeng Qingyuan passed away at 6:52 a.m. on 3 June 2016 at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University at the age of 91.