Prof. W. Z. Chien was born on 9 October, 1912 and 1982 saw the 70th anniversary of his birth. Some of his friends, colleagues, and former students prepared this special volume in honour of his outstanding contribution to the field of mechanics. The volume does not contain contributions from all of his students and friends and for this we apologize. Prof. Chien's family have lived. in Qufangquiao Village, Hongshengli, Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province for generations. Many members of his family have been teachers in this village. When he was 14 years old his father died and for a time it appeared necessary to terminate his education but, fortunately, an uncle, Chien Mu, who later became a very famous historian in China, came to his aid and he was able to continue his studies. In 1931 he took entrance exams and was simultaneously admitted to five prestigious Chinese universities. Of these, he chose to enter Tsing-hau University in Beijing, with major work in physics. He received his baccaulaurate in 1935 and taught at middle school for a time until he was awarded a Sino:'British scholarship to study abroad. In the competition for this award, three of the recipients were in the field of mechanics: Prof. C. C. Lin, Prof. Kuo Yung-huai, and Prof. Chien Wei-zang. All three arrived in Toronto in August, 1940 and entered the Depart­ ment of Applied Mathematics of the University of Toronto to study under Prof. J. L. Synge.