Commemorating the centenary of our beloved mentor Yu Min

This paper reviews the international backdrop of the proposal and research on laser fusion in the 1960s and 1970s, and differentiates concepts such as the neutron generation with powerful lasers, direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF), and indirect-drive ICF. Indirect-drive ICF was not declassified internationally until the end of 1993. Academician Yu Min, recipient of China’s Medal of the Republic, proposed the concept of indirect-drive ICF in China as early as the early 1970s. He independently conceived and designed the hohlraum target, established a research mode prioritizing theoretical research, assembled a theoretical research team at the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics in Beijing, put forward research topics and guided relevant studies. The 20-word guiding principle he formulated — clear objectives, economical scale, advanced technologies, precise physics, innovative approaches — together with the general research philosophy of “identical physical nature and approximated quantitative parameters”, still serve as the guiding compass for China’s ICF research to this day. Our beloved mentor Yu Min devoted his entire life to his cause and motherland, fully embodying wholehearted loyalty embodied in dedication until the last breath, fearless noble spirit, as well as extraordinary foresight and masterly strategic planning.