Yu Qingsong (1897-1978), China's modern astronomer, was born in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province. He gained a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD degree from the University of California in the United States.

From 1947 to 1955, he worked at the University of Toronto and the Harvard College Observatory; he was also professor of Hood College and director of the Williams Observatory.

After returning to his homeland, he served as professor and director of the Department of Astronomy, Xiamen University, and was afterwards appointed director of the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of Academia Sinica.

He was responsible for the construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and the Phoenix Mountain Observatory in Kunming, Yunnan province. He also served as the president of the Chinese Astronomical Society.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory named the 3,797th asteroid discovered, Yu Qingsong.