Rabbits

Biodata

Background

“Rabbits” is a collective nickname, not a group of literal rabbits. It is used for Huaxia as a nation and for the people carrying out its scientific and military projects 518 635 781.

Nuclear threats following the war on the Korean Peninsula helped drive the Rabbits’ atomic-energy program. Qian Sanqiang proposed such a program in 1953; two years later, the leadership decided to pursue nuclear weapons and signed an aid agreement with the Soviet Union 518. After Soviet experts withdrew, the Rabbits continued work despite shortages of equipment and research resources 518 588.

Story Role / Major Arcs

The 1960s projects

• Nuclear research — The Rabbits develop uranium-bomb research and diffusion separation membranes while working within severe equipment and budget limits 537 588. Xu Yun’s arrival brings the theoretical design of their atomic bomb forward by nearly five months 644.
• The U-2 interception — Base 221 develops weather Doppler radar, the Zhu Xian airship platform, and Immortal Slaying Sword missiles to counter high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft 544 554 557. The operation shoots down three U-2s without Chinese losses 574.
• Particle physics — Their scientists derive results involving Goldstone bosons and a Higgs-like field. Xu Yun urges them to publish internationally so Huaxia’s physics community can gain recognition 635 636.
• The three-bomb tests — The Rabbits prepare atomic, hydrogen, and neutron-bomb projects 736. Their miniature neutron-bomb test succeeds, demonstrating mastery of its core theory rather than a combat-ready weapon 768.
• The South Pacific missile test — They launch the DF-2 toward the South Pacific and then compete with foreign forces to recover its data pod 770 778. Wang Anyi’s team retrieves it 792.

Later-era references

• Yongling excavation — Japanese and Korean observers distrust the Rabbits’ reported discovery of the Yongle Encyclopedia, despite being invited to follow the excavation 508.
• Research security — The Rabbits keep their gravity gradiometer secret to preserve its potential deterrent value 489.