China's 'commoner academician' continues to give his all to the nation, even in death, Zheng Caixiong reports in Guangzhou.

Lu Yonggen, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, once said he thought his daughter - his only child - could support herself and so he didn't need to leave her any property or money.

"The Communist Party of China nurtured and trained me, so I returned all my property to the State to be used for society," Lu said. "It is my final contribution to the State."

Lu died at age 89 in August. He had donated his life savings, valued at more than 8.8 million yuan ($1.15 million), to South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to set up a special education fund for excellent young teachers and for students from poor families.

It was the largest single donation from an individual in the university's 108-year history.

For Lu, it was part of a pattern: In 2014, he persuaded his brother to donate the family's two ancestral houses to Luodongcun Primary School in Guangzhou, his hometown.