The world will never forget this modern hero's feat of magic

"Have you eaten yet?"

It's a common question that struck me, upon the start of my residence in China, as oddly routine.

However, the reason for this oft-heard question gradually became apparent, since in years past, before China's prosperity and the eradication of extreme poverty, it was not to be assumed that one had eaten properly, if at all, each day.

One hero in particular helped change that dramatically, and having recently finished the classic historical novel Three Kingdoms, its pages populated with heroes of epic proportion, I do not introduce the term lightly.

This particular modern-day hero was clearly not driven by a quest for fame, wealth or glory, but for the common good instead.

His selfless determination reminds me of my days at Creighton Prep, a Jesuit high school in my US hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. In order to encourage us to look past our selfish human tendencies, the school's Jesuit priests had students of all grades deliver food and basic necessities to the city's poorest residents, in a mission dubbed Operation Others.

The much-celebrated hero whom I speak of dedicated most of his 91 years on this good Earth to ensuring that China's people could be assured of food security.

I refer, of course, to Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice", whose vision, talent and perseverance turned the tide on hunger in his homeland and beyond.

Yuan would have been an apt hero in Three Kingdoms, which celebrates the greatness of strong character, loyalty, strategy and foresight.

For most readers of the novel, the sworn "brothers" Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who are the chief protagonists bound together by the Peach Garden Oath, come foremost to mind as heroes. Their accomplishments so many centuries ago continue to reverberate today, and you'd be hard-pressed not to encounter a likeness of Lord Guan, in particular, anywhere in China on a given day.

Also memorable through the ages is Zhuge Liang, the stargazing Taoist whose strategic wizardry was rooted in his understanding of human nature and the natural world as much as in his grasp of the I Ching, or Book of Changes, giving his triumphs the startling appearance of magic.

Similarly, Yuan Longping, who died on Saturday in Changsha, Hunan province, had firm and deep roots not only in the strong logic of science, but also in the fickle ways of Mother Nature (for well-grounded common sense, one need not look any further than a farmer). His major triumph, breeding a hardy and resilient super rice, speaks of magic as loudly as the feats of Zhuge Liang.

Come to think of it, Professor Yuan would also have been celebrated as a wizard in the time covered in the book Three Kingdoms (168-280), had China been blessed by his presence so much earlier. For, while much of the glory in those days went to emperors and top generals, military strategists and court diplomats, the most crucial heroes of any campaign were the people who procured, protected and transported life-sustaining grain.

The good professor's presence and knowledge would have provided a bounty of blessings in days long past. But it was our good fortune today, whether in China, Africa or anywhere on the planet, to reap the harvest of his talents.

A hungry people cannot be strong for long, as Professor Yuan knew just as well as the emperors, kings and military strategists of yore.

So the next time someone asks,"Have you eaten?", please remember, and be grateful for, this man who took the most down to earth of all professions and elevated it in the eyes of the world to the heights of wonder, helping in the process to fill food baskets everywhere.

Truly, this unassuming giant in his field undertook, on a grand scale, his very own Operation Others.