Nine years ago, Qin Boyi, a former academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, retired from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences after a one-year wait.

Qin became the only person to successfully retire from the prestigious academy. There is no retirement system for academicians, who hold their titles for life.

The 81-year-old scholar, a former pharmacologist studying neurological medicines and industrial toxicology, was named an academician in 1994 at 62 and retired in 2002 at 70.