文章首先介绍了控制论的内容、方法和意义, 以及历史回顾，并特别强调其在人类文明和科技发展中的重要地位，进而介绍了钱学森《工程控制论》的内容、观点及其在整个控制论发展过程中的承前启后作用，特别强调了它定位于面向工程应用的理论及其技术科学的特点，即把工程实际中行之有效的原理和方法整理总结成为理论，又将此理论在解决工程问题中不断充实、提高和发展。随着他结合系统工程和大系统、复杂系统乃至复杂巨系统的控制问题逐步形成的综合集成方法论体系，进一步明确了他对控制论在系统科学体系中的地位、作用和现代发展方向的观点，对现代控制论的发展起到了重要的推动作用。文中具体介绍了系统工程、 系统科学体系和复杂系统控制理论的发展和融汇, 指出它们已成为当前科技迅猛发展的重要方面。最后简要介绍了当前信息科学全面发展的趋势，以及系统和控制理论在现代社会发展中的重要历史使命。

After a brief introduction to the contents, method and meanings of cybernetics and control engineering with a brief historical remark, Professor Qian Xuesen's《Engineering Cybernetics》is introduced with special emphasis on its contents, paradigms, and the important role it plays in the development of control theory from the “Classical” to the “Modern”. In the preface he stated , “Engineering cybernetics is an engineering science, which aims to organize the design principles used in engineering practice into a discipline and thus to exhibit the similarities between different areas of engineering practice and to emphasize the power of fundamental concepts”. With his modern work on systems engineering, large-scale systems, complex systems and complex giant systems, a new frontier of control science will be formed to meet the challenges of complexities in modern society and technologies