Remembering legendary Bethune

Bethune's legacy

Bethune cut his finger while operating on a wounded soldier on Oct 28, 1939. The infection spread, and on Nov 11, he hypothesized, "I think … I have septicemia or typhus fever."

Alex Bowers, a writer with Canada's military history magazine Legion, wrote in a recent article, "He was right. The next day, Nov 12, 1939, a combination of sepsis and gangrene claimed him after he refused to have his arm amputated. He was just 49 years old."

"Norman Bethune's legacy, however, lives on through several acts of remembrance, especially in China where, even today, an essay written in memoriam by Mao Zedong remains mandatory reading, "Bowers said in reference to the household article by Chairman Mao — "In Memory of Norman Bethune".

In his article dated Dec 21, 1939, over one month after Bethune's demise, Mao said, "Now we are all commemorating him, which shows how profoundly his spirit inspires everyone."

"We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit, everyone can be very useful to the people. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people," Mao added.

Li Longchi is a veteran medical expert with the People's Liberation Army and former honorary president of Chinese Bethune Spirit Research Association.

He said China "still needs the spirit of Bethune" when it comes to innovation and the pursuit of becoming a strong nation in science and technology.

"Pioneering, pursuing excellence and being the first is the way Bethune has always lived by."

While in Canada, Bethune had already invented dozens of types of medical devices, he noted.

"After arriving in China, he created a series of medical instruments and medical supplies adapted to the needs of guerrilla combat, based on the extremely rudimentary conditions and supplies in the revolutionary base areas."

As a keen researcher on Bethune, Li formerly worked as political commissar of Bethune Military Medical School, and he is associate managing editor-in-chief of Norman Bethune published in Chinese, English, French and Spanish by China Publishing Group.

"General Nie Rongzhen (of the PLA) praised him as a 'scientist and statesman for the public,'" Li said.

"In addition, Bethune's dedication to excellence in his work is exactly the spirit of craftsmanship that we endorse earnestly these days."

Regarding the changes that Bethune's dedication has brought to China, Li said, "Eighty-five years ago, Bethune's great spirit significantly inspired the Chinese people to fight for national independence and liberation, and since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has also greatly facilitated the improvement of moral codes in Chinese communities."

"Although Bethune left us 85 years ago, he is still able to be deeply remembered by the Chinese people, frequently commemorated in Canada, in Spain, and throughout North America and even in Africa, and he is constantly studied by historians and portrayed in works of art," he said.

"All these are strong living proof that Bethune's great spirit has not been diminished by the changing times, and that he has manifested great relevance to the current times," Li said.