Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a Canadian thoracic surgeon who came to China in 1938 with a medical team to support the war of resistance against Japan.
At the front: he refused to stay safely behind, setting up mobile operating stations at the front line — 115 operations in 69 hours — and founded medical schools, wrote textbooks and trained Chinese military doctors.
Death: in November 1939 he cut his finger during surgery, contracted septicemia, and died aged 49 for lack of medicine.
Mao's tribute: after Bethune's death Mao Zedong wrote "In Memory of Norman Bethune", calling on everyone to learn his spirit of "utter devotion to others without any thought of self" — a text learned by generations of Chinese schoolchildren.
Today: hospitals and memorials carry his name in both Canada and China. During the COVID-19 pandemic his name was invoked again as a symbol of international medical solidarity.
Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor who came to China in 1938 to treat wounded soldiers on the anti-Japanese war front, finally dying of surgical infection. Mao Zedong wrote In Memory of Norman Bethune; the Chinese people remember him forever.
His choice: a renowned Canadian thoracic surgeon with a comfortable life, he gave it up and made his way to wartime China - "I came here to help the Chinese people."
His work: he set up mobile surgical units at the front, operating closest to the battlefield; he trained Chinese medical staff, wrote textbooks and left advanced field-surgery techniques in China.
His sacrifice: in 1939, while operating on a wounded soldier, he cut his finger, which became infected; he kept working and died of septicaemia at 49.
His spirit: Mao wrote "a person can be limited in ability, but with this spirit he is noble, pure, moral, above vulgarity, and beneficial to the people."
Commemoration: his name is known in every Chinese household - Bethune Medical University, memorial halls; his spirit is core content of Chinese medical ethics education.
Significance: he symbolises internationalism - showing one foreigner goodwill can cross borders and be remembered by a nation forever.
For readers: his story shows - truly great help is not charity but giving your life to those who need it.
His story also tells us: he could have stayed safely in the rear, but chose to put operating tables at the front because "the closer to the battlefield, the better the wounded chance of survival." Buried in Shijiazhuang, Chinese doctors and students honour him yearly. He left not only medicine but a spirit - valuing others lives above his own. Today, when Chinese doctors speak of "the benevolent heart of medicine", Bethune is the best example. His name is bound with selflessness.
Every Nurses Day and Chinese Doctors Day, someone retells Bethune story. His name is the best footnote to the word "great".
