DeepSeek Opens the Door of Time and Space | A Dialogue across a Century between Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Contemporary Medical Students...
The Life of Dr. Sun Yat-sen
In 1886, with the ideal of saving the dying and healing the wounded in his heart, Dr. Sun Yat-sen stepped into the Pok Tsai Medical School (now Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University), embarking on his journey to save the country through medicine.
In 1892, Dr. Sun Yat-sen graduated from the Hong Kong College of Western Medicine. Subsequently, he practiced medicine in places such as Macau and Guangzhou, and with his exquisite medical skills, he treated countless patients.
In 1924, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, together with the early leaders of the Communist Party of China, jointly established two schools, one focusing on liberal arts and the other on military affairs. The "military school" is the renowned Whampoa Military Academy, which trained revolutionary military cadres. And the "liberal arts school" is the National Guangdong University, which is the predecessor of Sun Yat-sen University.
On March 12, 1925, Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed away in Beijing due to illness.
The life of Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a magnificent one in which he unremittingly fought for the country and the nation. At the beginning, he entered the medical field with the ideal of saving the dying and healing the wounded, and benefited the people with his exquisite medical skills. Later, witnessing the national crisis, he resolutely gave up his medical career and entered politics, embarking on the revolutionary journey. In the final days of his life, he was still committed to promoting education and cultivating pillars of talent for the country.
The spirit of Dr. Sun Yat-sen embodies the great love of a benevolent doctor, as well as the sense of responsibility of taking the world's affairs as one's own and daring to be the first, and the perseverance in the face of hardships and obstacles without yielding.
On March 12, 2025, it has been a hundred years since Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed away. However, his spirit has transcended the time and space of a century and still shines brightly, constantly inspiring contemporary medical students to forge ahead bravely.
When we start a dialogue across a century of time and space with Dr. Sun Yat-sen through DeepSeek...
Me: Sir once said, "I have deeply reflected that the essence of Europe's prosperity and strength does not entirely lie in its powerful warships and guns, but rather in enabling people to give full play to their talents, making the land yield its full potential, utilizing resources to the fullest, and ensuring the smooth circulation of goods. These four aspects are the fundamental principles for achieving prosperity and strength and the cornerstones of governing a country." (From the Letter to Li Hongzhang in 1894.) Nowadays, there are doctors stationed in township health centers who are mocked for being "overqualified for their positions." How do you define the magnitude of one's "talent"?
Dr. Sun Yat-sen: Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look. This houttuynia cordata grows in the ridges and puddles of fields, and a bundle of it can be bought for just three copper coins. This Chinese caterpillar fungus grows on the precipices of snowy regions, and its price is comparable to that of gold. However, when it comes to treating the lung heat of children, it is precisely this "humble material" that proves to be of greater use! When I practiced medicine in Macau in those days, I saw that coolies, when afflicted with diseases, would rather chew plantain herbs than go to foreign hospitals. Only then did I realize that the significance of "talent" does not lie in the grandeur of the institution one is in, but rather in whether it can address the specific symptoms. Nowadays, there are doctors deeply engaged in grassroots townships. How can this be regarded as "using great talent for a minor task"? If you truly understand the principles of medicine, you should know that the value of medical talents does not lie in the height of their positions, but in their actual contributions. In 1923, during my speech at Lingnan College (now the South Campus of Sun Yat-sen University), I once said, "I urge you all to aspire to do great deeds, not to seek high official positions." The great talent of a doctor never lies within the grandeur of glazed domes, but rather when one is practicing medicine to help the world!
Me: Sir once said, "Curing the country and curing the people have the same origin but different paths of development." (During the period when he practiced medicine in Guangzhou in 1893.) You gave up your medical career and entered politics because "curing individuals is not as good as curing the country." Nowadays, some scholars deliberately choose popular target points when publishing papers. Is this aspiration of "curing the country" being distorted by the impact factor?
Dr. Sun Yat-sen: Do you all recognize this Chinese liver fluke? It is a relatively less well-known parasite. However, when I practiced medicine in Macau back then, it was responsible for nine out of ten medical records! Curing the country is like treating malaria. How can we just focus on the symptoms of high fever and forget about the latent causes? In the past, I developed anti-opium pills to treat the symptoms and wrote a long letter to address the root cause. Although they seemingly took different paths, they actually originated from the same source - both were aimed at curing the chronic illnesses of the so-called "Sick Man of East Asia"! If people today are trapped by the impact factor, it is just like the Qing government in the past that only purchased ironclad warships but did not establish schools. Look, popular research targets are like the eye-catching test tubes on the shelf, while less popular research is like the underlying foundation. If you suddenly remove three tubes from the bottom layer, the whole row of reagents will collapse with a crash. Without the research on the metabolism of trypanosomes, how could there be new drugs for African sleeping sickness? Without ten years of tracking the malaria parasite, how could artemisinin be discovered to save people's lives? The true aspiration of "curing the country" does not lie on the front page of the journal *Nature*, but in the smiling face of the old woman in Lingnan who is free from schistosomiasis! You all should remember that the learning of saving people is never afraid of being less popular. What it fears is that the enthusiasm in scholars' hearts will be chilled in the ice cellar of the impact factor!
Me: Sir, the transition in your life from healing individuals to saving the country is filled with courage. If you could relive your life, how would you balance idealism with real-life dilemmas?
Dr. Sun Yat-sen: Do you all know that when I practiced medicine and dissected the sick body, I saw the blocked blood vessels, and when I tried to govern the country and observed the accumulated social ills, it was just like seeing a festering sore. If I could live my life again, I would still put down the scalpel and pick up the pen as a weapon! But perhaps I would prepare a few more "catalysts for the medicine": The first is to follow the world trend to break the chronic stubbornness of conservatism; the second is to inspire the enthusiasm of the youth to nourish the vitality of innovation; the third is to leverage the power of industry to strengthen the foundation of people's livelihood. Idealism is like the sail, and realism is like the anchor. Without either of them, the boat will capsize in the waves. Don't be like the sparrows under the eaves that talk about the situation all day long. Instead, be like Jingwei, the bird that carried stones to fill the gap between the ideal and the reality with actions.
Me: Sir, the school motto of Sun Yat - sen University, "Erudition, Inquiry, Cautious Reflection, Discrimination, and Earnest Practice", has endured for a hundred years. Which aspect do you think contemporary young students need to strengthen the most?
Dr. Sun Yat-sen: I have seen young people who have read countless books but are timid about rolling up their trousers and going down to the fields, and I have also seen those who talk emptily about doctrines but are negligent in surveying the streets and alleys. The ten characters of the school motto are like the five fingers of a hand, and it is only when they clench into a fist that their power is revealed. Nowadays, "earnest practice" is especially crucial. We should know that vaccines should be injected into people's arms, that fairness should be enshrined in laws, and that the vastness of the galaxy should be translated into the code under our fingertips. The China on paper is not the real China. Erudition is like the volume of water, inquiry is like the boiling of water, cautious reflection is like the arrangement of fallen leaves, discrimination is like the wafting of fragrance, and it is only through earnest practice that the drinker can taste its sweetness. People today are easily trapped in the ocean of information, and they should take "earnest practice" as their boat. When seeing the data on rural revitalization, don't just stop at the graphs and charts in the thesis, but go deep into remote and poor areas for in-depth verification. When reading the provisions of the Civil Code, don't be confined to the debates in the classroom, but go deep into the streets and alleys to listen to the real demands of the people. If learning is not imprinted on the land, it will ultimately be like a flower in the mirror or the moon in the water.
The great man has passed away, but his noble character and spirit still endure. This revolutionary pioneer, who once practiced medicine and saved lives under the name "Yixian", spent his entire life interpreting the creed of "saving people, the country and the world; treating illnesses, bodies and hearts". Today, beneath the white coats of us students beats the same sincere original aspiration as that of a century ago—— the enthusiasm for practicing medicine to help the world has never faded, and the courage to explore the truth has become even stronger with the passage of time.
Sir once said, "Do not ask others to do what you should do yourself; do not put off until tomorrow what should be done today."
He hoped that we could rise to the occasion and take on responsibilities bravely, and act resolutely.
Sir once said, "Without learning, there can be no construction."
This is to teach us to attach importance to learning and lay a foundation for the country's construction.
Sir once said, "The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrades still have to work hard."
This is to inspire us that even in the face of challenges and difficulties, we should not give up easily.
Sir once said, "The trend of the world is surging forward. Those who follow it will thrive, while those who go against it will perish."
Sir, please take a look --
Today, the Sun Yat-sen School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, is earnestly following your teachings. Starting from medical education, it is committed to the construction of a Healthy China, shouldering the mission of national rejuvenation, and taking a broad view of the cause of human health. With a higher perspective and stance, it focuses on cultivating medical talents who possess both superb medical skills and humanistic feelings, and contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the health cause of all mankind.
Today, the people of Sun Yat-sen School of Medicine, from conducting free medical consultations at the grassroots level to standing on the international academic stage, from providing educational assistance to driving scientific and technological innovation, are, with the broad mind of "setting great aspirations and doing great deeds", adhering to the concept of "saving people, the country and the world; treating illnesses, bodies and hearts", actively participating in the great practice of building a Healthy China, supporting the magnificent journey of national rejuvenation, and continuing to write a glorious medical chapter in the new era.
More than a hundred years ago, the young Sun Yat-sen put down his scalpel and raised the torch of revolution. More than a hundred years later, the people of Sun Yat-sen School of Medicine have taken up the torch, safeguarding the common people with benevolence and medical skills.
We are not only the inheritors of history but also the creators of the future. May every medical student turn the oath of "entrusted with health and lives" into the driving force for moving forward. Through this dialogue across time and space, we should remember Dr. Sun Yat-sen's original aspiration and take more determined steps towards the future!
(Original link: WeChat official account "Zhongshan School of Medicine": https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/IgKM8aYxO9O84k0PKhYLfg )
