Three

Three

Medical ethics are the foundation of one’s character; when one’s character is high, one’s medical ethics naturally rise—during his many years of medical practice, Pei Zhengxue strictly followed his father’s advice: “To be a doctor, you must embody the spirit of a sage and the heart of a parent,” so that you can truly understand your patients’ pain.

Six years ago, the Lanzhou Chinese Medicine Factory produced a special drug for treating hepatitis B based on his research findings. According to relevant regulations, the factory rewarded him with 35,000 yuan in compensation. However, Pei Zhengxue donated the entire amount to research projects and academic publications.

In March 1993, Xu Yuansheng, an employee of Lanzhou Chemical Plant, suffered from cirrhosis with ascites and experienced massive bleeding. His father, eager to save his son, knelt down before Pei Zhengxue upon seeing him, weeping bitterly and sobbing uncontrollably. He casually handed over 500 yuan in cash. Faced with this extraordinary gesture from an elderly father, Pei Zhengxue spoke kindly yet solemnly: “Money—there’s no way I can accept it. Your son’s cirrhosis is indeed serious—but rest assured, I will do my best to treat him; in three months, I’ll help him walk again…” Some people thought the doctor’s promise sounded somewhat far-fetched—but sure enough, three days later, the patient’s bleeding stopped, ten days later the ascites disappeared, and a month later he was able to get out of bed—and after three months, he was fully mobile. Whenever the Xu family spoke of this incident, they were filled with gratitude.

In June 1993, renowned doctors and medical elites from across the country gathered by the Beidaihe River for the National Symposium on Complex and Difficult Cases. Pei Zhengxue, a native of Longshan, was elected to the chairmanship of the symposium and was even designated as the chief speaker, achieving tremendous success. Recalling his participation in the National Chinese Medicine Symposium in Taiyuan in 1980, where he proposed the idea that “Traditional Chinese Medicine should learn from Western Medicine,” many senior Chinese medicine practitioners stood up and cursed him on the spot, almost knocking him off the stage. Fortunately, more than a decade had passed—integrated Chinese and Western medicine had not only taken root in the “climate” but had also developed a relatively complete academic system, and his proposed “sixteen-character principle” had been recognized.