Authors: Xiao Yu, Du Jian, Tang Shenjie, Gao Jingtao, Liu Yuhong, Li Liang
Affiliation: Department of Bacterial Immunology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University
Cite this article: 逄宇, Du Jian, Tang Shenjie, et al. A lifetime of dedication to the defense industry and the spirit of dedication to future generations——Remembering Professor He Mu, the founder of tuberculosis prevention and control in New China[J] . Chinese Journal of Tuberculosis and Respiration, 2024, 47(1) : 6-9. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn112147-20230814-00075.
summary
The author of this article recounts the life and deeds of Professor He Mu, the founder of tuberculosis prevention and control in New China, and his outstanding contributions in the fields of health development and talent training, through literature collection and review, expert interviews, etc., and expresses his admiration for this pioneer of tuberculosis in China.
He is the founder of tuberculosis prevention and control in New China, he is a pioneer of Shanxi's health industry, and he is also the first president of Beijing Chest Hospital. He dedicated his life to the cause of tuberculosis prevention and treatment in New China, and won everyone's respect and nostalgia. He is Professor He Mu (Picture 1).
Fig.1 Photograph of Professor He Mu (circa 1950)
1. Study in France and aspire to medicine
He Mu was born on April 22, 1905 in Langxia Town, Jinshan County, Shanghai. In September 1920, he was transferred to the High School Affiliated to Aurora University (now Shanghai Xiangming Middle School) to study French. After graduating in 1923, he entered the pre-medical department of Aurora University for two years. In July 1926, at the age of 21, He Mu went to study at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Strasbourg in France at his own expense. In October 1928, he was transferred to the Faculty of Medicine of the Franco-Chinese University of Lyon [1]. In May 1929, He Mu was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and this treatment experience had a great impact on his future tuberculosis prevention and treatment work. In 1932, he wrote a pamphlet about his knowledge of tuberculosis and published it in the Modern Student [2] (Fig. 2). In April 1934, he took his graduation exams at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toulouse, graduating in January 1935 with a doctorate in medicine [3].
Fig.2 Tuberculosis article published by Ho Mu in 1932
Fig.3 Panorama of Yan'an Central Hospital
Fig.4 Mao Zedong (1st from right) and medical staff of the Central Hospital in 1941. He Muyin did not attend the visit. In early 1935, He Mu returned to China, first practiced medicine in Wuxi, and soon went to work in Nanchang Shengjisi Hospital (now Nanchang Third Hospital). After the fall of Shanghai in 1937, he retreated to Chongqing. During his stay in Chongqing, He Mu was constantly in contact with progressive ideas, and after being introduced by Wu Yuzhang of the Chongqing Office of the Eighth Route Army, He Mu decided to go to Yan'an and start his new life.
2. Prepare for the construction of the hospital Yan'an
On August 6, 1938, He Mu came to Yan'an with X-ray machine and medical equipment with full enthusiasm for resisting Japan and saving the country. He Muxian served as the director of the pulmonary department of the border district hospital under the Ministry of Health of the Central Military Commission, and later served as the director of the outpatient department of the Central Health Department. In July 1939, entrusted by the central government, He Mu began to prepare for Yan'an Central Hospital and was appointed as the first president. Under He Mu's leadership, the Central Hospital improved its organizational structure and medical rules and regulations, expanded the number and scale of caves, and enriched its staff, becoming a medical highland in Yan'an [4] (Figure 3). The Central Hospital made an important contribution to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation [5]. From 1940 to 1945, 12,677 wounded and sick were admitted to the Central Hospital. Chairman Mao Zedong and other central leaders often inspected the Central Hospital (Figure 4). Yan'an Central Hospital has also become the origin of many hospitals, such as Xijing Hospital, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Tangdu Hospital, and the 302nd Hospital of the People's Liberation Army. He Mu is also the founder of Yan'an's antituberculosis cause. As a pulmonologist, he personally treated a large number of tuberculosis patients. In order to investigate the incidence of tuberculosis in Yan'an, He Mu personally conducted chest fluoroscopy and screened thousands of people for tuberculosis. On June 29, 1943, He Mu published "The Method of Rehabilitation of Tuberculosis" (Figure 5) in the Liberation Daily, introducing the prevention and treatment methods of tuberculosis to the people of Yan'an. In 1946, this article was also included in the book "Tuberculosis" published by Shandong Xinhua Bookstore (Figure 6).
Figure 5 He Mu published an article in Jiefang Daily in 1943
Figure 6 He Mu's article was selected for the book "Tuberculosis" published in 1946On August 30, 1945, He Mu honorably joined the Communist Party of China. He Mu called Yan'an his "first revolutionary hometown".
3. Go to Taihang and dedicate Shanxi
At the request of Liu Bocheng, commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar, and with the approval of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao Zedong, He Mu and others arrived at Taihang Mountain in September 1945, were ordered to set up a military district hospital, and were appointed deputy minister of the military region's health department. On July 1, 1946, the General Hospital of Bethune International Peace Hospital of Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region was formally established in the campus of Xingtai Normal School (now Xingtai University) in Hebei Province (Fig. 7), with He Mu as the president (Fig. 8). It is a fully equipped general hospital with 200 beds and 225 staff. The Peace Hospital soon became the medical and health center of the Taihang and Taiyue Liberated Areas. In April 1947, the nursing school with He Mu as the principal was opened. In the spring of 1948, after Liu Deng's army marched thousands of miles into Dabie Mountain, in view of the lack of medical resources in Taihang Mountain, he left the Peace Hospital in Taihang Mountain. In August 1948, the hospital and school were moved back to Changzhi, Shanxi, and renamed the Bethune International Peace Hospital (now Changzhi Peace Hospital) of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region [6]. In October 1948, the Peace Medical College (now Changzhi Medical College) was opened. Today, the statue of He Mu stands at the entrance of Changzhi Medical College and Peace Hospital.
Figure 7 Entrance of the International Peace Hospital
Figure 8 He Mu at Peace Hospital
Figure 9 Letter of appointment from Chairman Mao Zedong and He Mu
Figure 10 He Mu's letter of appointment issued by Premier Zhou Enlai
Fig.11 He Mu, Infectious Diseases and Their Prevention, 1949
Fig.12 Inpatient Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Beijing Medical College
Figure 13 Main building of the Central Tuberculosis Research Institute
Fig.14 He Mu's handwritten will
Figure 15 "Doctor He Mu" TV film In July 1949, He Mu was ordered to go to Taiyuan to take over the Shanxi Provincial Health Administration. In October 1949, Heping Medical College, Chuanzhi Medical College, Taiyuan Senior Midwifery School, and Shanxi University Medical College were merged and rebuilt into Shanxi Medical College, with He Mu as the dean. He Mu successively served as a member of the Shanxi Provincial People's Government, a member of the government's cultural and educational committee, and the director of the Provincial Health Department (Figures 9 and 10). During his tenure as director, he established and improved health administrative institutions and health medical institutions at all levels, strengthened the training of medical and health personnel, and improved the level of medical and health care. He Mu also laid a good foundation for Shanxi's antituberculosis work. Under his leadership, Shanxi took the lead in establishing a provincial epidemic prevention medical brigade in the country and opened the Taiyuan Infectious Disease (Tuberculosis) Hospital. In July 1949, He Mu, as the director of the Peace Hospital, gave a speech at a meeting of cadres under the title "Infectious Diseases and Their Prevention" (Fig. 11). This is an easy-to-understand tuberculosis prevention and control book.
Fourth, he was transferred to Beijing and dedicated himself to the research institute (institute)
In July 1951, He Mu was transferred to Beijing and served as the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Beijing Medical College (now Peking University Hospital) (Figure 12). In 1955, he was entrusted by the Ministry of Health to prepare for the establishment of the National Tuberculosis Research Institute. In May 1955, the Central Tuberculosis Research Institute (now Beijing Chest Hospital) was officially put into operation (Figure 13), and the 50-year-old He Mu became the first director. Since then, He Mu has dedicated all his talents and energy to the Central Tuberculosis Research Institute and to the cause of tuberculosis prevention and control in New China. Until 1978, when he was an adviser to the Ministry of Health, he worked at the Tuberculosis Research Institute for 23 years. He built a national tuberculosis research institute and hospital from brick by brick. This model of combining prevention, treatment, and research still has a tremendous effect today. The institute has not only developed itself, but also made great contributions to the establishment and improvement of the national tuberculosis prevention and control network, the development of tuberculosis hospitals across the country, and the training of tuberculosis prevention and control talents. Today, the hospital has been the core of clinical diagnosis and treatment and prevention and control of tuberculosis in China. This is soaked in He Mu's hard work. On April 11, 1990, He Mu died of illness in Beijing at the age of 85. In his will, He Mu requested that his body be donated to Beijing Medical College (Fig. 14). On April 27, 1990, the Ministry of Health issued a circular calling for learning from Comrade He Mu, a communist fighter. Just as the circular says: We should learn from his revolutionary spirit of putting the interests of the party and the people above everything else and not seeking personal gain; learn from his strong perseverance in working diligently, striving for perfection, striving for progress, and working hard; learn from his noble style of being frank, sincere, and tireless in teaching others; and learn from his noble qualities of distinguishing between public and private affairs, being honest and self-disciplined, and having a clean breeze on both sides[7]. In June 1991, CCTV and Shanghai Film Studio jointly produced "Doctor He Mu", which highly summarized He Mu's revolutionary life (Figure 15).
Fifth, do your best to be a model for future generations
He Mu was a revolutionary. He Mu came to Yan'an in 1938, joined the party in 1945, and successively experienced the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation and the construction of New China, and participated in revolutionary work for 52 years. He devoted his life and talents to the revolutionary cause of New China [8]. In his will, he also repeatedly told his family not to cause trouble to the party and the unit, which reflected the excellent qualities of a Communist Party member. He Mu is an excellent manager. The establishment of the Central Hospital during the Yan'an period shows his excellent medical management and organizational skills. The experience in Shanxi is a full demonstration of his health management ability. Despite his short time, he also left his mark on the development of Peking University Hospital. After coming to the Beijing Tuberculosis Research Institute, he has personally worked hard and done his best in the aspects of hospital preparation, discipline construction, talent training, and hospital development, showing the outstanding ability of an excellent medical manager. He Mu has a high degree of academic attainment. He served as the chairman of the 7th Committee of the Tuberculosis Branch of the Chinese Medical Association for 21 years (1958-1979), and made great contributions to the development of the branch, the improvement of academic standards and the cultivation of talents. His books and speeches on tuberculosis are concise, logical and persuasive. He often travels to various places to give lectures and disseminate the latest diagnosis and treatment techniques and information. He Mu has a humble character. According to Director Ma Yu's recollection, in the early days of the establishment of the institute, everyone would be organized to learn English every night, and the deputy director Qiu Zuyuan served as a teacher, and He Mu, as the director, also often participated. Professor Qiu described Professor He Mu as "English pronunciation with a French flavor". Professor He Mu was not angry at all about this, and practiced pronunciation like everyone else, setting a good example for young people. We have collected many photos of Professor He Mu and found that Professor He Mu generally does not stand in the "C" position when taking pictures. Humility is evident everywhere. He Mu also has great personality charm. In the early days of the establishment of the institute, there was a lack of professional talents, and "pulling people" became one of He Mu's most important tasks. According to the recollection of colleagues, in 1955 Xin Yuling, a thoracic surgeon, studied in the Soviet Union. He Mu was looking for him, and he spent an hour with the doorman of the Bolshoi Theater. When Xin Yuling saw him, he was taken aback: "Old He, how did you find here?" "I passed by here on my way to France for a meeting, and I made a special trip to discuss with you. Can you devote some of your energy to thoracic surgery and tuberculosis prevention? He went to the First Hospital of Peking University and said to Tian Wuchang, an orthopedic expert: "You are an orthopedic doctor, can you attack bone tuberculosis? It is glorious to fight for the cause of bone tuberculosis prevention and treatment all your life." Through He Mu's efforts, Qiu Zuyuan was transferred from Peking Union Medical College, Zheng Yizong and Xiang Manjun were transferred from Beijing Medical College, Cui Xiangying was transferred from Shanghai First Medical College, Yan Biya was transferred from Shanghai Second Tuberculosis Hospital, Zhu Guankun was transferred from Shanghai Antituberculosis Association, and Liao Ximei was transferred from Guangdong Cadre Sanatorium. Tian Wuchang served as the director of the Department of Orthopedics after coming to the institute, and Xin Yuling served as the director of the Department of Thoracic Surgery after returning to China. In 2021, Comrade Xin Yuling won the "July 1st Medal" for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the party. These people admire Professor He Mu from the bottom of their hearts and are full of affection for their career. All of them became the founders of the antituberculosis cause in New China.
Sixth, the planning and prevention of the creation of a system
He Mu's contributions to the country are not limited to management and academics. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, Ho Mu organized the establishment of a national tuberculosis prevention and control network and system, which laid an important foundation for the national tuberculosis prevention and control work. He personally presided over the first national forum on tuberculosis prevention and control in industrial and mining enterprises, and stressed on many occasions that the focus of tuberculosis prevention and control work should be placed on the grassroots level. He organized and led the first national tuberculosis epidemiological sample survey, which laid a good foundation for the development of a national tuberculosis control strategy. He presided over the formulation of the 1978-1985 China Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Plan, which contributed to the reduction of tuberculosis epidemics. During his serious illness, he was obsessed with the results of the Second National Epidemiological Survey and the development of the Institute. Today, the knot defense system created by He Mu still plays an important role. The Beijing Chest Hospital, which he founded, is still a national leader in nuclear disease prevention, research, clinical diagnosis and treatment, and education, and its business scope has been greatly enriched, and it has always taken it as its mission to serve the capital and lead the whole country. He likes to nurture and use talent. Many of the experts he organized and trained later became leaders of various institutions, which promoted the improvement of the quality of work in various places. The national hierarchical prevention network led by him still plays an effective role in prevention and control. These are the precious treasures that He Mu left us and our cause. Although Professor He Mu has been with us for more than 30 years, his spirit and deeds will always inspire us to work hard for the eventual eradication of TB. In the process of writing this article, Professor He Mu's son, Mr. He Fan, has received strong support and provided a lot of information