Bethune almost immediately set out for the hazardous(复杂危险的) surroundings of the mountain ranges of Yen an. In the company of the Eighth Route Army, Bethune practiced his profession as best as he could. There were no mobile units and there was a desperate need to recruit medical trainees and convey his knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the soldiers. Consequently, there was an urgent requirement for illustrated medical manuals.

　　Both soldiers and peasants required a good deal of medical attention. Again, under very trying(难受的,费劲的) conditions, and with a lot of nerve, determination and courage, Bethune and his crew of Chinese assistants were eventually able to establish and coordinate over twenty medical and nursing teaching hospitals. Because of shortages of personnel and other difficulties, Bethune himself routinely operated for days without reasonable breaks. In one period, he worked continually for sixty-nine hours on a total of one hundred and fifteen patients. His ability to endure such hard conditions and retain his sanity(头脑清醒) was little short of a miracle(奇迹). It was under these conditions that his life became abruptly(突然的) doomed(注定). In October of 1939, possible suffering from extreme fatigue, he accidentally cut his left hand with the blade of his scalpel(解剖刀). Without proper medical supplies and with germs everywhere, his hand became infected and blood poisoning (a disease called septicemia) spread. He died on November 12, 1939.

　　Dr. Norman Bethune’s stature ([思想的] 境界, 高度) became even greater in death. The affection of the Chinese people for him swelled Emotions ran high upon the news of his death. His capacity to move people, and his insight into humanity was never so evident as during this period. The Chinese people were extremely grateful that such a man had crossed their paths.

　　During this solemn time, tributes to Bethune came from many parts of the world. He was described as an activist, a writer, a teacher, an administrator, and above all, a great doctor. Mao said of him, “… We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him.”

　　After a very simple funeral, as he, had requested, Dr. Norman Bethune was buried in the Mausoleum (陵墓) of the Martyrs in Shih Chia Chuang, southeast of Beijing. The Chinese named a medical school and a hospital in his memory. Many other memorials have been erected in his memory over the years.

　　One ironic(具有讽刺意味的) tragedy of all of this was that, up until 1973, Dr. Bethune had never received much recognition from his native country of Canada. Furthermore, he was not even acknowledged for his accomplishments, presumably because of his communist connection. In 1973, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, another Canadian who had spent a good deal of time in China in his earlier years, convinced his Government to purchase the Bethune house in Graven Hurst, Ontario, and dedicated(把…用于) it as “Bethune Memorial House”.

　　Dr. Bethune’s impact on medicine was not singular. His career was very comprehensive, as noted above, as he attained an extraordinary list of accomplishments of highest merit. Among his many goals, was one goal that was not fulfilled until after his death? In 1938, while in china, he recommended a universal health system for Canada. Ironically, Donald Sutherland, the Canadian actor who played Bethune in the movie about the latter’s life, called “Bethune: the Making of a Hero”, had been married to the daughter of Douglas. Douglas, when he was the Socialist Premier of Saskatchewan, a western province in Canada, set up a social medicine scheme in his province. Later, in the 1960’s, as a Member of Parliament in the national government, Douglas Played a significant role in establishing a national health system. He later became known as the father of Canada’s Medicare system, as it was eventually called.

　　Bethune is probably best known for his introduction of the mobile blood bank to the battlefield, and giving blood transfusions(输血) in the midst of heavy fighting. China worships him almost as a saint. Upon his death, the Chinese gave him a fond farewell. The charity of his soul still lives on among many Chinese. As Canadian teachers in China, we are often greeted by Chinese people, who make references of praise to this Great Canadian Doctor and humanitarian. Unfortunately, many Canadians know little about the incredible work for humanity undertaken by this remarkable man. This decent, in many ways, simple man was, indeed, one of the great world ambassadors who fought for the poor and less fortunate.

　　诺尔曼·白求恩：一个在中国的加拿大英雄

　　诺尔曼·白求恩于1890年出生在加拿大安大略省的格雷文赫斯特。他的家族有从事公共事业的悠久历史，这毫无疑问地影响了他以后的发展。从一开始，他还是一个青年大学生的时候，他就立下志向，他的丛生目标就是要有一颗怜悯之心，承担起社会责任，帮助不幸的人们摆脱贫困的桎梏，获得自由。他坚定不移地培养了一种无私的精神，这种精神贯穿他的一生，从不考虑个人的得失。他有一次不成功的婚姻，最终以离婚收场。他生活中的唯一目的是让医术精益求精和积极从事人道主义活动。在这种情况下，可想而知，比他年轻得多的妻子弗朗西斯是难以接受的。

　　1911年到1912年，白求恩在安大略的一个偏远地区做一名伐木工和教师。他在“边疆学院”教书。那是一所专门为伐木营地的成年工人提供基础教育的学校。

　　第一次大战期间，他成了一名担架手(帮助从战场上运送伤员)。他自己也被流弹(爆炸后弹壳的碎片)所伤。作为一个病人，他不得不在医院住了几个月，接受治疗，等待伤口康复。

　　战后，他在英国伦敦的儿童医院完成了实习医师期，领到了“皇家外科医学院会员”的资格证书。

　　之后，在美国，白求恩就与贫穷和落后联系在一起了。但他的医术也吸引了富有的病人，他们可以付钱来得到那些通常拒绝对穷人进行的治疗。他认识到金钱是如何腐蚀医疗系统的，并开始急切地关注被人忽视的穷人中的医疗需求和苦难。他的使命就是尽其所能地使不幸的人们摆脱困境。他对政府漠视这些情况感到震惊。也就在这时，他自己的健康开始恶化。他的左肺染上了肺结核，于是他进行了一次成功但很危险的手术。健康上出现的这一段插曲，对他的一生产生了极大的影响。这激发了他对心胸科医学，特别是该领域的外科方面的兴趣，促使他在美国的一家肺病医院工作了几年。

　　在美国工作的这段时间之后，1929年，他开始成为蒙特利尔的皇家维多利亚医院胸科医学专家。他开始在医学杂志上撰写文章介绍新的外科技术。后来，他发明、研究并改进了外科仪器。