News from China Jiangsu Network (Xinhua News Agency)(Reporter: Zhang Yang; Correspondents: Wang Na, Xiao Yaru)
Qingming Festival carries grief and remembrance, while great love endures forever. On the morning of April 1, Xuzhou Medical University solemnly held the Qingming Memorial Ceremony for Silent Mentors and the Anatomy Course Opening Ceremony themed Communicate Life with Life, Illuminate Universal Love with Gentle Light at the Silent Mentor Memorial Garden. Teachers, students and families of body donors paid sincere tribute to these silent mentors, embarking on an inspiring medical ideological and political lesson filled with gratitude and reverence for life.
Zhu Muwei, Secretary of the University Party Committee; Wang Yuan, Member of the University Party Committee Standing Committee and Vice President; Kang Ning, Party Secretary of Xuzhou Red Cross Society; Zhao Xuezhong, Vice President; and Professor Cheng Jie from China University of Mining and Technology, representative of donor families, attended the ceremony. Also present were persons in charge of relevant functional departments, student affairs leaders of each school, the leadership team of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, all faculty members of the Human Anatomy Teaching and Research Section, as well as postgraduate and undergraduate student representatives. The ceremony was presided over by Han Hongliu, Party Secretary of the School of Basic Medical Sciences.
The ceremony officially began at 9 a.m. All participants observed a moment of silence facing the Silent Mentor Monument, expressing deep sorrow and high respect for these selfless donors. In a touching speech, Professor Cheng Jie shared her parents’ moving story. As veteran educators, the couple made an agreement two decades ago to donate their bodies after death to boost medical progress. “They have not left; they simply live on in another way — in every precise anatomy lesson, in the growth of every medical student, and in countless lives to be healed in the future.” Her plain yet heartfelt words fully reflected the significance of life inheritance and moved everyone present to tears. Professor Cheng proudly announced that she had registered as an organ and body donation volunteer, following in her parents’ footsteps to pass on selfless love endlessly.
“We will always bear in mind this precious gift of life, live up to the trust entrusted to us, refine our medical skills, and repay the boundless kindness of humanity with benevolent hearts and professional expertise,” promised Zhu Zehua, student representative from the First School of Clinical Medicine. His resolute words embodied medical students’ awe for life and sense of mission.
Amid solemn attention, Zhu Muwei and Kang Ning jointly unveiled the newly engraved names of silent mentors. As the red curtain slowly fell, the names of 12 newly added body donors were permanently carved on the memorial wall, standing as an eternal monument of silent dedication on the campus of Xuzhou Medical University.
After the unveiling ceremony, student representatives delivered the poem recitation Light of Life, eulogizing the noble spirit of silent mentors who dedicate their bodies to the future of medicine, and expressing gratitude for the gift of life and firm determination to carry forward the medical mission.
On behalf of the university, Wang Yuan delivered an address, paying high tribute to selfless body donors and sincere thanks to their understanding families. She pointed out that Xuzhou Medical University has always integrated life education and medical ethics education into the whole process of talent cultivation, and regards remembering and thanking silent mentors as a core ideological and political course. She encouraged all medical students to follow the example of silent mentors, stay reverent, study diligently, translate respect for life into solid medical capabilities, and strive to become high-caliber modern medical talents with noble ethics and exquisite skills. She urged them to fulfill their mission and shine brightly in safeguarding people’s health and advancing the Healthy China Initiative.
At the end of the ceremony, participating leaders, family members, teachers and students laid flowers one by one before the monument to express endless remembrance and profound respect. Subsequently, the official opening of anatomy courses commenced. Witnessed by silent mentors, Xuzhou Medical University students began their anatomy studies with reverence and gratitude, turning this special memorial experience into motivation for future progress.
This event is not only a profound tribute to the greatness of life, but also a vivid practice for Xuzhou Medical University to deepen medical humanistic education and fulfill the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. One memorial garden, one profound ideological and political lesson, inspires generations of Xuzhou Medical University students to cherish the gift of life, uphold the original aspiration of medical workers, forge ahead firmly on the path of protecting public health and serving society, and interpret the responsibility and commitment of young medical professionals in the new era.
(Photo Credit: Wang Tianle, Qian Zijian)
