2016年CRI Dr. Ma Haide, First Foreigner Obtaining Chinese Citizenship

 

In the 1937 bestseller "Red Star Over China", American journalist and author Edgar Snow introduced the Communist Party of China to the world. Snow painted a vivid description of the Long March as well as biographical accounts of leaders

including Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, He Long and Mao Zedong. With the leaders was an anonymous¹ western-trained doctor who had examined Mao and dispelled² the rumors³ that he was dying of diseases. He was George Hatem, later

determined⁴ to be called Ma Haide, and is better known by his Chinese name.

Former president of Yan'an City Writers' Association, Bai Li(白黎), is the first few people to discover this secret when he worked as a reporter.

"Once, I went to Beijing to interview He Qinghua, who was Chairman Mao's bodyguard⁵. I asked him, 'Do you know the chairman's doctor in Yan'an?' And he said, 'that was Dr. Ma Haide.'"

But how did a foreign-educated doctor came to be here? And how did he become a confidant of one of the leaders of the Communist Party?

Born in Buffalo⁶, New York on September 26, 1910, Shafick George Hatem was the oldest son of Lebanese immigrants. Despite his family's poverty, Hatem's bright mind and optimistic though sometimes rebellious⁷ spirit won him recognition as a

superior student.

He attended pre-med classes at the University of North Carolina and medicine at the American University in Beirut and the University of Geneva. According to Hatem's widow Zhou Sufei, it was at Geneva where he became fascinated with

China.

"After his graduation from medical school in Geneva, he and his two friends planned to come to China because an article they read had said Shanghai is a playground for explorers. He thought this 'playground' must be exciting."

Former Vice-president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Lin Qing, has a different opinion as to why Hatem landed in China.

"From 1929-1933, the United States was in a state of economic depression. This has also affected⁸ other capitalist countries. On the other hand, in the Soviet⁹ Union, the condition was better. They completed their five-year plan in four

years. At the time, many came to China to pursue socialist¹⁰ or communist ideals."

Whether it was in pursuit of idealism or on an impulse, 23-year-old George Hatem arrived in Shanghai on September 5, 1933. He set up a medical practice and delivered medical care to the needy¹¹.

As he came to know Shanghai and its inequalities, he also came to know three people who shaped the ideas he used to interpret what he saw: the well-known journalist, Agnes Smedley, the New Zealand activist¹² Rewi Alley¹³, and the presiding

figure among left-wing sympathizers, Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen.

By 1936, disgusted by the corruption¹⁴ of Shanghai and alarmed by the world drift towards fascism, he decided¹⁵ that he would either go to Spain to support the Republican government or join the communist movement in Northeast China.

According to close friend Sydney Shapiro and Hatem's wife, a letter from Mao Zedong helped Hatem make up his mind.

"At that time, Yan'an, the headquarters for the Communist Party, was surrounded. So Chairman Mao wrote to Soong Ching-ling requesting two Americans – a journalist and a doctor."

"For the journalist, she suggested Edgar Snow. For the doctor, the first name that came to mind was Ma Haide."

In the summer of 1936, the two Americans travelled to Bao'an, the then temporary capital of the Communist-controlled Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Region. After three months, while Snow left to write his best-seller, Hatem's wife said he decided

to stay.

"He was assigned by Chairman Mao to survey the medical conditions of his troops. In reality, there was only one doctor who had medical training. The conditions were very poor. He found that the army was desperately¹⁶ in need of doctors."

In 1937, George Hatem changed his name to Ma Haide and became the first foreigner to join the Communist Party of China.

That year also marked the start of the War Against Japanese Aggression¹⁷. Dr. Ma sent requests to Soong Ching-ling, Agnes Smedley and other notables to organize recruitment of foreign medical personnel for the troops.

Ma Haide remained a doctor with the troops until the establishment of People's Republic of China in 1949. Afterwards, he became a public health official. He was the first foreigner granted citizenship¹⁸ in 1950. However, his medical

efforts were also recognized internationally when he received the Lasker Medical award in 1986.

He passed away in 1988 at the age of 78 and was buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery¹⁹.

1 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

2 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

6 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

7 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

11 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

17 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

18 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

19 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。