Jean Augustin Bussiere， “Bethune from France”

“We will never forget the important contribution made by numerous French friends to the cause of China’s development： Jean Augustin Bussiere， a French doctor， risked his life to transport much needed medicine on his bike to base area of anti-Japanese aggression in China，” said President Xi Jinping at the meeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations in Paris on March 27， 2014.

“Comrade Norman Bethune， a member of the Communist Party of Canada， was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China； he made light of travelling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yen’an in the spring of last year， went to work in the Wutai Mountains， and to our great sorrow， died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own？ It is the spirit of Internationalism， the spirit of communism...”

This is a quote from one of Chairman Mao Zedong’s works， In Memory of Norman Bethune， issued on December 21， 1939. In the 1960s and 1970s， almost every Chinese could recite this article and Dr. Norman Bethune， the Canadian doctor coming afar to help China， became a household name across the country. However， little has been known about Jean Augustin Bussiere， a French doctor who also traveled thousands of miles to help China in its War of Resistance Against Japan and selflessly adopted the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own. On October 31， 2014， I had the opportunity to visit the Beijing Western Hills Exhibition on the History of China-France Cultural Exchange and began to have some understanding of this “Bethune from France”.

Jean Augustin Bussiere was born in Creuse， a department of central France， in 1872. He received a doctor’s degree in medicine at the age of 20. In 1913， with his wife Marion and two lovely daughters， he came to China to work and taught at the Tianjin High Business School. In 1914， he came to Beijing to work as a doctor for the French Embassy and as President of St. Michelle’s Hospital， also known as the “French Hospital”.

In 1915， he bought a courtyard house at No.16， Datian-shuijing Hutong， on the western side of Wangfujing Street， where Chinese and foreign diplomats， scholars， poets， explorers and social activists often gathered. It became a social salon at that time. In 1918， the then President of Peking University Cai Yuanpei invited Dr. Bussiere to work as a doctor of the university.

In 1923， his wife Marion died and his two daughters caught tuberculosis. In order to help his daughters recover， he purchased a plot of land in Niu-jiangou， at the foot of Mount Yangtai in Beijing’s Western Hills and constructed a Tibetan style villa， which was called “Bei Jia Hua Yuan （Garden of the Bussieres）” by the local people； it became his second home in Beijing.

Dr. Bussiere was an easy-going and generous person who often gave free medical treatment to people living around his two homes. He was called “Lao Bei （Old Bussiere）” affectionately by the local people according to native custom.

On July 8， 1937， gun and cannon fire in the Wanping Fortress， on the southern outskirts of Beijing， shattered the peace of the Western Hills. The Japanese invaders flagrantly launched full-scale aggression against China， triggering an eight-year war of resistance by the Chinese army and civilians. On behalf of medical personages of diplomatic missions in China， Dr. Bussiere immediately wrote to the Red Cross Society of China （Beijing Branch） offering help and set up a field first-aid team.

On July 27 and 28， Tong Linge， Deputy Commander of the 29th Army and Field Commander in Nanyuan， and General Zhao Dengyu， Commander of the 132 Division sacrificed their lives for the country. Beijing was occupied by the Japanese on July 29. The next day， Dr. Bussiere accompanied the military attaché of the French Embassy to Wanping Fortress to take pictures of the damaged gate towers as records and treat wounded Chinese.

Thereafter， he began to secretly help Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan. His two residences became important links in the underground line of transportation for the western Beijing anti-Japanese base. At that time， the Japanese army set up a “Japanese Army Hot Spring Garrison” in the area and numerous checkpoints on the way to the city， causing great tension.

Cheng Yanqiu， then a well-known master of Peking Opera， living in seclusion at Qinglong Bridge， wrote in his diary： “There are two checkpoints from Haidian to Qinglong Bridge. I have witnessed the police blocking the way to seize all kinds of food in extremely violent and wicked manner”. People in the western districts fought indomitably against the Japanese invaders in a variety of ways amid great difficulties. Miaofeng Mountain in the area was an important anti-Japanese base and the guerilla forces was headquartered not far from the Garden of the Bussieres. During this period， a white bearded foreigner was often seen riding a bicycle on the dirt road of about 50 km to and from the city of Beijing and the Garden of the Bussieres. This was Dr. Bussiere， then nearly 70 years of age.

As a representative of the Alliance Francaise in China and the French Red Cross Society， he brought medicine from hospitals in the city to his villa in the hills， most of which were delivered to the western Beijing anti-Japanese base and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area through underground lines of transportation. Dr. Bussiere even went to the base area personally to treat wounded Chinese soldiers and civilians， regardless of his own safety.

On December 7， 1941， the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and started the Pacific War. Two friendly personages of Yenching University， Professors Michael Lindsay and William Band， drove university president John Leighton Stuart’s car to escape from the city. CPC underground workers and guerillas escorted them to the western Beijing anti-Japanese base through the Garden of the Bussieres. Later they arrived in Yan’an. The high power transmitter-receiver they brought to the base area not only helped the War of Resistance Against Japan， but also played a significant role at the beginning of the war of liberation when the Central Committee of the CPC fought in northwest China. The telecommunications talents they cultivated in rear areas later became pioneers of New China’s telecommunications sector.

On the afternoon of April 11， 2014， a journalist interviewed Mr. Mei Hongkun， son of Mr. Mei Xiaoshan， Dr. Bussiere’s chauffeur. According to Mei Hongkun， his father had served Dr. Bussiere as chauffeur since 1926. He himself was born in the courtyard at No. 16 Datianshuijing Hutong in 1934. Around 1948， Dr. Bussiere introduced his father to an employer in Shanghai for safety’s sake since his father knew details of how Dr. Bussiere had supported Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan.

Mei Hongkun still remembered that each time his mother asked his father where he was going whenever he started his car， he always made the sign of eight with his figures. At that time he didn’t know what that gesture meant， but later he understood it meant the Eighth Route Army. He once accompanied Dr. Bussiere， taking a rickshaw to the St. Michelle’s Church in Taijichang Street to fetch guns for later delivery to the Western Hills.

This “bicycle route” mentioned by President Xi Jinping was a legendary story of Dr. Bussiere unknown in China. The doctor had written down the following words to describe the experience， “I once witnessed and experienced how the Chinese army and civilians fought against the Japanese invaders and was greatly moved. I’d like to help this courageous nation as much as possible because I love China and the Chinese people deeply.”

In 1950， the 77-year-old Bussiere married Wu Sidan， a 26-year-old girl from an eminent family. The age difference did not become an obstacle to their love. Dr. Bussiere was fascinated about Chinese culture， especially in the study of similarities between Christianity and Taoism. The older he got， the more wisdom he unfolded.

Madame Wu was well versed in music and painting and learned Chinese landscape painting from famous painters Fu Jin and Fu Quan. However， their peaceful life in the Garden of the Bussieres was soon interrupted by outside storms. In 1954， with more French troops being sent to Vietnam， the wave of anti-French feeling in China intensified. Dr. Bussiere returned to France with his wife.

Mr. Shu Yi， Vice Chairman of the China Public Diplomacy Association， who has been studying and exploring contributions made by French friends such as Dr. Bussiere to the progressive cause of the CPC for years， described him as a true internationalist anti-fascist fighter， a true friend of the Chinese people and a close comrade-in-arms of the progressive cause of the CPC.

During the eight-year war of resistance， many international friends， such as David Iancu and Dr. Bucur Clejan from Romania， British friend Michael Lindsay and Professor William Band， like Norman Bethune， actively supported Chinese army and civilians in a variety of ways. However， they did not become household names like Dr. Bethune. In today’s China， people who haven’t experienced the unprecedented war of resistance should remember their names forever.