Date with Death

鄭慧敏

【Abstract】Have you ever heard about a popular movie called date with an angel？ It must be sweet and lovely. But have you ever imagine about dating with death？ What is your feeling when you have a chance to talk with death？ Excited or afraid？ I believe that many people definitely do not think about this question and neither do I.

【Key words】death； hospice； dying people

Recently， I read the simplified version of Make an appointment to Death which was published by Chinese Wenlian Press in 2009. This novel was written by eminent Chinese author Bi Shumin， who is the first class national writer as well as a physician. And she is very popular with people by her outstanding work in these two fields.

The novel， one of the most influential and the most powerful work at that time， deeply reveals the humanitarianism and the beauty of human nature which are hidden under the death. The gist of the story is as follows. The leading role of the novel is the writer herself， and she described the real entire process with a serious and objective attitude through her visit to hospice， shaping some vivid characters， such as Doctor Qi， who is always filled with love and kindness； Dean of hospice， the man who is very responsible； The Career White， the pretty girl devoted her all love to these patients in the hospice and so on. This is their great attention to these dying people that shows the power of the humanitarian spirit.

It is universally acknowledged that the majority of Chinese arent so willing to mention the death； even everyone avoids talking about death， because it is ominous. And I am one of them. Nevertheless， after reading this book， I have a totally new understanding about death.

Shi Tiesheng said， “Death is a festival which is bound to come someday in the future.” Thus， to begin with， I think we should not be afraid of death. I really appreciate the Career White， a common girl with an uncommon attitude towards death. She is friendly and warmhearted， treating every patient in the hospice as her grandmother. When she is asked by the writer， “Are you afraid of them？” She replied， ”Death just likes a process they comes from my side to my grandmothers side.” Actually， it is the way we see the world changes our attitudes towards death.

What is more， if we are really afraid of death， why not do some things before we come across the death， do some meaningful things for the dying people. I clearly remember the example of the young doctor， in order to finish his further study in Frankfurt， he even chooses to end up his mothers life by killing him such a cruel way. Even if he defends himself that he doesnt want to see his mother leaving the world without him and he really wants to accomplish his mothers greatest hope. The fact is that he is selfish in front of the interests. Fealty is regarded as one of the most important moral ethics qualities that Chinese observed. But why not do this for them when our parents are still alive？

Last but not least， treat the dying people seriously. Everybody wants to be respected because we are all having dignity. And so does the old man. Indeed his death impressed me a lot； nowadays we actually ignore their dignity but only concentrate on their lives. For instance， there are plenty of news talks about the ubiquitous phenomenon that some elderly patients received humiliations from the improper nursing methods in the hospitals. These nursing methods exactly leave the old people miserable impression and more easily let them lose the hope of live. We all need dignity， without dignity， how can we live in the world successfully？

Hospice， as far as I am concerned， it is the place not for dying people， but the appreciation to humanitarianism. But what people in the hospice do for the dying people is not enough， as for me， we should change our personal understanding about death， not just afraid of the death， but treat the dying people with dignity and offer this group of people our warm and friendly help. Only we to do so， the world of dying people will never be cold and lonely anymore.