No Conditions Required

By Meng Qingchun

During the war time, there was a pathologist who had studied overseas and served once as a professor in the Medical College of Beiping (now Beijing). He had taught students all over the Central Hebei Plain and was famous far and wide for his excellent medical skills. People encouraged him to join in the Eighth Route Army, to which he put forward three conditions: First, he needed to ride a horse instead of walk on foot； second, he would not eat coarse grains； third, he would come and go as he liked. Many cadres shook their heads at such conditions, considering them unacceptable and even incredible.

Nie Rongzhen, the Commander of the Jinchaji Military Region, thought otherwise. He fully granted the three conditions and warmly welcomed the pathologist. He said: “When a good doctor joins our army, thousands of wounded and sick soldiers will be saved, who can then go back to the battlefield to fight our enemy. In addition, by taking him in, we will attract more intellectuals to join us, who can make contributions to the great cause of the war of resistance. Moreover, after joining us, people might change their mind gradually. As a result, all of these conditions might be abandoned at the end.”

Not long after Nie Rongzhen made the statement, the pathologist joined the army, and many of his students followed suit. And as expected, after staying in the army for a while, the pathologist offered to cancel the three conditions.

(FromChange Your Mindset,Change Yourself. People's Publishing House. Translation: Lu Qiongyao)

抗戰時期，我國有一位留過洋的病理學家，在北平任過醫學院教授，技術水平很高，他的學生遍及冀中平原。當時，有人動員他參加八路軍，他卻提出了三個條件：一是要一匹馬代替步行；二是不吃粗糧；三是來去自由。許多干部聽后直搖頭，難以接受，甚至認為不可思議。

晉察冀軍區司令員聶榮臻卻不然，他完全同意這三個條件，非常歡迎這位病理學家參加。他說：“一個好的醫生參加部隊，成千上萬的傷病員就會得救，就會重新走向戰場與敵人拼搏。另外，我們這樣做，不只是吸納他一個人參加，還會吸引更多的知識分子加入進來，為抗戰大業做出貢獻。何況，他們參加隊伍以后，認識會逐步發生變化，有可能這三個條件一個也不要了。”

聶榮臻表態后不久，這位病理學家參加了隊伍，他的很多學生也隨之而來。果然，過了一段時間，這位病理學家主動提出取消那三個條件。（摘自《換一種思維，等于換了一個人》人民出版社）