The Benevolent Heart of a Healer cover

The Benevolent Heart of a Healer

Rating 3.0
Word count
336K words
Chapters
45
ISBN
9787229040185

Tags

Summary

"The Benevolent Healer" tells the story of a group of doctors full of idealism and a spirit of dedication who make their difficult way between ideals and reality, ultimately recovering the nobility and responsibility bestowed by the Hippocratic Oath, as well as the professional faith of "a healer's benevolent heart." Wu Mingxun, vice president of Renhua Hospital, is about to succeed to the presidency. While on a business trip to the United States, he visits his old classmate Zhong Lixing, a renowned cardiac surgeon on the U.S. East Coast, just as Zhong's sister dies in a car accident. Unable to accept the cruel reality that, as a doctor, he cannot save his own sister, Zhong suffers a psychological breakdown. Wu Mingxun seizes the opportunity to bring Zhong back to China, asking him to return to Renhua Hospital to restore the reputation of its cardiac surgery department and strengthen his own position for assuming the presidency. Unexpectedly, Zhong's arrival sets off a series of shocks in the hospital—his superb medical skill, professional demeanor, and almost puritanical devotion to the medical profession captivate everyone from top to bottom, and also stir ripples in the heart of Wu Mingxun's wife, Jiang Yidan, director of anesthesiology. At this time, however, the hospital is hit by one incident after another. Is it managerial negligence, technical error, or the helpless limits of medicine? Serious differences arise between Wu Mingxun and Zhong Lixing...

Editor's review

"The Benevolent Healer" is not a work of fiction but a realist tour de force that draws on real medical events to present a panoramic view of contemporary China's medical ecosystem. The author, Xu Meng, spent several years conducting in-depth research in numerous hospitals, and with a rigorous documentary touch interweaves the complexity of doctor-patient relations, the dilemmas of the medical system, and the professional faith of medical workers. The book's value lies in its profound truthfulness and its thoughtfulness: it is not content to tell moving stories but seeks to guide readers beyond appearances to understand the inner logic of how the medical system operates and the multifaceted refraction of human nature under extreme pressure. Its exploration of "benevolence" goes beyond simple moral praise to touch on core issues such as institutional safeguards, professionalism, and social trust, offering the public a valuable cognitive framework for understanding both the limits and the nobility of medicine. Reading this book is more like an immersive observation conducted deep inside the medical scene; the reflections it provokes extend far beyond the medical field itself, bearing on how we coexist and build mutual trust in a highly specialized modern society.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers with a deep interest in contemporary Chinese social issues, especially in the fields of medicine and ethics
  • Medical workers and medical students, who may use it as a mirror for understanding their own professional circumstances and society's expectations
  • Readers who enjoy documentary literature and nonfiction writing and seek high information density and intellectual depth
  • Thinkers concerned with public social issues who wish to move beyond emotional debate and seek rational understanding

Not a good fit for

  • Readers expecting a purely entertaining novel with a tight plot and dramatic conflict
  • Pragmatists hoping to quickly extract simple medical knowledge or solutions

Reading tips

  1. Enter the text as an "observer" rather than a "judge," focusing on the systemic and structural factors behind events
  2. Consult the appendix or related interviews with the author to learn about the background of the writing and the sources of the material, deepening your understanding
  3. Pause while reading to consider what choices and reactions you would have if you were the patient, a family member, or the doctor

About the publisher

Chongqing Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Chongqing Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for its titles in the humanities, social sciences, literature and arts, with about 940 books in its catalogue. Its publishing areas cover world history, science fiction, foreign literature, architecture and philosophy. Representative titles include Xiang Da's A History of Communications Between China and the West, Liang Sicheng's Rules of Qing-Style Construction, Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest and III: Death's End, Ann Rand's The Fountainhead (25th Anniversary Edition), and Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Its authors include Xiang Da, Liu Cixin, Liang Sicheng and Ann Rand. The press has developed distinctive strengths in historical source editing, the introduction and creation of science fiction, the translation of foreign literature, and architecture and philosophy titles, balancing scholarly value with general readership. As public information is limited, this profile outlines its publishing directions based only on the books in the catalogue.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序言一 大医精诚 医者仁心
  3. 序言二 大艺亦精诚
  4. 引子 雪的哭泣
  5. 第一章 医之殇
  6. 第二章 闪回:马里兰的伤痛
  7. 第三章 心外主任人选
  8. 第四章 禅心一念间
  9. 第五章 心外大查房
  10. 第六章 “仁”与“仁”之间
  11. 第七章 江一丹的自作自受
  12. 第八章 注定
  13. 第九章 救命之恩
  14. 第十章 扭曲的信任
  15. 第十一章 奇迹
  16. 第十二章 无尽的烦恼
  17. 第十三章 王欢之死
  18. 第十四章 医生的尊严
  19. 第十五章 恶性高热
  20. 第十六章 你是我的玫瑰花
  21. 第十七章 丁院长的秘密
  22. 第十八章 钟立行出手
  23. 第十九章 脏血
  24. 第二十章 后继有人
  25. 第二十一章 医药代表
  26. 第二十二章 麻烦的开始
  27. 第二十三章 恶性事件
  28. 第二十四章 真相?真相!
  29. 第二十五章 哭泣的咖啡
  30. 第二十六章 姑息与养奸
  31. 第二十七章 短暂的欢乐
  32. 第二十八章 武明训出离愤怒
  33. 第二十九章 乱象
  34. 第三十章 人性的光芒
  35. 第三十一章 巨额医疗费
  36. 第三十二章 斯文扫地
  37. 第三十三章 危难真情
  38. 第三十四章 割不断的情丝
  39. 第三十五章 一封遗书
  40. 第三十六章 真相报道
  41. 第三十七章 倾诉
  42. 第三十八章 伟大的救赎
  43. 第三十九章 生与死
  44. 第四十章 辩护词
  45. 尾声

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of documentary writing?
This book is a work of documentary literature based on extensive field research and real cases, with a strong nonfiction character. The author employs literary narrative techniques, but the core events and characters' circumstances are all drawn from reality.
What is this book mainly about?
Set in multiple hospitals, this book uses a series of interrelated medical events to analyze in depth major social issues such as doctor-patient relations, reform of the medical system, doctors' professional ethics, and the value of life, presenting a true picture of China's medical industry and the inner world of medical workers.
Is the book's tone pessimistic or hopeful?
The author's tone is calm, restrained realism: it neither avoids contradictions and dilemmas nor gives up the pursuit of "benevolence" and professional spirit. It presents the complexity of the problems, and its ultimate orientation is toward understanding and construction rather than simple pessimism or optimism.

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About the author

徐萌 Author

Public information about Xu Meng is limited, with no clear record of birth and death dates, nationality, or educational background; her writing can currently be understood only through the works held in the collection. Judging from the five existing titles, Xu Meng's work spans several fields, including medicine, fiction, documentary literature, and programming and design. On the medical side, the Color Atlas of Dental Histology and Anatomical Morphology reflects a professional focus on oral anatomy and morphology, while The Benevolent Healer unfolds its narrative against a medical backdrop and carries the realistic concerns of social fiction. Memory City and The Benevolent Healer both belong to the fine-fiction category, indicating sustained engagement with medium- and full-length novels. How Bestsellers Are Made: A Product Manager's Guide to Leveling Up turns to programming, design, and product practice, showing that her writing is not confined to a single direction. Overall, Xu Meng's works balance professional content with readability, combining the organization of medical knowledge with story-driven expressions of reality and industry experience.

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