The Warm Physician

Name: The Warm Physician
ISBN: 9787505136663

白剑峰Red Flag Publishing House · ChinaMar 2026

4.0

Word count: 206K words
ISBN: 9787505136663

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Summary

Respect and trust lie at the heart of the doctor-patient relationship, and rebuilding that trust depends primarily on doctors. From a third-party perspective, this book calmly and objectively argues, with sound reasoning, that medicine must have a human warmth: respecting doctors means respecting life. Organized into six chapters—Physician's Heart, Medical Practice, Medical Haze, Healthcare Reform, Medicine and the Nation, and Physicians—the book offers a rare depth and breadth in mapping a way out of China's current doctor-patient tensions. For ordinary people and medical workers alike who are concerned about the doctor-patient relationship, it is a work not to be missed.

Editor's review

Warm Doctor is a collection of medical-humanities essays by Bai Jianfeng, a senior reporter at People's Daily, based on his long experience covering healthcare. It is not a traditional medical monograph but an in-depth examination of the phenomena and contradictions in China's current healthcare environment from a reporter's distinctive observational perspective and humanistic concern. Through numerous real cases and personal experience, the author combines cold medical technology and complex doctor-patient relationships with warm reflection on human nature, advancing the core idea that "medicine is a science, and even more a study of humanity." From a professional standpoint, the book's value lies in its "cross-boundary" perspective—neither a doctor's technical exposition nor a patient's one-sided complaint, but the work of a calm recorder and thinker building a bridge of communication between doctors and patients. Its discussion of sensitive topics such as "defensive medicine" and "excessive testing" neither avoids contradictions nor stirs up emotion, reflecting a rare rationality and balance. Bai Jianfeng's writing is plain and restrained, yet often reveals truth in the smallest details—for example, his description of the communicative art by which a doctor's "one sentence can make a person jump, one sentence can make a person laugh" points directly to the absence and importance of humanistic care in medical practice. In reading this book, readers gain not only knowledge of the healthcare system but also inspiration for a way of thinking: how to understand the individual fates behind illness and suffering, and how to regain respect for "the person" in an age of technological worship. It offers no simple solutions but guides readers toward deeper reflection, which has a uniquely constructive significance for easing doctor-patient tensions and promoting rational public discussion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in the relationship between the healthcare industry and social livelihood
Healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, hospital administrators) who wish to reflect on their profession from a third-party perspective
Students and researchers in sociology, journalism, or public administration
People within doctor-patient relationships who wish to enhance mutual understanding and seek communicative wisdom

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking specific disease treatment plans or specialized medical knowledge
Readers expecting dramatic conflict stories or purely documentary reporting

Reading tips

Read this book alongside medical-humanities works such as The Improvisation of the Doctor or Being Mortal to build a more three-dimensional understanding.
Reflect on your own experiences with medical care or the healthcare system while reading, but maintain a certain rational distance.
There is no need to finish it in one sitting; it suits browsing and savoring chapter by chapter in fragmented time, as each essay offers independent inspiration.

About the publisher

Red Flag Publishing House China · Founded in 1981

Red Flag Publishing House focuses on books in current affairs, Party building, finance and economics, and the humanities and social sciences. Its library currently contains 146 titles, covering politics, law, documentary literature, philosophy, biography and management. Representative works include current-affairs and legal-education titles such as A Concise Reader of the History of the Communist Party of China: 1921–2016 and the Study Reader for the Seventh Five-Year Popularization of Law, as well as financial and humanities translations and biographies such as Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Democracy in America, The Republic and Li Hongzhang. Its authors include Zhang Shiyi, Liu Hu, Jiang Shangqing and Zhong Jie, together with writing groups, while works by foreign authors such as Tocqueville, Plato and Edwin Lefèvre appear in translation. The publisher emphasizes current-affairs and Party-building publishing while also covering finance and the humanities and social sciences through both translations and original works, forming brand series such as the Faith Series and the Interpreting China Series; public information on further details of its publishing characteristics is limited.

FAQ

What is the book mainly about?

It is a collection of medical-humanities essays focusing on China's current doctor-patient relationships, healthcare system, and the spirit of medical humanities. From a reporter's perspective, the author uses cases and commentary to explore how medicine can return to its warm, people-centered essence.

What is the background of the author, Bai Jianfeng?

Bai Jianfeng is a senior reporter at People's Daily who has long worked in news reporting and commentary on healthcare and has won awards including the China News Award. He has deep and sustained observation of the healthcare industry.

Does the book's viewpoint favor doctors or patients?

The author strives to maintain an objective, balanced third-party perspective. The book sympathizes with doctors' pressures and dilemmas and understands patients' pain and demands; its core is to identify systemic problems and call for building a trustworthy, warm healthcare environment.

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About the author

白剑峰 Author

Bai Jianfeng is an author about whom limited public information is available. His writing centers on social fiction, medical themes, and essays, and three of his works are included here: Nuan Yi (Warm Physician), Yi Xin (The Physician's Heart), and Hui Jia (Going Home). Judging from the titles and the common categories, his work tends to revolve around medical settings, the inner world of physicians, and family feeling, combining narrative drive with humanistic care: he presents the warmth and coldness of social life in fictional form, and records experiences of medical practice and returning home in an essayistic style. Though the number of works is small, they show a sustained attention to the relationship between medicine and human feeling, and will appeal to readers interested in medical literature and realist narrative.