The Norman Bethune of Romania

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Bucur Clejan, a Romanian doctor who worked in China during World War II. He has been called the Norman Bethune of Romania. On Friday, a ceremony was held at the Soong Ching Ling Mausoleum in Shanghai to commemorate the life of the doctor and his wife Nelly Clejan, who passed away in the city in September.

Clejan arrived in China in 1939 as a volunteer. A dermatologist by training, he healed many wounded Chinese soldiers, trained other doctors and helped set up field hospitals.

"Dr Clejan, together with another Romanian, Dr David Iancu, came all the way from Europe to China to deliver significant help to the Chinese people in the moment of hardship," Romanian Consul General in Shanghai Florin Marius Tacu told the Global Times. "They were giving medical assistance at the front line. At the same time they organized the medical services for the army in order to make them more efficient."

The Romanian doctor made the decision to come to China after he learned about the Chinese army's serious shortage of medicines and urgent need of medical professionals. He spent more than six weeks traveling on the sea before eventually arriving in China in October 1939.

At Clejan's request, his wife Gisela Clejan arrived in China in 1941 to assist with the work. Unfortunately, she was infected with typhinia and passed away in 1943 at the age of 39. Clejan was also infected, but survived.

Tacu said Clejan paid a high price for volunteering in China, so his experience is a touching example of altruism and dedication, illustrating how people can forget about themselves and pursue a higher goal in life.

"We all live in a very materialistic world right now," Tacu said. "I think it's better for the young generations to look at examples like this one to see that in life, there are also other things other than materials. We need to pursue higher values, nonmaterialistic ones, in order to fulfill ourselves, to better accomplish ourselves."

The Romanian doctor carried on with his volunteer work in China after his wife's death. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), he treated injured soldiers in war zones in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan and Hubei provinces. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, he started to take charge of the allocation and transportation of international relief supplies.

In 1946, Clejan married a Chinese nurse Zhao Jingpu, who later changed her name to Nelly Clejan. Their relationship set an example for the relationship between China and Romania.

"The couple helped each other on a professional level and on a personal level. For our two countries, we also help each other, we support each other. And together we've been able to help others," said Tacu.

Clejan and his wife returned to Romania in 1948. But they didn't stop their involvement with China. After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, China set up an embassy in Romania, where Clejan's wife offered her assistance. At that time, the embassy was in need of Romanian speakers.

"She took charge of translation and communication. She also received visiting Chinese delegations. She always stayed strong, optimistic and humorous at work and in her regular life," said Zhou Mingde, a friend of Nelly Clejan and a member of the China-Romania Friendship Association.

In 1957, Nelly Clejan helped launch the first Chinese-language magazine in Romania, called "Romania Today." "In my opinion, Nelly Clejan was one of the earliest explorers of Sino-Romanian cultural exchange," Zhou told the Global Times.

Clejan died in Romania in 1975. Eleven years later, his wife brought his ashes to China. In 2008, his ashes were placed in the Soong Ching Ling Mausoleum.

The Consul General said that people today should remember the doctor, who is a symbol of the friendship between Romania and China, and should also look at the couple as a symbol of peace and mutual assistance. "The younger generations should keep in mind their altruism, their dedication and the way they put their lives in jeopardy in order to help others," Tacu said.

http://www.ecns.cn/2014/12-31/148910.shtml