【编者按】2025年是中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年。在这场关乎民族存续的战争中，来自五洲四海的国际友人，不畏艰险远渡重洋，以医疗救助、战地报道、技术支援等多种形式投身这场民族解放事业。大道不孤，白求恩大夫的手术刀、斯诺的新闻笔、拉贝的安全区等都是跨越国界的生命印记。《山河故人远道来》国际传播系列报道，以中英双语视频结合AI动画技术再现历史细节，致敬跨越国界的信念之光。
【Editor's Note】
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In this war that concerned the survival of the nation, international friends from all over the world braved dangers and crossed the seas to join the cause of national liberation in various forms such as medical aid, war reporting, and technical support. The path of righteousness is not lonely. Dr. Bethune's scalpel, Snow's journalistic pen, and Rabe's safety zone are all life marks that transcend national borders. The international communication series "From Afar Came the Unforgotten" uses bilingual Chinese-English videos combined with AI animation technology to reproduce historical details and pay tribute to the light of belief that transcends national borders.
“一个高尚的人，一个纯粹的人，一个有道德的人，一个脱离了低级趣味的人，一个有益于人民的人。”——毛泽东在《纪念白求恩》中这段经典评价，连同《为人民服务》《愚公移山》两篇雄文，共同铸就了对一位国际共产主义战士的最高礼赞。他，就是亨利・诺尔曼・白求恩。
远渡重洋，赴烽烟践初心
1890年出生于加拿大的白求恩，在20世纪前期已凭借其精湛医术享有盛名。但当他目睹资本主义制度下穷人因缺医少药而挣扎，当他在西班牙反法西斯战场见证战火中的生命之重后，他走出豪华的公寓，到工人的生活区里，接受“同志”的称号。1937年，卢沟桥事变爆发，日本开始全面侵华，白求恩愤慨疾呼：“西班牙和中国属于同一场战争，我要去中国，我觉得那里最需要我！”白求恩在申请前往中国时专门向加拿大共产党组织表示：“我只有一个条件，如果我回不来了，你们要让世人知道诺尔曼·白求恩是以一个共产党员的身份牺牲的。”
1938年1月，白求恩受加拿大共产党和美国共产党的派遣，率领医疗队横跨太平洋，奔赴中国，支援中国人民的抗日战争。在延安窑洞，他向毛泽东郑重递上加拿大共产党员的党证，坚定表示：“我要到前线去，建立战地医疗队，重伤员中百分之七十五可以救过来！”白求恩的到来如雪中送炭。
1938年6月，白求恩从延安转赴晋察冀根据地，见到聂荣臻司令员的第一句话就是：“我的战斗岗位在哪里？”在晋察冀军区后方医院，他用一周时间对520多名伤病员逐一检查，用四周的时间为147名伤员做了手术。有人劝他休息，他说：“我是来工作的，不是来休息的。你们不要把我当成古董，要把我当成一挺机关枪使用！”这句铿锵誓言，成为他此后战斗生涯的真实写照。
战地悬壶，仁术开辟生命线
抗战前线，条件之艰苦远超想象：没有无菌手术室，没有标准麻醉机，甚至连基本的消毒设备都匮乏。但白求恩以惊人的创造力搭建起流动医疗体系——他设计的“卢沟桥药驮子”，用两匹骡子便可驮载一个手术室、一个包扎室和一个药房的全部必需品，足够施行100次手术、500次包扎以及配合500剂药的装具，实现“哪里有伤员，手术室就设在哪里”；他推行的“消毒十三步”，在节省纱布、消毒棉花等材料的同时，大大提高了治愈率；他带头参加的“志愿输血队”，是世界反法西斯战场上第一个“志愿输血队”。
1938年11月，白求恩率医疗队支援广灵至灵丘公路伏击战的战地抢救工作。他在零下20℃的风雪中急行军120里，在小庙搭建的临时手术室里连续工作40小时，完成 71 台手术。敌机轰炸震塌院墙，他却岿然不动。直到11月30日伏击战胜利，12月1日，医疗队做完最后一台手术，他才撤离。
“做他的病人是幸福的。”伤员们记得，白求恩大夫经常把自己的鲜血输给八路军战士。他愉快地称自己是万能输血者，因为他是O型血。在物资匮乏的年代，他拿出自己带来的荷兰纯牛乳，亲自到厨房煮牛奶，烤馒头片，端到重伤员面前。
生命陨落，精神永照华夏
1939年10月下旬，白求恩在河北省涞源县摩天岭战斗中抢救伤员时左手中指被手术刀割破，但他不顾伤痛，发着高烧，坚持留在前线指导战地救护工作。终因伤势恶化，转为败血症，生命垂危。他与中国的缘分仅有不到两年的时间，但他在遗书中写道：“最近两年，是我平生最愉快、最有意义的日子。”11月12日，这位伟大的国际共产主义战士在唐县黄石口村溘然长逝，终年49岁。
从西班牙到中国，白求恩用生命铸就了国际主义精神的丰碑。他留下的不仅是精湛医术，更是超越国界的大爱精神。一个人的生命高度有多高？一个人的生命意义有几何？白求恩用行动作出回答——正如毛泽东在《纪念白求恩》中那力重千钧的八个字：“毫不利己，专门利人”。
"A noble person, a pure person, a person of morals, a person who has transcended vulgar interests, and a person who is beneficial to the people." —— This classic appraisal by Mao Zedongin "In Memory of Norman Bethune," together with the two great works "Serve the People" and "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains," collectively constituted the highest tribute to an internationalist fighter. He was Henry Norman Bethune.
Crossing Oceans to Answer the Call of War and Duty
Born in Canada in 1890, by the early 20th century, Bethune had already earned a distinguished reputation for his exceptional medical skills. But when he witnessed the poor struggling for lack of medical care under the capitalist system, and the sanctity of life amidst the flames of war on the anti-fascist battlefield in Spain, he left his luxurious apartment, wentto the workers' living area, and accepted the title of "comrade." The Lugou Bridge Incident erupted in 1937, marking Japan's full-scale invasion of China. Bethune indignantly declared, "Spain and China are part of the same war. I must go to China!" When Bethune applied to go to China, he specifically told the Communist Party of Canada: "I have only one condition: if I don’t come back, you must let the world know that Norman Bethune died as a Communist Party member."
In January 1938, Norman Bethune, sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States, led a medical team across the Pacific Ocean to China to support the Chinese people in their War of Resistance against Japan. In a cave dwelling in Yan'an, he handed his Membership Certificate of the Communist Party of Canada to Mao Zedong and firmly stated: "I want to go to the front line to establish a field medical team. Seventy-five percent of the severely wounded can be saved!" His arrival was like a timely help in time of need.
In June 1938, Bethune transferred from Yan'an to the Jin-Cha-Ji base area. The first thing he said to Commander Nie Rongzhen was, "Where is my combat post?" At the rear hospital of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, he examined each of the more than 520 wounded soldiers one by one in a week and performed surgeries on 147 wounded soldiers in four weeks. When someone advised him to rest, he replied, "I came here to work, not to rest. Don't treat me like a museum piece. Use me like a machine gun!" This resounding pledge became a true reflection of his subsequent fighting career.
Saving Lives on the Battlefield with Compassionate Skill
On the front lines of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, conditions were far more arduous than one could imagine: there were no sterile operating rooms, no standard anesthesia machines, and even basic disinfection equipment was in short supply. Despite these challenges, Bethune demonstrated remarkable creativity in establishing a mobile medical system. His "Lugou Bridge Medical Pack" design allowed two mules to carry all the necessary equipment for a fully functional operating room, a dressing station, and a pharmacy. This setup was sufficient to perform 100 surgeries, 500 dressings, and provide 500 doses of medication, which enabled the mobile setup of operating rooms wherever the wounded were. His implementation of the "13-Step Sterilization Process" not only conserved materials like gauze and disinfectant cotton but also significantly increased the cure rate. He led the first "volunteer blood donation team" on the global anti-fascist battlefield.
In November 1938, Bethune led the medical team to support the battlefield rescue operations for the ambush battle along the Guangling to Lingqiu highway. Marching 120 li(60 kilometers) in a snowstorm at -20℃, he set up a temporary operating room in a small temple and worked continuously for 40 hours, completing 71 surgeries. When enemy planes bombed and shook down the courtyard walls, he remained unmoved. It was not until the ambush battle was victorious on November 30, and the medical team finished the last surgery on December 1, that he withdrew.
"Being his patient is a blessing." The wounded soldiers remembered that Dr. Bethune often donated his own blood to the Eighth Route Army soldiers. He cheerfully referred to himself as a universal blood donor because he had Type O blood. In those days of material scarcity, he took out the Dutch pure milk he had brought with him, personally went to the kitchen to boil the milk, toast bread slices, and served them to the severely wounded soldiers.
Life Faded, but Spirit Shines Eternal over China
In late October 1939, while rescuing wounded soldiers during the battle at Motianling in Laiyuan County, Hebei Province, Bethune's left middle finger was cut by a surgical knife. Despite the pain and a high fever, he insisted on staying on the front line to direct battlefield medical rescue operations. Eventually, his wound deteriorated into septicemia, putting his life in critical danger. His connection with China lasted for less than two years, but in his will, he wrote: "These past two years have been the happiest and most meaningful yearsof my life." On November 12, this great internationalist fighter and communist passed away in Huangshikou Village, Tang County, at the age of 49.
From Spain to China, Bethune erected a monument to internationalism with his life. What he left behind is not only his superb medical skills, but also a spirit of great love that transcends national boundaries. How high can one's life reach? What defines the true value of a life? Bethune answered with his actions —— as Mao Zedongput it in "In Memory of Norman Bethune": "Absolute selflessness and wholehearted service to others."
（部分素材来源：中国军网、解放军报、学习时报、环球网等）
无限工作室出品
策划：魏鹏 辛然
文案：沙斯媛 武玮佳
翻译、配音：武玮佳
剪辑：郭笃帅
