Qiu Fazu is an academician of China Academy of Sciences and a famous surgeon.
4. From Shanghai to Munich, Germany
When I went to Europe in the 1930s, there were no planes or trains passing through Siberia, so I had to go to Europe by sea, that is, by boat through the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. We live in economy class on the ship, with two bunk beds and a small table. Life at sea is boring. Although you can stay ashore at big ports, such as Hongkong and Mumbai, it is enjoyed by wealthy China people. We have no money, so we have to stand on the deck and watch the traffic in the harbor. Those rich people in China play mahjong during the day, have a good life and eat well. When we want to sleep during the day, we borrow mahjong tiles from them and play mahjong at night. In this way, after more than a month's voyage, the ship finally arrived at its destination-Venice, Italy. On the day of disembarkation, after breakfast, I saw the waiter standing at the door of the restaurant to collect tips. The rich gave 50 or 100 dollars. We have no money. Xie Yujin said: Just give us $65,438+00. We are students. It's just that we didn't look at his face before So we survived, and the waiter didn't even say thank you. In retrospect, it's really interesting.
Venice is a beautiful water city and a famous city with a long history. After landing, we bought some oranges to eat. When we peeled them off, we found that they were all like blood. We thought they were broken, so we threw them away. Later we learned that it was a precious blood orange. We didn't have time to browse the whole water city, so we only stayed for a short time and left Venice. When we arrived in Vienna, Austria, the local school had been in school for two weeks. It happened to be Sunday, and all the shops were closed as usual, so they couldn't even buy bread. We are all hungry, so we have to spend more money to eat in restaurants.
The next day we went to Munich by train. After arriving in Munich, Xie Yujin suggested that we should separate and not be together again, because as long as we are together, we can speak Chinese, which is very unfavorable for us to learn German. So he went to Freibu rg. Sheng Chengjian also thought that being together was not good for learning a language, so he left us and went to Berlin. Guo Jinyuan and I were conservative, so we stayed in the medical school of Munich University to continue our later (clinical) study. At that time, Tongji University had extensive cooperative relations with German universities, and as long as they passed a Latin elementary examination, they could register for admission. Fortunately, we obtained the certificate of the primary Latin examination in China, so we successfully registered to study in the school.
Munich is the translation of Munich in English, and its German name is München. It is the third largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg, and also the capital of Bayern, with a population of about 6.5438+0.2 million at that time. Germans call Munich Germany's "paradise", which is close to the Alps and surrounded by beautiful scenery. It is the center of German culture and technology. 19 19 Hitler founded the National Socialist Party in Munich, which was the birthplace of Nazism, so during Hitler's administration, Munich was also called "Hauptstadt der Bewegung". Munich University, founded in 1472, has a history of more than 500 years and is one of the world famous universities. I am proud that I can study and graduate in this university.
When I arrived in Munich, the first thing I did was to find a place to live. Many families in Germany vacate their rooms for rent for economic reasons, and hang a sign at the gate: "There are rooms for rent here"; The rented house is equipped with simple and practical furniture, including bedding. The hospitals and research institutes of Munich University Medical College are all concentrated in one area, and I am looking for a room in this medical area. The first house is in Walter Street, 30 marks a month, including breakfast. The landlord is an old lady and very kind. My home is on the first floor, and there is not enough light. The reading desk is by the window, and the window is beside the sidewalk in the yard. Although there are thin white curtains, I can't concentrate with people coming and going. In addition, at 9 o'clock in the evening, the landlord knocked at the door and said, Sir, you can sleep.
I have lived for a month, and I can't stay any longer. Although the old lady warmly retained me, I moved to a second house in H? Bell street; 28 marks a month, 2 marks less, and breakfast is also provided. The landlord is a middle-aged couple. I only stayed for a month, because the room is on the second floor and there is a car passage downstairs. Trucks come and go from morning till night. Another reason is that landlords and couples often quarrel. Men beat women and women cry. In this case, I can only move to Frauenlob Street for the second time, with a monthly rent of 30 marks and breakfast. The landlord is also a middle-aged couple. The house is on the fourth floor, opposite the Third Hospital of Munich University Medical College (urology and dermatology). The environment is quiet. There is another tenant in the house who lives next door to me. He is a veterinarian, and his name is Mr. Mayer. He works in a nearby slaughter pig farm, which is a typical Bavarian in southern Germany near the Alps. He often wears Bavarian clothes, a feathered green fedora, sheepskin shorts, thick wool socks and heavy boots and shoes. He always gets off work at around 1 1 in the evening, and the footsteps on the stairs are heavy and loud; When you open the door, insert the key in the doorway at will, and then slam the door. As soon as I got to the room, I pried out two leather boots one after another, and then I snored. I'm used to it, too I don't care. The problem is that the house is very cold, with a fireplace but no coal. I have to put on all my clothes to keep out the cold. The landlady's mistress, Mrs. schacht, is very kind. She has a daughter who always asks me to leave my shoes at the door every night. She will clean them. Every Sunday morning, she always sends her own cake. I'm happy to stay until I graduate to 1940.
My financial situation is very tight, especially since 1939, because the Japanese occupied Shanghai and Hangzhou, my second sister can no longer send money; She sponsored me for $4,200 five times. I only use 70 marks a month, of which 30 marks pay the rent and the remaining 40 marks are used for eating and buying books. Fortunately, studying in Germany is free. Breakfast is provided by the landlord; Eat Chinese food and go to the student canteen. 60 fanny for each meal and 65 fanny for the tip. In the evening, I will eat black bread with a little jam. Jam can be bought from empty bottles in small shops. Because there is no bathing equipment in the rented house, it is better to invite Jinyuan to a public bathing place every week. The clothes will be sent to the laundry, weighed, paid and picked up in a week. In this way, three years of college life came.
At home, I think German is very good. But in Germany, he became deaf and dumb. Munich people speak very fast and have a local accent, which is really hard to understand. It's better to listen and speak after half a year. For example, Germans have a clear distinction between you and you. "You" (Sie) is an honorific title, and "You" (Du) is an intimate title; Family members and children below 16 are called "Du". Once I was walking in the park and saw a lovely boy, so I asked him how old you were. He suddenly smiled and turned to tell his mother that he called me Sie! I realize that you and you are different. Good friends call each other Du; For elders or teachers or unfamiliar people, they are all called Sie. If you have friends and deep feelings, please ask your elders to mention Du first, and then take Du as the other party.
After I finished my first semester of medicine, in the autumn of 1937, I suddenly found a polyp with a long pedicle at the lower end of the rectum. At that time, I went to the surgical hospital for surgery. German college students are free of medical expenses, and internal diseases are operated by the surgical director or deputy director personally. This is a tradition, and professors are very concerned about their students. Although I am a domestic medical student and just started studying, I still enjoy such preferential treatment. After staying in the hospital for a week, I returned to my residence. It was late autumn, the ground was covered with brown leaves, and the cold wind was blowing head-on. I walked slowly on the street alone, thinking about my motherland and hometown, and I couldn't help crying! This scene is still deeply imprinted in my memory.
In 1939, I won two scholarships, both of which were personally recommended by my doctoral supervisor Professor bost. One is the Wolf Scholarship, which lasts for three and a half months and costs ***420 marks; The other is the Humboldt Foundation scholarship, with a monthly rate of 150 mark, * * * two years and seven months. This greatly reduced my financial pressure, not only completed my three-year study, but also started my surgical career in the affiliated hospital of Munich University.
At that time, there was only one China Hotel in Munich, located on Augusten Street. The owner's surname is Xu, from Wenzhou. I sometimes go to China with Jinyuan, and each meal costs 1 mark, which is a kind of enjoyment for us. At the same time, you can meet some international students from China. At that time, there were about 20 China students studying in Munich University, including Ma Jie (Economics), Xu (Economics), Zhuang Xiaode (Cell Biology), Xu Bangyu (Refrigeration Engineering), (Chemistry), Jiang (Biology), his wife Xu Ruiyun (Mathematics) and those who were studying military affairs in Munich at that time. I remember several female students studying medicine, one is Li Shujia and the other is Ye Jingen (the wife of President Brandon Lee of Tongji University). They all live in the dormitory for girls at the University of Munich. They can cook Chinese food and sometimes invite us to dinner.
China students in Munich get along very well and sometimes go to Lake Steinberg in the suburbs of Munich. These situations were before the start of World War II, during the periods of 1938 and 1939. At the beginning of World War II, the atmosphere was tense, everyone was immersed in study and work, and communication was almost interrupted. After Jinyuan graduated, I also went to work in Vienna University Hospital, busy with surgery, and often accompanied my wife.
1937 began to study clinical medicine in Germany in February. I graduated in the winter of 1939 three years later. Because Germany needed a large number of doctors during World War II, the medical academic system was changed from two semesters to three semesters a year, and the study time was shortened by one year. 1939 graduated one year earlier than my domestic classmates in the winter.
German clinical medicine courses are very different from those in China. You have to complete the required course 14 in three years before you can take the graduation exam. 14 compulsory courses include: pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and hygiene, local anatomy, pathophysiology, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, neuropsychiatry, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology and forensic medicine. Because the places of classes are scattered in different hospitals or research institutes, Guo Jinyuan and I each bought an old bicycle and rushed from one place to another during a short break. For example, in the first class in the morning, I will go to the College of Internal Medicine and then go to the Pathology Institute. Fortunately, the lectures and apprenticeships of these 14 compulsory courses can be arranged by the students themselves, that is, the lectures and apprenticeships of all the above courses can be completed within three years and eight semesters according to their actual conditions.
The teaching of clinical subjects is completely different from the domestic situation, which requires students to think independently, not "cramming" but "heuristic". For example, in the first lesson of surgery, the teacher first introduces several textbooks for students to read, and then teaches them by demonstration. Domestic teachers teach according to the textbook system, only reading books, not patients; Germany conducts demonstration teaching with typical cases. Today is a patient with gastric cancer, tomorrow is a patient with intracranial tumor, and the day after tomorrow is a patient with upper limb fracture; The teacher briefly described the medical history, prompted the X-ray, and may restore it in class. In short, students are required to read books and think for themselves, and the class is just to demonstrate some typical common cases.
Ask four students to come down to ask questions and answer some basic knowledge in each class. After completing a course in one or two semesters, you can get a certificate of attendance. When you finish the course of 14 and get the certificate of 14, you can apply for the university graduation examination. If you don't work hard or attend classes, you can't apply for the exam, so you have to extend your study time. I met several German students who have studied for 5-6 years and haven't finished yet. People call them "old students" because they delay year after year.
Once I have a gynecological class, I can go into the operating room to see the operation; I suddenly fainted when the professor took out the baby's head-big uterine fibroids from the abdominal cavity. The nurse (nun) in the operating room immediately took me to the corridor to get oxygen. I recovered, but I was sad. It seems that I can't be a surgeon.
There is a popular saying in German universities called "Studentenfreiheit", that is, not only the length of study time is controlled by the students themselves, but also they can transfer to other cities to study. For example, students from Berlin University can transfer to Munich University to continue their studies, that is, students from northern Germany come to study in southern Germany, and vice versa. Many college students like to transfer in this way. On the one hand, they can learn, on the other hand, they can learn about local customs and places of interest.
What impressed me was the scene of clinical medicine class. The teachers who give lectures are the top leaders, professors or directors of various colleges or research institutes. They all pay great attention to gfd, with white coats, white trousers, white collar belts and white shoes ironed straight, followed by a large number of teaching assistants and lecturers, all dressed up and standing on both sides of the classroom to listen to lectures. College students do not stand up to pay tribute, and often tap the table with their hands to welcome them; If there are different opinions, the students will put on their slippers to show their opposition. I remember one time, the dean of the first internal medicine department and a famous professor of hematology came to class. The flashlight in his white coat pocket was still on, and the students dragged their soles to express their opinions. At that time, the professor didn't understand, but fortunately, a teaching assistant reminded him to turn off the flashlight at once, and the students immediately knocked on the table to express their happiness.
When the famous professor was in class, the huge trapezoidal classroom was packed, even the standing space was full. I remember 1937, when Lexer, a world-famous plastic surgery professor, was in class, it was like an opera house. Professor Lexer once said a famous saying in class: "Surgery is a synthesis of science, technology and art", which is still deeply imprinted in my heart and has influenced my surgical work all my life.
Guo Jinyuan and I study very hard and always try to sit in the front row in class. No rest in winter vacation and summer vacation. In these three years, we didn't go out to travel or go to the movies. During winter and summer vacations, we go to the hospital for internship in the morning, prepare our doctoral thesis in the afternoon, and strive to complete all required courses on time, register for exams, and graduate on time.
I survived three years of hard study. Looking back today, I am still surprised that I have such lasting motivation. Especially in the last month of the exam, I often suffer from insomnia. Because my residence is close to the Oktoberfest Square in Munich, I go running there every night before going to bed, so I can sleep for several hours.
As an international student, you can enjoy a preferential degree exam in Germany, which is called Rigorosum, that is, you can get a doctorate in medicine by writing a thesis and taking the exams in four clinical subjects. At that time, I discussed with Guo Jinyuan and decided to give up this offer. Like german students, I should take the national examination in Germany first, and then take the doctoral examination. The national examination in Germany is very strict. They are all oral exams, and they are conducted in groups of four. The above 14 courses must be completed within one month. Each exam takes half a day or even a whole day. For example, pathological examination, oral examination in the morning, first ask human pathological specimens, and then look at five pathological lenses to make a diagnosis; I'm going to do an autopsy myself this afternoon. I completed all the examinations of 14 courses within one month (1 September 1939), except for two courses "II" (Pathology and Pediatrics) and1course "III" (Pharmacology), and others1/kloc-0. Subsequently, he participated in the doctoral defense in June 165438+ 10 of the same year. Because my doctoral thesis on pathology was completed during two summers (1938 and 1939), I successfully passed the defense of my doctoral degree.
Foreign students are studying PhD in Germany.