Chen Wenfeng, Secretary of the CPC GZUCM Committee

By Zhao Zhuo

　　Traditional Chinese Medicine is the rarity of ancient Chinese science and a unique key to unlock the treasure trove of Chinese civilization. Through thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has been embedded in the Chinese culture, embodying profound philosophical wisdom, health and wellness concepts and practices of the Chinese nation.

　　One hundred years ago, individuals of the "Eight Trades and Three Associations" in the traditional Chinese medicine industry in Hong Kong and Guangdong, with tremendous difficulties, raised funds to establish the Guangdong School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (predecessor of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, GZUCM), pioneering modern education in the industry with the motto of Top Doctors Treats the Nation and the Awakening Starts from the People.

　　Over the past 100 years, GZUCM has cultivated 180, 000 top-degree doctors who are dedicated to the nation and the cause of traditional Chinese medicine, including leading figures represented by academicians of the CAE Member, masters of traditional Chinese medicine, and national famous doctors, teachers and entrepreneurs in the industry.

　　Over the past 100 years, GZUCM has inherited the essence, maintained integrity and innovation, developing traditional Chinese medicine with benevolence and integrity. Focused on tackling strategic tasks such as establishing original theories of traditional Chinese medicine, preventing and treating major diseases, the university has fostered and created high-end scientific and technological platform for traditional Chinese medicine through interdisciplinary cooperation, to develop new quality productivity to serve the national economic and social development strategy.

　　Over the past 100 years, GZUCM, rooted in Guangdong but boasted of a global vision, has helped revitalize the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry as well as established seven national-level overseas centers in Europe and Africa. At the same time, it has constructed five international cooperation bases with local cooperation around the world, including the United States, trained over 20,000 senior talents in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 110 countries, effectively promoting the development of the industry on the world stage.

　　Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine through one hundred years of ups and downs, has always adhered to its original intention. At the 100th anniversary of its establishment, the university will focus on the world’s scientific and technological frontier, the main economic field, the major needs of the country, and the people’s life and health, giving full play to the functions of colleges and universities in talent training, scientific research, social service, cultural inheritance and innovation, and international exchanges and cooperation. It will take the initiative to serve the“1310 ”work deployment of the provincial party committee, build a highland of traditional Chinese medicine in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, comprehensively promote Guangdong as a leading province in traditional Chinese medicine industry, contributing its efforts in laying a solid and healthy foundation for the construction of national development and cultural rejuvenation, promoting modernization in China, and constructing the community of human health!" said Chen Wenfeng, Secretary of the CPC?GZUCM?Committee .

To Cultivate Talents for the CPC and the Country

　　Outlook: We have noticed that GZUCM has been selected as a model university for party building work in Guangdong Province, and 10 secondary departments and their grassroots party organizations have been selected as national party building "double innovations" cultivation institutions, ranking among the top universities of traditional Chinese medicine in China. What ideological and political measures GZUCM explored to cultivate talents for the CPC and the country?

　　Chen Wenfeng: Talent cultivation cannot be achieved overnight, which requires long-term efforts. As one of the first batch universities aimed to build “double first-class” disciplines in China and high-level university in Guangdong Province, GZUCM has always attached great importance to ideological and political education, created cultural brands such as Story based Ideological and Political Education and Traditional Chinese Medicine Ideological and Political Education, constructed a comprehensive patten in the area to cultivate talents for the CPC and the country.

　　Traditional Chinese Medicine ideological and political education is a characteristic of the curriculum in GZUCM. The stories of ancient famous doctors, as well as contemporary masters such as Professor Deng Tietao and Xi Guowei, experts like Professor Li Guoqiao and Professor Song Jianping, who use artemisinin to fight malaria, and outstanding Communist Party members like Zhang Zhongde and Ye Xin, are well remembered by students of GZUCM to polish their values and codes of conduct.

　　In addition, the university focuses on integrating confidence in traditional Chinese medicine culture into ideological and political work, with the fundamental goal of "cultivating morality and nurturing talents". On the battlefield of fighting against the COVID-19, batches of GZUCM doctors went to the frontier and became heroes in harm's way, contributing to their wisdom and practices. They are the vivid models of the achievements of ideological and political education of GZUCM.

　　Taking the opportunity of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of GZUCM, the school also carries out relative ideological and political education, leveraging the value of learning from history, to inspire the teachers and students to draw wisdom and strength from the school's development process, and better participate in the new journey of the school's "Double First-Class" and high-level university construction.

　　Outlook: As one of the four earliest institutions of high education in Chinese medicine established in People’s Republic of China, what measures has GZUCM taken to inherit Chinese medicine culture, carry forward the red genes, and cultivate talents in the industry to serve national strategies and local development?

　　Chen Wenfeng: As a treasure of Chinese culture, Chinese medicine has traditional values such as the unity of heaven and man, people-oriented, natural harmony, and the sincerity of medicinal masters. These values are in line with the core socialist values.

　　On campus, we focus on building educational venues such as Guangdong Chinese Medicine Museum, Library, Anti-epidemic Literature Museum, Deng Tietao Literature Exhibition, and Ideological and Political Square, forming a red education belt to guide teachers and students to engage in experiential learning. Guangdong Chinese Medicine Museum, located within the campus, is one of the earliest Chinese medicine museums in China. In addition to Chinese medicine parks such as Yaowang Mountain and Shizhen Mountain, there are also attractions such as the Chinese Medicine Culture Square and the Famous Guangdong Doctors Wall outdoors. Visitors are constantly coming, greatly stimulating young people's interest in Chinese medicine.

　　The cultivation of students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan is an advantage and characteristic of the university. Every September, new students from these areas participate in military training with new students from the mainland, wearing military uniforms, standing in military posture, and singing military songs. The university also organized a series of activities such as "Love China Tour" study camp, opening a window for these students to witness the beauty and strength of the motherland. With the help from the university, volunteer teams are also established to conduct free treatment and teaching in Qingyuan, Chaozhou and other places during holidays.

　　During the War of Resistance against Japan, the university persisted in running in Hong Kong. Currently we organize students and alumni to visit the old campus sites such as Happy Valley in Hong Kong, to enhance the national consciousness of students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan through history education. The university is also organizing meetings for 2024 Hong Kong and Macau freshmen and parents respectively. I have issued admission letters with special numbers to the freshmen, hoping to cultivate them into outstanding young people who can shoulder great responsibilities.

To Meet the Needs of the People

　　Outlook: What contributions has GZUCM made in national emergency public health events and other areas? What experience can you share?

　　Chen Wenfeng: Throughout the years, the university has actively leveraged its distinctive advantages, led the affiliated hospital to inherit the century-old spirit, fully played the role of grassroots party organizations as fighting fortresses and party members as pioneers and models, and made positive contributions in emergency public health events, rural revitalization, foreign aid medical care, and other areas.

　　At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 broke out. The university quickly sent 112 CPC members and cadres to Wuhan. With the powerful construction of the medical team's party organization,  26 medical team members joined CPC on the front line of the fight against the epidemic, allowing the party flag to fly high on the battlefield of epidemic prevention and control. From 2020 to 2022, the university dispatched 38,000 medical staff to participate in the anti-epidemic efforts in Guangdong Province, and sent more than 350 CPC members and cadres to support other provinces and cities, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Malaysia in their fight against the epidemic.

　　Due to its outstanding performance, the university was awarded one national advanced collective honorary title and one exemplary individual honorary title by the Central Committee of CPC, the State Council and the Central Military Commission. A CPC member was awarded the title of National Excellent CPC Member. The university also won one advanced collective and three exemplary individual medals in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the national health system, and received 16 commendations and awards from Guangdong Province.

　　Under the call of the CPC, we will meet the needs of the people! We always adhere to the principle of putting the people first and spare no effort to do a good job in every task entrusted by the Party and the people.

　　Outlook: What measures has GZUCM taken to serve the health development needs of remote areas, enhance the homogenization and accessibility of medical services, and promote high-quality aid to Xinjiang and Xizang? Tibetan and other ethnic minorities have unique medical methods, medicinal herbs and prescriptions with a long history. Has GZUCM learned from them and explored in this regard?

　　Chen Wenfeng: Counterpart support to Xizang and Xinjiang is a major strategic deployment made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Over the years, the university has actively given play to the advantages of Chinese medicine and clinical diagnosis and treatment, based on the needs of medical and health development in Xizang and Xinjiang, and sent nearly 90 outstanding medical experts and cadres to participate in medical aid to Xizang and Xinjiang.

　　With the help of GZUCM, the comprehensive strength of Linzhi Xizang Hospital and Linzhi People's Hospital has been greatly improved. The First People's Hospital of Kashgar has embarked on the fast lane of high-quality development, with the expansion of high-quality medical resources. The homogenization and accessibility of medical services have been further enhanced, allowing more and more local people to enjoy high-quality medical services nearby. The cadres helping Xizang and Xinjiang not only promote the revitalization and development of the local Chinese medicine industry, but also build a strong national consensus in Xizang and Xinjiang, furthering exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups.

　　The school also attaches great importance to the diagnosis and treatment experience of ethnic minority characteristic medicine. On November 9th, the Tibetan Medicine Culture Exhibition was held at the Guangdong Chinese Medicine Museum on campus. At the same time, multiple Tibetan Medicine-Chinese Medicine academic forums, Tibetan Medicine Culture lectures, Tibetan medicine experience and free treatment activities were also held, receiving unanimous praise from tourists, teachers and students.

　　This summer vacation, I went to Xizang and Xinjiang to visit the cadres of the university, learn about their work, and go to the homes of ethnic minority students for further understanding. Next, we will further assist the scientific research cooperation and interaction between the two sides, increase the flexible support for the promotion of acupuncture and moxibustion and other appropriate technologies of Chinese medicine, and strengthen the cooperation in cultural publicity and education of Chinese medicine.

To Provide Good Service as a “Waiter”

　　Outlook: What measures has GZUCM taken to promote the construction of affiliated and cooperative hospitals, and create a highland of Chinese medicine in the Greater Bay Area and Guangdong Province?

　　Chen Wenfeng: As the Secretary of the CPC?GZUCM?Committee, I often refer to myself as a "waiter", and I also require that the principal, deputy secretary, and vice principals to act as "waiters" to serve the table of education, technology, talent cultivation, and social services.

　　Vigorously promoting the spirit of educators, the university strengthens grassroots teaching organizations and teacher teams, adhere to the principle of putting education and teaching reform first, encourage, support, and ensure that the majority of teachers and staff are dedicated to cultivating talents, become educators, medical experts, and scientists, strive to be excellent doctors, masters, and experts, and even the "great masters" of the new era. GZUCM has always been the cradle of famous doctors, the stage of masters, the academic hall where renowned masters gather, and the hospital trusted by the people.

　　As a medical university, running affiliated hospitals with high quality is one of the important carriers of serving society. The school currently has 4 directly affiliated hospitals, 9 jointly built hospitals with the government, 13 clinical medical schools, 30 non-directly affiliated hospitals, and 5 national regional medical centers in Guizhou, Chongqing, Hainan, Zhuhai, and Shanwei. It has always been the school's tradition and experience to rely on and integrate with affiliated hospitals. The relationship between affiliated hospitals and the university has long gone beyond simple affiliation, gradually forming a common spiritual home with cultural, spiritual and emotional identity.

　　The university will take the high-quality development of affiliated hospitals as the starting point and approach, adhere to the work philosophy of "good universities, good affiliated hospitals; good affiliated hospitals, good universities", take the path of co-construction and sharing, mutual assistance and promotion, and integrated development, and aim to build a strong hospital matrix with distinctive characteristics, and flexible mechanisms. It will deepen the concept of "Broad Chinese Medicine", explore new ideas for deepening the coordinated development of medical research and teaching in Chinese medicine colleges and universities across the country. It will strive to seek new development, accumulate new momentum, and write new chapters at a high level.

　　Outlook: The research on the Chinese medicine industry is complex, with a long chain and many bottleneck problems, which also brings challenges and difficulties to Chinese medicine education and internationalization. How does the situation influence your work?

　　Chen Wenfeng: Cultural differences are the primary challenge, and students from different cultural backgrounds have various levels of acceptance and understanding of Chinese medicine concepts. Western medicine focuses on evidence-based medicine and qualitative and quantitative research at the cellular and molecular levels, while Chinese medicine considers the whole picture and conducts systematic research at the macro level. To this day, modern pharmacology still cannot explain all the mysteries behind the effects of Chinese medicine, and modern scientific theories have not fully elucidated the scientific nature of Chinese medicine.

　　In addition, the lack of unified international education standards and quality assurance systems, differences in laws and certifications of Chinese medicine in different countries, as well as a shortage of high-quality teaching resources and experienced teachers, are all problems that need to be faced and solved in the internationalization of Chinese medicine education.

　　We must enhance the innovation capability of the entire chain of Chinese medicine in this regard. Modernization and innovation is the key to promoting the high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine. By strengthening the basic research of Chinese medicine, exploring the sustainable utilization of Chinese medicine resources, improving the standardization and quality control technology of Chinese medicine, and developing key industrialization technologies, the technological level and innovation capability of the Chinese medicine industry will be enhanced. The typical examples include the genetic and environmental mechanisms behind the formation of "high-quality and excellent" authentic medicinal herbs, the "panoramic" identification of the effects of medicinal substances in Chinese medicine, the scientific connotation of Chinese medicine processing principles and detoxification and efficiency enhancement, and the "refined" analysis of the molecular network of direct targets in Chinese medicine.

　　Overall, the most profound experience I have had in my work is how to balance education quality, scientific research progress, and international development amidst these complexities and challenges. We need to constantly innovate education models and cultivate Chinese medicine talents with international perspectives and interdisciplinary abilities to cope with the complexity of the Chinese medicine industry and various challenges in the process of globalization.

　　Outlook: In your opinion, how should universities play an innovative role in the upgrading of the Chinese medicine industry and the transformation and implementation of scientific research achievements, and promote the collaborative education of medical research, teaching and production?

　　Chen Wenfeng: In 2021, the international market for Chinese medicine was RMB 952.4 billion yuan, with China accounting for only 9.24%, Japan and Korea accounting for 29.3% and 22.6% respectively. The Chinese medicine market still has great potential for development, so we need to combine the practical work and characteristic advantages of Chinese medicine universities, shoulder the mission of supporting industrial development with science and technology, vigorously cultivate and develop new quality productive forces, promote industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, and empower the industrial chain with innovation chains.

　　The university has abundant clinical and medical resources, including more than 500 medicinal prescriptions in the First, Second, and Third Affiliated Hospital, with an annual output value of over RMB 300 million yuan. The university also has a number of national and provincial research platforms such as the National Medical Research and Development Integration Innovation Platform and the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chinese Medicine, which can comprehensively empower the research and development, production, and transformation of Chinese medicine prescriptions and health products needed by the market.

　　On the one hand, we will comprehensively reform the organizational structure of existing scientific research units in the university, establish a science and technology innovation center through functional enhancement and resource restructuring, implement innovative mechanisms such as "publicization of interdisciplinary and cross-institute research platforms, PI system for team management, instrument sharing for experimental platforms, and performance-based allocation of resources", and combine with the high-quality development project of affiliated hospitals to create a new system and platform for modern scientific research organizations, achieve optimized allocation of school resources, comprehensively optimize and activate the innovation chain, and attract and cultivate talents.

　　On the other hand, we will comprehensively strengthen the mechanism for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, support and cooperate with local governments or industrial park management committees to build Chinese medicine concept verification and pilot testing centers, empowering industrial upgrading and development. We will strengthen the deep integration of industry, academia, and research led by enterprises, and work with sister universities, authoritative institutions in the industry, and leading enterprises to create a Chinese medicine intellectual property trading platform and transfer and transformation innovation consortium, promoting the linkage between upstream and downstream of the industrial chain and the integration and innovation of large, medium, and small enterprises.

To build peaks on the plateau

　　Outlook: You have been serving as the Secretary of the CPC?GZUCM?Committee for a year, but you have studied and worked here for more than 20 years. How do you feel when you return to the familiar campus? Has GZUCM changed in your eyes?

　　Chen Wenfeng: GZUCM is not only my alma mater, but also my first stop when I started working. It has nurtured me, trained me, and cultivated me. I have spent the most beautiful 25 years of my life here. Every scenery, every object, every flower, and every blade of grass, and every little bit of the university has been engraved in my heart. I love GZUCM because I will always be a practitioner of it.

　　What remains unchanged is the character and sentiment of the people here, who are "virtuous, knowledgeable, and sincere in helping the world". The colleagues are still gentle and refined, taking "no illness in the world" as their mission. What also remains unchanged is the confidence and determination to revitalize Chinese medicine. Chinese Medicine is a treasure of ancient Chinese science and the key to unlock the trove of Chinese civilization. Currently, Chinese medicine has ushered in the best strategic opportunity period with favorable timing, location, and people and we can only be grateful and strive forward.

　　When I left GZUCM, the university had just entered the national "Double First Class" disciplines construction and the Guangdong Province high-level universities construction list. With the support of the state and Guangdong Province, the university has made rapid progress in recent years, becoming one jointly built by Guangdong Province, the Ministry of Education and the National Administration of Chinese Medicine, and has built a national key laboratory of Chinese Medicine syndromes, a national key Laboratory of Chinese medicine humidity syndrome, a national innovation platform for the integration of industry and education in tackling key medical problems, and a Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Chinese medicine. In November this year, GZUCM is about to celebrate its centenary. Seeing these gratifying changes in the university, I feel sincerely gratified.

　　In response to problems discovered after taking office, we conducted a year-long discussion on "transforming work style, focusing on practical work, opening up new horizons, and striving for excellence" to liberate the mind and start again. We conducted 139 surveys, interviewed more than 1,500 people, and proposed 160 problem-solving ideas. Adhering to the principle of revitalizing the country through practical work, and evaluating heroes based on actual achievements, a series of measures and systems are implemented to improve service levels, enhance quality and efficiency. The members of the standing committee of the CPC GZUCM committee took the lead in carrying out a "horse racing competition", adopting 641 specific measures such as "departmental responsibility process reengineering", formulating 45 document systems such as the "Implementation Plan for Science and Technology System and Mechanism Reform", solving 79 problems such as "insufficient verification and control of equipment demonstration", and concentrating efforts to face the challenges.

　　Outlook: What is the roadmap for the future development of GZUCM? How to explore new paths, stimulate new momentum, and empower the construction of a highland for Chinese medicine in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the establishment of a strong province for Chinese medicine in Guangdong?

　　Chen Wenfeng: The centenary celebration is not only an opportunity to comprehensively review and summarize the educational experience of GZUCM, but also a starting point for further "transforming work style, focusing on practical work, opening up new horizons, and striving for excellence". It is also an new chance for accelerating the construction of "Double First Class" and high-level university.

　　In 2023, the university launched over 150 national level scientific research projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation, ranking second among Chinese medicine universities in China; it also signed 62 research and co-construction agreements with local governments, enterprises, and institutions, with a contract amount of RMB 526 million yuan, and transformed 6 scientific and technological achievements, with a contract amount of RMB 44.43 million yuan. The Second Affiliated Hospital has ranked first in the "Top 100 Competitive Chinese Medicine Hospitals in China" for 11 consecutive years, and the first in the national scientific and technological value list of Chinese medicine hospitals for 6 consecutive years.

　　To enjoy the scenery on the plateau, it is important to build peaks on the plateau. We must deeply study and comprehend the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in order to promote and guide the planning of the university's "15th Five- year'' Plan. We will adhere to the leading and driving role of talents, integrate the reform of teaching and research disciplines, focus on the cultivation of first-class Chinese medicine talents targeted national strategic and regional development needs, and provide strong talent guarantee for the high-quality development of Chinese medicine.

　　On the occasion of the centennial anniversary, the university will release the historical and cultural accumulation, and on the basis of "hospital integration" and "return to clinical practice", create a new model of “university-government-affiliated hospital" joint education, "campus-administration-hospital" medical research and management collaborative education, and use innovative institutional mechanisms to promote vitality and enhance innovation, making due contributions to the construction of a highland of Chinese medicine in the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area and the construction of a strong province of Chinese medicine in Guangdong.