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    克煌先生,冰云君好!各位文友好!
    冰云君辛苦!劳你费神费时逐句编辑,再三感谢!
    曾先生此大著还没有结束,上帖末尾是贴不出。续篇还想续贴。
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      Marry Zhang Li

      One of the students in the refresher class came into my view. Her name is Zhang Li (not her real name). She graduated from Kunming Medical College in 1968. She doesn't speak very much. She studies hard and works hard. She often asks me questions about her study. I think she often has her own analysis and insight. She asked me to help her with her English. Gradually, she began to come to my dormitory to ask other questions. Zhang Li's ancestral home is Zhejiang Province, where her father and grandparents live in Kunming. Her father began as an apprentice, and after years of hard work, he had his own shop and expanded it with two or three branches. Shortly after liberation, her father was labeled "capitalist". After graduating from Kunming Medical College, Zhang Li was assigned to a commune in a remote county clinic because of her family background. Later, when her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer, she asked for leave to take her to Beijing for treatment. Her mother later died and Zhang Li was fired for her overdue leave. After several setbacks, she found a temporary job in a clinic. Although she is a doctor, her salary is only half of the usual: 28 yuan a month. In 1977, she was admitted to the advanced course and was appointed as an assistant teacher in the Department of Physiology
      After training. Before our love became common sense, some people thought that Zhang Li and I would be a good couple, and wanted to help us connect. My three former students are also Zhang Li's classmates. Now they are in the advanced study class, but they are in different departments. One of them is the monitor, the other is
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        "Some things are no longer your business"

        After marriage, we were assigned to a suite on the second floor of a family dormitory: living room, bedroom and small kitchen, with a total area of about 22 square meters. We are basically satisfied, despite some troubles. Eight families on our floor share one tap, which is inconvenient for water. Sometimes the water pressure is low, and 24 three story dormitories have to share a tap
        Downstairs. The outdoor trough toilet shared by several dormitory buildings is also inconvenient. After years of stagnation, medical schools plan to build more faculty to alleviate the growing demand. In the fierce competition for more popular suites, residents use open, hidden and even fierce means to obtain prime locations. My wife and I have never played in this game, so we have been in our old flat. Later, the authorities proposed to assign us a new suite on the fourth floor (top floor) of dormitory 3.  My wife and I talked about this suite: it's very hot in summer, and the water supply is often interrupted by low water pressure; even the toilet is often out of use. It's hard to move the coal to the fourth floor by hand without an elevator. Zhang Li and I thought our gift suite was very small, the water supply and toilet were inconvenient, but the second floor was inconvenient and hot (there was a third floor above), so it was not too hard to transport the coal to the second floor, so we politely refused the offer. The representative of the house also thought that it was unreasonable to give us the suite on the fourth floor. She said helplessly: "director
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          hree years waiting for a passport
          My brother and his wife are doctors in America. They always stay to pay attention to the situation of Chinese family members. After the establishment of the Ministry of foreign affairs, they immediately applied for us to immigrate to u. firstly, my parents immigrated. Then in 1980, my sisters and I got American approval. Immigration and Naturalization Bureau. So I applied to medical school for permission. A long time ago, I heard that the Party committee of the medical college had agreed and my application had been transferred to the public security department for approval (in China, passports are issued by the public for security). I waited for a long time, but it was like a stone thrown into the sea, no response. We all know that the approval of the unit (Medical College) is the key. Medical college is a provincial unit, equivalent to a provincial department. In those who used to be Secretary of the Party committee of Kunming Medical College, one was transferred to the provincial public security department as vice president; the other was promoted to the Organization Department of the provincial Party committee. It's strange that my application was delayed to the public security department. Whenever I go to medical school to ask, the answer is always the same: medical school agreed, so I need to ask the public security. The Municipal Public Security Bureau has a total visit time of two afternoons per week. The petitioners were in a long line. Arriving at the front often means from the interviewer: "we'll review
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            Zhang Li and I asked for leave to apply for a visa at the consulate of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. My daughter Meng studied at Jinan University in Guangzhou and is ready to go to America after graduation. A tall American man from the Consular Department met us. He looked at the document and asked several questions. When submitting the required family photo, I can only give him a black-and-white photo showing that I am two years old and my brother is one year old. This young brother is the one who applied for us in America. My aunt found this picture a few years ago and gave it to my father, who cherished it and took it to a studio for reprint. "What about other family photos?" the consular officer asked I replied sadly, "all those years were lost." The officer seemed surprised, glanced at me, but did not ask again. He clearly understood that "all the photos were lost in those years" meant that all our photos were in the chaos of the cultural revolution. A few minutes after he left, he returned to me with his passport and visa stamp and said, "welcome to the United States." Now, Zhang Li and I have our passports and visas. Please let the dean of the Medical College
            Form of permission to go abroad. The dean is a surgeon in the First Affiliated Hospital who has been promoted to President for more than one year. He also graduated from Beijing Medical College, my senior for two years. He looked at the form and said, "why do you want to immigrate to the United States? There is no food for you to eat in China? Does Kunming Medical College have your job? You can't go to immigration.
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              终结篇

              Starting a New Chapter
              Access to the Free World We stayed in Hong Kong for a week while my sister and her husband introduced us to the free world. We visited the Ocean Park and the Space Museum, seeing things we had never dreamed of before. They also bought clothes and air tickets for us. On November 25, 1983, we arrived in Los Angeles. This smooth flight of a dozen hours was the joyful passage to a new life after more than 10 years of hardships and suffering! Our arrival meant that our entire family including my parents was in the United States. My daughter would soon join us after graduating from college. One of my sister’s family stayed in Hong Kong and later immigrated to Australia. We were deeply grateful for the great grace of God. My parents were gray-haired, but hale and hearty, and always had brilliant smiles, totally different from earlier years. Dad said that this is “freedom without fear”. One of my brothers and his wife were doctors, a highly respected occupation in the United States. The third brother worked in a hospital laboratory. All my sisters and their families also had jobs and their children were enrolled in school. The day after our arrival my parents took us to the Cathedral of St. Vibiana in Los Angeles. The day was dedicated to immigrant harmony, with the faithful from different countries wearing ethnic costumes and coming together for celebration of the Mass. Several languages, including Chinese, were spoken in turn. I felt exceptionally comfortable. Ah! This was true freedom of religion. From then on we never would be persecuted because of religious belief nor distorted by absurd ideology (“class struggle” and “red vs. professional”, etc.). How good! The first time I went to a department store, I was dazzled by the various commodities openly displayed for my selection. This was quite different from department stores in China, where rare goods were kept behind the counter and only shown on request by an indifferent salesman. I could not help but sigh: At home I had listened to the propaganda for decades that "the communist society is extremely rich in materials." But I actually found them here! Soon it was New Year's Day, my first chance to watch the Rose Parade. I had participated in Chinese parades many times before. There it was mandatory that we march in rows and shout slogans like “Long live, long live …”; or march combatively and raised our first shouting "Down with XX" and "Right to rebel". The Rose Parade was an unexpected surprise, so jubilant and colorful, a real eyeopener. The free world was indeed the free world! In China the propaganda declared that the United States was a police state with very heavy security. In reality, I rarely saw police on the street and only occasionally encountered a patrol car. What impressed me was what occurred at some intersections of smaller streets where there were no traffic lights but only stop signs. There each vehicle would come to a momentary stop, yield to vehicles there first, and then take its turn in proceeding. There was no rush. A car would stop even if there was no other traffic. This was the self-conscious law-abiding spirit of the United States! Los Angeles is large and widespread, with many cars but relatively few pedestrians. I walked around near my home each morning. When I occasionally met someone else, we exchanged a friendly greeting. It made me feel welcome and harmonious. One evening, my youngest brother drove us to a church gathering and got lost. We met a car coming from the opposite direction at a fork in the road so we stopped to ask for directions. The woman driver rolled down the window and directed us. When my brother was about to thank her, the woman suddenly said, "The road ahead is winding and forked, I'd better lead you." Then she made a U turn, led us all the way to our destination, said goodbye, and then turned around to continue her journey. I was surprised, but my brother said it was not unusual in the United States; people were willing to help others. My aunt came from China to the United States to visit her son in New York. She had a similar experience: Once her son drove her and his family for a tour and got lost in the suburbs. He saw a pedestrian nearby, so he pulled over to the side of the road. Before he had fully stopped, the pedestrian approached and asked: "May I help you?" Gradually I began encountering people who had emigrated from Taiwan and Hong Kong. They informed me that Taiwan and Hong Kong began an economic take-off in the 1960s and, along with Singapore and South Korea, now were called "Four Little Dragons in Asia". The annual income per capita was nearly $8,000. In contrast, in mainland China, due to the destruction of the Cultural Revolution, the economy was on the verge of collapse. The Reform and Opening Up campaigns began in 1979 with the aim of reaching annual income per capita of $800 by the end of the 20th century. The gap was astounding. Once a leftist friend who had never been to mainland China asked me: If there were no Mao Zedong, would China be so strong today? I immediately replied without hesitation: If there were no Mao Zedong, first, China would never have so many dead people (At that time I had not known that over 60 million died, more than the French national population); second, China would definitely not be so poor, and at least be similar to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. He was speechless. Later I thought I should add one more: Third, Chinese culture, including materials and spirit, would have never been so devastated. Numerous priceless relics were destroyed by "sweeping four old", and class struggle had made people so sinister and morally corrupt, perhaps not able to recover for several generations. Everything from Scratch Like most new immigrants, my wife and I also had a few years of arduous adaptation, really starting from scratch. The second brother and his wife and the youngest brother gave us a lot of support economically and otherwise. But our aim was to become self-reliant as soon as possible. At that time, the U.S. economy was in a downturn, so it was not easy to find a job. At first I worked as an herbalist in a Chinese herb store, where the income was low and unstable; then I got a part-time job as a health educator in the Chinese community. Zhangli also found odd jobs. Anyway, we could manage to pay for rent, utilities and daily expenses. In order to familiarize myself with the hospital environment and practice spoken English, I worked as a hospital volunteer, pushing patient carts. I also became a technical volunteer in the biomed labs at the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), two or three days a week, so as to learn some advanced laboratory techniques. While working part-time to earn a living, I made every effort to learn English especially spoken English, and to prepare for my medical examinations. When I was in China, I had insisted on studying English by myself. My English had been considered "high level" by my peers but, in fact, I could only read rather smoothly and write simple composition. Now, in order to overcome the difficulties of oral English I listened to the radio, watched TV, listened to tapes again and again, and went with Zhangli to free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at night. An American friend from our church also enthusiastically helped me with conversation. As for professional exams, at first I wished to apply for license examination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, hoping that I could have a stable job and then apply for the examination of (western) medicine. But I was not qualified because I was not a graduate of Chinese Medicine. So I turned to prepare for the (western) medical exam (ECFMG). The contents included all the courses of basic and clinical sciences. Nearly 30 years had elapsed since I studied in Beijing Medical College; the medical science had been substantially upgraded. Some subjects such as psychology, medical regulations and insurance, etc., I had not studied before. In addition, foreign doctors were required to be tested for English, including comprehension and speaking. So I had to prepare both professional and English exams. At that time, Zhangli was attending a community college. I could not afford to go to the pre-test class and had to rely completely on self-study. I also could not buy many books, so I went to the County Hospital Library and the Los Angeles City Library. After two years of preparation, I passed the ECFMG examination in 1986 when I was 50 years old. ECFMG certificate for passing the physician examination in the United States, 1986 The next step was to apply for the Residency Program, but I was rejected for three consecutive years. It turned out that since the end of the Vietnam War, there was a surplus of U.S. physicians and only four percent of candidates were admitted to residency. I was already over 50 and my English not as good as competitors from the United Kingdom and other countries. So failure was not completely unexpected. Soon after passing the ECFMG exam, I was hired to participate in medical research in the lab at UCLA where I had been a volunteer. As I could not enter the Residency Programs and could not be a clinician, I focused on research. Although the salary was less, I enjoyed research and was content. Actually my lifestyle was simple, I did not smoke or drink, even tea was dispensable. Doing research was intensely competitive and might be a wild goose chase after many hours of hard work. But if it were successful and my paper published, the sense of achievement would be something that money could not buy. In Jan. 1997, I was granted a patent on "IgG depleted serum preparations and methods for antibody production". By the new method we prepared an IgG-depleted serum first, then used this serum to culture directly the antibody-producing cells, thus omitting a series of procedures which had led to a large lose of antibody, so that the yield and purity of antibody was considerably increased, and the total culture time was shortened from seven to two days. After the publication of my method, all the IgG depleted serum preparation products were removed from the catalog of Sigma (one of the world's largest chemical and bio-medical products suppliers). The patent rights belonged to the Research Institute where I was employed, but I received a bonus. At that time, monoclonal antibodies were widely used in U.S. hospitals. I learned from a colleague who was a visiting scholar from mainland China that in China these products were mostly imported. As they were rare and expensive, they were not always available for ordinary patients. I was moved and was willing to help transfer the technology to China without compensation. After negotiation with the Research Institute, the Institute agreed that China could produce antibodies with this method and sell them within China only. Mr. Rao, former Director of Yunnan provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office who had aided my application for going abroad, later had been promoted to the secretary general of the Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference. He learned of this matter and actively contacted relevant units through the provincial Science and Technology Commission, but finally had to give up because, it was explained, "they had never produced such an item and there are difficulties in capital, equipment, technology and staffing.” The first patent obtained in the United States, January 1997 I always have been interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
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                In 1996, the Acupuncture Board of California encouraged physicians of Western Medicine to take the acupuncture exam in order to promote integration of Chinese and Western medicines. Therefore, I submitted my certificate of ECFMG and the Diploma of Beijing Medical College to apply for the examination, which I passed to obtain the license. I was 60 years old that year. I reduced my hours in the lab and began part-time operation of my own clinic. This was an opportunity to use my knowledge of Western Medicine to integrate with Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture practice. It was very interesting. The License of Acupuncture, California, 1996 I retired entirely from the lab and my clinic in 2008 at age 72. Having more free time, I now was able to to do the following things. First, I summarized my experience in the treatment of Herpes Simplex I, II with combined Chinese and western medicines, to apply for a patent for the formula (consists of vitamin B2 and Bco, concentrated Chinese herbs, and amino acid) and the method of treatment. In fact, many years before the introduction of the antiviral drug Acyclovir, I treated herpes simplex effectively with this formula. I was inspired by the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine to address the conditions of developing herpes simplex. This is different from the anti-virus therapy of the Western Medicine. The treatment is fast, economical and convenient; patients can buy it over-the-counter. It can also be combined with an anti-viral drug such as Acyclovir and it should be a more reasonable therapy, especially in severe cases. The patent was granted in January 2011. The cover of the second patent, 2011 My second task was writing this memoir. A third activity was to write medical essays, post them on the web, and email them to friends. This kind of work has become voluminous. My aim is to provide a scientific basis for general medical concepts, so that the reader may know not only “what” but also “why”. Responding to suggestions from friends, I collected what I wrote in these years and compiled a book . The first edition was published in 2016. Later I plan to follow up with supplementary editions. I lead a simple life, my pensions and health insurance are sufficient. I have no desire to acquire great material wealth. If my patents or books have economic benefits, most of them will be donated. In addition, I conduct medical seminars at my parish church, and help friends translate or understand lab tests, medical examinations, medications and other problems. Just doing what I can, and being "a residual candle to emit odd lights" is my self-promise. I planted a dozen trees in my backyard and have harvested their fruits in recent years. Watching the trees blossoming and yielding fruits gives more pleasure than buying fruits from the supermarket. I exercise daily, enjoy family happiness, interact with friends, and arrange time to travel to see the wonders of the world....... I am satisfied with these days of retirement. I am very grateful for the grace of God. Zhangli Adapts to American Life In our first two years in America, Zhangli did one job after another, including weaving lace in a garment factory, pushing the snack cart in a restaurant, and working as a nursing aide in a sanatorium. This amazed two of our more traditional relatives. My uncle was the provost of a university in Taiwan, and another uncle was a professor. They came to the United States to visit my parents. Learning that Zhangli, who previously was a physician in China, now pushed a snack cart in a restaurant, they were incredulous. However, we didn't feel at all awkward, because we already had experienced much greater difficulty and humiliation. Moreover, in the United States, one’s social status may vary widely from one’s occupation. For example, you might see a waiter in a restaurant who is a PhD candidate, or meet a graduate student who does part-time domestic work in an old American couple’s home. The hierarchical order is much more informal than in China. When dining in a restaurant, the mayor may be seated at the next table. Once I went to a chapel to attend a party and met former Governor Gray Davis who, like everyone there, carried his own food tray and walked around chatting with other guests. Zhangli went to a community college to improve her English and also to study a bio-medical technique. Later she worked in a lab at UCLA as a medical technician. A professional license was important for finding a job, so Zhangli used her spare time to prepare for the examination. After a year she qualified for a medical technologist’s license, making her job more secure. To enhance her competitiveness, she went to California State University to study cytogenetics in the evening. After three and a half years she earned a Master’s Degree. At that time, my younger daughter was born. Zhangli returned to work after maternity leave. Every day after work, she drove to the university to attend the class until 9:30 pm, and then drove home where she did homework until midnight. Work, study, family ...... our family was busy as bees. It was our busiest time since we had come to the United States. At Zhangli’s graduation ceremony to receive her Master's Degree, my younger daughter (the elder daughter could not come because of work) and I watched her walk to the platform to receive her certificate and cried for joy. With Zhangli wearing her Master’s cap, my daughter and I with classmates and teachers took pictures everywhere on the campus. Compared to 1968 (when the Cultural Revolution was at its peak) when Zhangli was assigned to a remote countryside after graduating from Kunming Medical College and soon had to be parted from her family, the feeling now was a world of difference. Although busy and often tired, we still were full of vigor. To help remember our first year of coming to the United States, I took a picture of Zhangli standing near the door and beside our car, wrote a jingle on the back of the photo, and mailed to relatives and friends: “I love my home, I love my car. -- Expose us to ridicule? -- We just start at the other end of the world!” It meant that even though our home was a small rented house, and our car was just a used one, such self-satisfaction might expose us to ridicule, but never mind, we were starting over at the other end of the world. For more than 20 years, Zhangli experienced setbacks such as a job transfer, company merger, and unemployment, but it didn’t frustrate her. She retired at the age of 68, and has continued to enjoy life after retirement. Family Members Achieve Success The elder daughter immigrated to the United States after graduating from Ji-nan University in Guangzhou, and now is employed in a government department doing administrative work. Her husband was her schoolmate and currently is an interpreter for a school district. They have two children. The younger daughter was born in the United States. In order to help her better learn Chinese, she was sent to a Chinese school every day after her regular school from the first grade of primary school to the eighth grade of junior high. She can now understand and speak Chinese. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, works for a private company and is enjoying success. Her husband is an architect. They have a baby girl. She gets along very well with her half-sister. My brother and sisters all live and work in peace and contentment. The sisters’ children have graduated from college. It is worth mentioning that my two sisters were excluded from college and high school in China because of their religious belief and our father being a senior intellectual of the “Stink Ninth Category” at that time. After immigration to the United States, all three children of their two families entered Harvard University. My youngest brother holds a Bachelor of Microbiology Degree from Rutgers University and later was a graduate student at a medical school in France. However, he determined to dedicate his career to God, so he returned to the United States after two years. Considering that my wife and I had just arrived in the U.S. and needed help, my brother worked in a hospital lab for one year and then entered a monastery. After more than 10 years of study he was ordained a priest and served first in a parish. During that time he also completed two Master's Degrees and later a Doctoral Degree. Now he is both a priest and a professor in a university. To celebrate my father’s 80th birthday, our brothers and sisters and friends from all over the United States, Hong Kong and Australia gathered in Los Angeles. At the banquet my father spoke candidly and emphasized "freedom without fear”. Yes, people who have experienced only fear but not freedom will have a deep understanding of this. Both my father and mother enjoyed their later years and died at the age of 93 and 91, respectively. They selected during their lifetime graves in a cemetery overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Renewing Vietnamese Friendships In the late 1970s there was open hostility between Vietnam and China, and almost all overseas Chinese were expelled from Vietnam. They were re-settled in Chinese farms or factories. Two years later, authorities allowed them to purchase boats and flee China. Some did so and were accepted as refugees by the United States, Canada, some European countries, and Australia. My friends Qian, Adong, Chunxian, Zhen Kai and the deceased Uncle Lu Qi’s family settled in Canada or the United States, some in Los Angeles or San Francisco.
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                   I immigrated to the United States in 1983 and contacted them soon. Our friends who have gone through difficult times are like dreams. Money lives in Canada and communicates with me. The adons are in San Francisco. I visited them every time I went to San Francisco. Min, Chun Xian's son, was one of the students in the medical school when I was in Vietnam. The day after I arrived in Los Angeles, he came to see me. He brought with him the test preparation manual of the DMV and suggested that I take the driving test as soon as possible. After I passed the written test, he taught me to drive his new car, so I got my license for less than 30 days. Thimphen is one of my best friends in Vietnam. After returning to China, he settled in a farm in Hainan. In 2005, I went to Hainan to see tingwen and nine Vietnamese friends nearby. When we met, we were overjoyed. I made every effort to find some Vietnamese friends who stayed in China and sent some money to thank them for their protection and care over the years. In the first few years of traveling in the United States and China, we were always very busy. Five years later, on the long weekend of Thanksgiving, we had our first pleasant trip. We drove to Yosemite National Park in Northern California and San Francisco. Along the way, we saw large farms, which were all mechanized, and almost no workers. We admire the advanced agriculture and animal husbandry in the United States. Thinking about Chinese traditional manual agriculture, we sigh that it will take a long time to catch up. After that, we enjoyed our annual trip to Virginia.
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