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The Body Donor
Liu knelt beside the bed, clutching her husband’s clothes tightly, tears flowing uncontrollably. Her heart was in turmoil, torn between deeply ingrained traditional values and the increasingly faint breaths of her husband.
“Is there really no other way? Do we have to open him up?” she asked for the umpteenth time.
Wei Lan nodded, her tone firm: “If we delay any longer, there will be no chance.”
Liu bit her lip, her vision blurred by tears. She remembered the gentleness her husband had shown her in daily life, recalled his promises to grow old together, and thought of the elder’s admonition: “The body and hair are a gift from the parents…”
Suddenly, the bed shook violently. Chen Zian’s body arched like a shrimp, blood frothing at his mouth, splattering across Liu’s sleeve. In panic, she tried to block his mouth with her sleeve, but the blood continued to pour, soaking the indigo cloth into a dark purple color.
“Ange! Ange, answer me!” Liu frantically reached for her husband’s neck, feeling his cold skin, causing her heart to tremble. She finally broke down, collapsing onto her husband’s body and cried out, “I agree! Quickly save him, please save him!”
“It’s too late.” Liu Mingyi checked his pulse and sighed, shaking his head. “His pulse is gone.”
Liu froze, as if all her strength had been drained. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes vacant, murmuring, “It’s my fault… It’s my fault. If I had agreed earlier, perhaps he could have survived…”
Suddenly, Liu looked up, her tear-filled eyes filled with determination. “Doctor Wei, I want to know, what exactly did he die from?”
Wei Lan grasped her trembling hand. “You mean… an autopsy?”
Liu nodded vigorously, her tears falling onto her husband’s clothes. “What does it matter now, the things after death? If I had listened to you earlier, he might still be alive. Now, I only seek to understand the truth. Even if I bear the blame, I accept it!”
This was a rare opportunity. The body was still fresh, and if it could become the first body for the Huimin Medical School, it would greatly benefit the students’ learning. Wei Lan said to Liu, “Would you let him leave something useful for others?”
Liu shuddered, a hint of confusion in her eyes. “What is useful?”
Wei Lan’s gaze was determined. “If you agree, we can perform the autopsy and let the students learn. This is not just to find out the cause of your husband’s death, but also to train more doctors, so they can save more lives in the future.”
Liu hesitated, then nodded. “If they can learn something from it, then perhaps his death will have value.”
Wei Lan laid Chen Zian’s body on the green stone dissection table, and the twenty or so students who had arrived immediately formed a half-circle. Some stood on tiptoe to get a better view, while others pulled back, clutching their companions’ sleeves. The room was filled with the sound of heavy breathing.
Wei Lan turned to Liu, who had shrunk to the corner of the room. “Just to confirm, do you agree that we only examine the abdomen?”
Liu tightly clutched her husband’s cloth shoes, her nails leaving deep marks on the surface.
Wei Lan put on her homemade sheep gut gloves and suddenly raised her voice: “Today, we will learn the art of saving lives. This Mr. Chen is our body donor, teaching you how to save the next person with his own body.”
“Step one, a moment of silence.” She led the way in bowing her head, and the others followed suit, offering a silent tribute.
“Now, we begin the dissection.” Wei Lan picked up a scalpel and made an incision in Chen Zian’s abdomen. The students held their breath, their eyes fixed on her movements. As she worked, she explained, “First, observe the skin of the abdomen for any wounds or bruising. Next, cut along the midline, and be gentle to avoid damaging the internal organs.”
Mingyi assisted nearby, while the students listened and took notes. Wei Lan skillfully separated the organs, and the students gasped in amazement from time to time.
As the abdomen was opened, a foul stench filled the air. The students frowned, but none stepped back. Wei Lan pointed to the pus accumulating in the abdominal cavity. “This is a sign of infection, the condition is already very severe.”
She lifted a piece of the decayed stomach wall with forceps, pointing to the crucial area: “This is the cause of death, a stomach perforation leading to peritonitis. If the surgery had been performed earlier, perhaps there would have been a chance.”
Wei Lan stepped back two steps. “Now, let’s divide into groups and practice. First, wash your hands with soap, then put on your gloves.”
After the dissection, Wei Lan and Mingyi carefully placed the internal organs back into the body, using mulberry bark thread to meticulously stitch the incision. The students helped by handing over tools and cleaning the area. Though their movements were unskilled, everyone focused on completing their tasks.
In the end, Chen Zian’s body was completely sutured. Except for the fine stitching on the abdomen, no signs of the dissection remained on the exterior.
Liu remained silent in the corner, watching everything unfold. Her eyes, though still red, now showed a sense of relief as her stiff shoulders relaxed.
“You can take him home now.” Wei Lan said softly as she approached Liu.
Liu nodded, her gaze sweeping over her husband’s peaceful face. “Now I understand the truth.”
When Wei Lan watched Liu leave, she noticed several students diligently recording their findings from the dissection. This special autopsy not only uncovered the cause of death but also led Liu to reconsider traditional views. Perhaps this was just the beginning, but the development of medicine often starts with these seemingly small steps.
The autopsy incident quickly became a focal point of public debate. The Chen family was furious, publicly scolding Liu for “violating family teachings and disgracing the family name.” Liu, although filled with guilt, found some solace in knowing that her husband’s body could help the medical students understand the root causes of illness.
Three days later, the entrance of the Huimin Medical School was crowded with people. A black coffin was placed across the entrance, and the Chen family members were crying loudly, demanding “the return of the complete body!”
Over twenty members of the Chen family wore mourning attire, followed by more than thirty scholars in square caps. These scholars, mostly classmates and friends of the late Chen’s family, were distributing fliers and reciting loudly passages from the Book of Filial Piety and The Book of Rites, declaring: “Do not dare to harm the body, this is the beginning of filial piety.”
This caused a severe blow to the school’s reputation, and many passersby pointed at the school’s sign.
The head of the Chen family, Chen Wende, held up a copy of the Great Ming Law and loudly recited, “Everyone, listen to what the law says. ‘Those who destroy the body shall be punished with a hundred strokes and exiled three thousand miles!’”
Chen’s second uncle was beside himself, crying bitterly, “Cutting open my nephew’s belly, how is that any different from slaughtering a pig?” Several women, holding Chen Zian’s memorial tablet, were crying mournfully.
Inside, Zhang Wenyuan paced anxiously, nearly wearing out his shoes. “The coffin’s blocking the door! If this keeps going, someone might really get hurt!”
“I’ll go explain the reason behind the dissection,” Wei Lan said, standing on tiptoe to reach the door, but was stopped by a shadow.
Liu Mingyi grabbed the door handle with one hand, his sharp jawline outlined by the sunlight. His calm voice cut through the noise outside, as though the morning bell pierced through the mist: “I’ll go, you stay here.”
Wei Lan, smelling the familiar scent of herbs on him, recalled how he had protected her at the pharmacy incident. Her heartbeat skipped a beat, though she still retorted, “They wouldn’t dare hurt a woman!”
Mingyi’s tone softened: “It’s not about you personally, it’s about the new-style schools. If you go out, it will only make things worse.”
Wei Lan wanted to argue, but Mingyi added, “These scholars value etiquette and propriety. At least I can be heard by them. I’ve been raised in a family of traditional doctors, and I understand their mindset.”
Reluctantly, Wei Lan let go. Mingyi adjusted his clothes, stepping out into the harsh sunlight with a gentle, unflappable expression on his face.