In Chiang Chi-der ’s poem “Pathologist,” it says:
Seeing the world from a cell
Seeing the social from a surgical specimen
Seeing the panorama of life from a dead body
The doctor-writer writes rational and emotional works with his professional knowledge and literary talents. His materials are diverse and include diseases and medical images. Quoting from Takagi Tomoe, Lai He says, “If we want to become doctors, we should become people first. Without perfect personality, we can hardly fulfill doctors’ duties.” With his pen, this doctor dissects the society and improves the society. Injecting more humanistic concerns into scientific knowledge, he pay more care and concern to patients. Composing about the life of being a doctor and the kaleidoscope of a hospital, he uses the hospital and a doctor’s profession as materials. With his professional outlook, he is enthusiastic to observe the society and cure the society. Compassionate about all the people, things, and events in this world, he cares and concerns about people. In his “medical writing,” he illuminates profound life philosophy.
In the realm of literature, he wanders among literary pieces to interpret the writers’ wisdom and aesthetics of everyday life towards life. Reading medical essays, it opens up a window to allow us, who have not experience the issues of childbirth, aging, sickness, and death, to see “life” and “death” through the experienced eyes of the writer, presenting the authentic idea of creative writing with the form of science in front of readers’ eyes. We should not dissect the relationship between a doctor and a writer because both of them use their own unique ways to propose extraordinary thinking. In the past, we tended to marginalize or stigmatize popular literature with our criticism. In the course of time, in this society with increasing inner-pressure and outer-pressure, we should interpret popular literature in different manner. We hope to use the language power in popular literature and our scientific ideals and conduct in this world to allow people live easier and happier so that they can retrospect the issues of life and urge to change our present conditions.
This thesis aims to provide a perspective of reading, by examining medical writing, to ponder upon the image and implications of a doctor from a literary perspective. Unveiling the veil of the medical professions, we would like to reexamine the conflicting values of power struggle, human weaknesses, social justice, and medical ethics in the profession of medicine. This thesis also proposes that “medical literature” should be promoted extensively to construct a better and more harmonious society. Essentially, we should focus on people to allow the essence of life develop fully in order to promote the thinking and moral of the members in this society. It also highlights that popular literature is still meaningful and profound, alerting people to pay more attention to the meanings of life. Thinking the origins of life, we should promote popular literature to a higher realm.