How a French doctor became a wartime hero to the Chinese

The son of a French doctor much beloved in China will be at the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the end of the war – and says his father would be pleased and amazed that people still remember his name. 

Jean-Augustin Bussiere settled in Beijing, married a Chinese woman and embraced the local culture – and in his professional life, he opened his doors to the local population. But even so, what he did when the Japanese invaded is remarkable to recall. 

"My father actively participated in the resistance by bringing medicine to his clinic – which was 40 kilometers from Beijing – in difficult conditions, by bike," Jean-Louis Bussiere tells CGTN in an exclusive interview.

Born in 1872, Jean-Augustin Bussière moved to Beijing in 1913 to practice medicine. Open-minded and collaborative in an era still stained by colonialism, he was determined to share his expertise and equipment with Chinese people. 

"He treated the Chinese people, he expanded the French Hospital to treat the Chinese as well and not only foreigners from different delegations," his son says. 

As he reached his mid-sixties, Bussiere closed his medical bag and prepared for a quiet retirement in Beijing – but life had other plans.

"He had barely retired, at the start of 1937, when only a few weeks later the Japanese attacked Beijing," he says. "Straightaway he was requested to treat those people in the Chinese resistance and he agreed to bring medicines and bandages to the hills.

"He carried medicines and bandages, and part of his medicines and bandages went to bases in the rear – notably Doctor Bethune, who was Mao's physician, in Yan'an, and who was missing medicines and everything necessary to care for soldiers and for the injured."

'Dramatic circumstances'

The elder Bussiere's contribution to the cause was brought to wider attention in recent years, amid growing knowledge of wartime activities. 

"It was a period that was not well known – I knew my father looked after a huge number of people in Beijing but perhaps not in such dramatic circumstances," his son says. 

"So for me I am proud and it's an honor to represent, along with other people, who helped China get through this difficult time of war."

Even when war was over, Jean-Augustin Bussiere didn't take the opportunity to return to his homeland, newly liberated from Nazi occupation. Instead, he continued a form of flag-flying abroad.

"He decided to spend the second half of his life in China," his son says. "He had devoted all his energy and means to the French Hospital in Beijing, to the French embassy in China, so it was also the representation of France. He helped the Chinese to modernize all their medical systems." 

'A beautiful story'

In 1954, in his seventies, Bussiere decided to return to France – and a year later, Jean-Louis was born. If that was a surprise to the venerable old man, his son likes to imagine his thoughts on still being celebrated for helping the resistance, all these decades on. 

"He didn't imagine for a second that I would be here 70 years later to tell this story of the return to France and to explain what he did during the war," Jean Louis says. 

The story of the doctor's good work is one that his son – who also became a doctor, known to the Chinese as 'Bussiere Junior' – is always proud to relate.

"For me, it's an honor to have been invited by the Chinese government for the 80th anniversary," he says. "I come back to my amazement at this extraordinary story and it's a real pleasure to recount it because it's a beautiful story."

Jean-Louis also hopes it will show that people can work together for mutual benefit. 

"We are on a good path: China wants peace and I think France does too, in a world that's very agitated, so if we can send this message through exchanges, through culture, then I think that's a good thing."