The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (FAH-SYSU) opened an exhibition on November 11 to honor Dr. Emil Bernauer, who served as the hospital's president in the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition marks 160 years of medical education at Sun Yat-sen University and the hospital's 116th anniversary.
At the opening ceremony, his grandson, Prof. Thomas Bernauer from the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, donated a collection of historical documents dating back nearly a century.
(Photo: FAH-SYSU)
These documents include Emil Bernauer's appointment letter, his work ID, passport and medical practice license. Thomas Bernauer also shared stories of his grandfather's medical and teaching career in Guangzhou during the 1920s and 1930s.
Historical records show that Emil Bernauer set off from Berlin in March 1927, traveling through Moscow and across Siberia to Guangzhou. He taught clinical internal medicine for a decade, lecturing three mornings a week and using demonstration cases to help students fully understand the material.
(Photo: Chen Jinxia)
He served as the hospital's president twice, first in the spring and summer of 1928, and again from July 1933 to July 1934. During his tenure, he worked to plan and upgrade the hospital's facilities. He later left China during the war and never returned.
In 2012, Emil Bernauer's son and grandson visited the hospital to trace their roots, reviving this cross-border historical connection.
Prof. Thomas Bernauer visits the memorial exhibition dedicated to his grandfather, Dr. Emil Bernauer, a former president of FAH-SYSU. (Photo: Chen Jinxia)
Xiao Haipeng, president of FAH-SYSU, warmly welcomed Thomas Bernauer. Xiao noted that despite the turbulent times, Emil Bernauer traveled a long way to China to help improve local medical and health conditions, bringing modern Western medical concepts and technologies to Guangdong. He said his predecessor had advanced medical practice, improved the hospital's facilities and raised professional and academic standards.
"This internationalist humanitarian spirit is a tremendous spiritual wealth for us as we build a global community of health for all," Xiao said.
(Photo: Chen Jinxia)
Thomas Bernauer said he was amazed by the hospital's rapid transformation into one of China's leading medical institutions. "This is just a mind-blowing development—how a hospital could develop so much and become so important in a relatively short period of time," he said.
He also said that building large institutions like universities and hospitals typically takes decades, which made China's overall development even more remarkable.
Reflecting on his visit and the warm reception he received, Thomas Bernauer added, "I'm very impressed by the hospital's hospitality and the nice people here, and how welcoming everyone is. I feel very much a part of this community and connected to the people here."
Reporter | Chen Jinxia
