A Frog Out of a Deep Well

About the Book

A Board-certified general surgeon recalls the abject impoverished condition of his childhood in a wartime Chinese countryside. He observed with revolting indignity of how the downtrodden and trampled poor lived. He joined the revolutionaries in the Communist campaign hoping to catapult them to become the master of the new country. He failed to see that dream to become a reality. He reminisced the generosity of many mentors, missioners and local clergy to overcome the odds. He enrolled to Milan Medical School and met more people dedicated their efforts to support the Missions abroad in the 1950s. He compared Western traditions with some Chinese cultures and found the humanity is not a West or East tradition, but an innate human nature. It’s a moving story how he travelled and met genuinely kind people in a position to assist him. A practically stateless citizen in the 1950s, Li Ren had no place to go nor he was welcome in many Countries because of the then-existed antagonistic status of Mainland China versus Taiwan. He expounded some of his unconventional philosophy of life and urged his progeny to learn and practice with conviction. He has a boy and a girl plus 10 grandchildren.

About the Author

A Chinese endured wartime hardship in an isolated mountain valley with grandmother and mother until he was twenty years old, never travelled beyond what a day’s walk distance and had no cash in his pocket. His contacts with missionaries exposed him widely to Christian teachings and became a believer by Conviction. After Communists took over Mainland in 1949, he slipped out to Hong Kong, Italy, Canada and United States. He realized his chance of becoming a general surgeon was a rare fulfillment and repeatedly expressed his heartfelt gratitude to many wonderful people he met en route. His achievements among going through a medical school, he also wrote, taught and gave frequent conferences on Confucian culture. In his late years, he found two large boxes of collected correspondences, all hand written or typed out during his years in medical school. He was surprised how did he manage to carry on. His secret: boarding school work habits.