Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life at Tianjin Medical University

Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life at Tianjin Medical University

The Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life at Tianjin Medical University serves as a patriotic education base.

The Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life at Tianjin Medical University was established in 2002 and is located in the West Building of Tianjin Medical University. The exhibition displays unique exhibits — specimens of donated human organs and body parts from the university’s founder, the renowned endocrinologist Professor Zhu Xianyi, as well as handwritten last wills left by body donors from all walks of life at the end of their lives.

The distinguished endocrinologist Zhu Xianyi devoted his entire life to public service, contributing everything he had to the field of medical education. Before his passing, he wrote a will dedicating all that he owned to the school he founded: he donated all his savings to establish the “Zhu Xianyi Medical Award”; he gave away his entire collection of precious books for public access (his personal reading index cards alone numbered over 100,000); he donated a private residential building for the school's use; and he bequeathed his own body for use in anatomy teaching. Inspired by Professor Zhu’s example, 464 individuals have donated their bodies, including veteran cadres, teachers, translators, farmers, and workers. When you open their handwritten wills, although the yellowed pages bear the marks of time, they fail to dim the radiant purity of these souls. Despite their varied backgrounds, their wills are uniformly moving and tear-jerking. Even the simplest words convey the donors’ profound understanding of the true meaning of life and their selfless support for the nation’s medical education. Standing here, one cannot help but be drawn in and moved by a noble power.

On occasions such as freshman orientation, graduation, and training sessions for aspiring Party members, the university organizes special visits to the Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life, encouraging participants to embrace nobility, aspire toward goodness, and pursue ideals. To date, the exhibition room has welcomed over 20,000 visitors, including students and faculty of the university, representatives from dozens of universities nationwide, and members of the public. Students have written more than one million words of reflections after their visits, compiled into several volumes titled “Moving Words.” In 2009, it was designated as a Tianjin Municipal Patriotic Education Base by the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

Address of the Exhibition Room on the Meaning of Life at Tianjin Medical University: No. 22, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District. Open to the public free of charge from 8:30 to 17:00, Monday to Friday (advance reservation required). Contact number: 83336871.