Steady Progress, Balanced Work and Rest: Do Not Overdraw Your Health for Quick Gains

On April 4, 2021, during the Qingming Festival, Dr. Wang Zhuorong, a 27-year-old physician at Tsinghua University Affiliated Changgung Hospital, died of a sudden cerebral accident. Wang was an eight-year-program MD graduate of Peking University Health Science Center who had just started work and was rotating through training at Changgung Hospital when she fell ill.

On the afternoon of April 9, the School of Life Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University issued an obituary: Professor Zhao Yong, dean of the School, doctoral supervisor, and National Distinguished Young Scholar, had died of illness at only 45.

Last night a fellow townsman of mine poured his heart out to me. He graduated from Zhejiang University and does biology research; during his PhD and postdoc years he often stayed in the lab until one or two in the morning, physically and mentally exhausted. He had hoped work would be easier, but the pressure is greater. He now does research and experiments at a top-tier (Grade III-A) hospital in Wuhan, pursues professional titles, and supports his family—more tired than before.

He forwarded me an article. According to its statistics, between September 1, 2020 and April 8, 2021, four graduate students at Nanjing University have jumped to their deaths. The pressure of research is enormous. Several mid-career backbone teachers at a university in Jinan have sought my health conditioning; all of them are in sub-health states. One supervisor with already serious heart problems regularly keeps graduate students up all night doing research, and this pace simply cannot be stopped.

We have one-sidedly emphasized the achievements of China's rapid economic and technological development while ignoring the price several generations of Chinese have paid for it. My personal feeling is that in recent decades most people have lived too anxiously and under too much pressure. Many people obtain so-called "personal achievement" by overdrawing their health, and the price may be too high.

Many hope to achieve success early, to become outstanding young or middle-aged scientists, or to amass enormous wealth—some accumulate fortunes that would last several lifetimes. I really do not see the practical point of piling up so much personal wealth. Everyone strives like a desperado for all kinds of achievements; this is hardly rational.

The Canadian scientist Oswald Avery succeeded in the Diplococcus pneumoniae transformation experiment only at the age of 66. This experiment decisively proved DNA as the chemical form of genetic material and greatly influenced biology. Avery and Mendel, the founder of genetics, are both classic examples of those who "accumulate deeply before releasing, and bloom late."

To my shame, "deep accumulation, late blooming" is the wisdom of our Chinese ancestors, yet we descendants of Yan and Huang have failed to inherit this fine tradition. Guangdong people have a saying: "Long-lived work is done over a long life." As we mourn these outstanding talents who died young, we should also deeply reflect on our entire society's hunger for quick success.

On the day Dr. Wang Zhuorong died of her cerebral accident, I discussed the matter with my son at the dinner table, telling him there was absolutely no need for him to rush to achieve anything in his life. I have no urgent expectations of him; if he can do work he loves and feel happy with his work and life, then whether rich or poor, whether with dazzling achievements or not, his mother and I will be happy for him.

We do not need him to stand out; I would rather he live longer. If he devotes a lifetime rather than merely twenty or thirty years to society, I believe he will create more value and will not leave his mother and me with overwhelming grief by dying young.

On April 9, at the 2021 Sports 14th Five-Year Plan Kickoff Promotion Conference held in Beijing, renowned Chinese neurologist Professor Wang Chunxue raised a point: if a person is self-disciplined and healthy in middle age, there is a high probability he will live with quality in old age.

Based on a 25-year large-sample study of residents' health by China's medical community, she shared a "healthy brain formula": healthy brain = (knowledge accumulation + persistent exercise) × time / desire moderation. Setting aside negligible genetic influence, she argued, accumulating scientific knowledge plus sustained physical exercise, while appropriately controlling desires, will over time work miracles in the brain—so that in old age one still has a youthful brain, a healthy body, and a high quality of life.

In fact, the medical community has long noted that dietary, exercise, learning, and behavioral habits are formed in early childhood; the habits we form in youth greatly affect our whole lives. The poor physical condition of today's young and middle-aged people can basically be traced back to a series of bad habits formed in childhood. Family and society have imposed too much pressure on them, leaving no time for exercise, unable to control anxiety, overly competitive and impatient for quick success; after entering a fiercely competitive society, their bodies collapse all too soon.

Master Hongyi once said: "Talent with a slow temperament is true talent." I am more optimistic about the future of people with calm, steady temperaments and not so strong a competitive drive. They are the ones who truly go far on a steady road; not only may they achieve great things in future, but their minds and bodies are also healthier and they live longer.

Many people save for pensions for the future, but few save for health when young. If you overdraw your health, most of the pension you save will ultimately not belong to you—it will be delivered to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Conversely, if we control our desires and emotions, make only moderate efforts, maintain restrained living habits, and set aside enough time for reading and exercise, then even if we save little in pension, because we need not pay for health in old age, it will surely be enough.