The Power of Good Examples: The Spirit of Struggle Passed Down Through Generations

Through personal interviews and in-depth excavation by the reporter team of Global People magazine， this book selects more than 30 meritorious and exemplary figures. It uses the progressive deeds and touching stories of heroes and models to inspire the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups in the country to adhere to their patriotic feelings and strengthen their will to strive ， inspire people from all walks of life to work hard， and gather strong spiritual strength for the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The Power of Good Examples: The Spirit of Struggle Passed Down Through Generations

Global People Magazine

The Oriental Press

April 2021

59.80 (CNY)

“Mother of Artemisinin” Tu Youyou: Saving Millions of Malaria Patients over 40 Years

When the country assigns you a task， work hard to complete it.

— Tu Youyou

The Nobel Prize is like a magical wand from mythology; wherever it points， cold benches turn hot， and niche scientists become household names overnight.

Tu Youyou’s life was transformed by the sudden award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In 2007， when a reporter first met her， her home was a quiet study in a corner of Beijing with almost no visitors. Journalists who did visit had to start with elementary questions like “What is artemisinin?” At that time， Tu Youyou had ample time and patience to explain， climbing up and bending down to open drawer after drawer to produce piles of supporting documents.

After winning the Nobel Prize on October 5， 2015， her home was filled with distinguished guests every day. Foreign and domestic reporters crowded the staircase， eagerly discussing the discovery history of artemisinin. While the visitors were all cheerful， the nearly 90-year-old Tu Youyou maintained a serious demeanor and spoke succinctly. Her husband， Li Tingzhao， acted as her spokesperson and receptionist， constantly explaining to visitors， “She is really too tired， and she really has no time... Sorry， please leave.” The sudden excitement was so overwhelming that everyone overlooked one detail. The Nobel Prize committee hadn’t yet contacted Tu Youyou. When she learned of her award from the television， the committee’s spokesperson in Stockholm， Sweden， was asking journalists for help finding her contact information. The next morning， the committee’s executive secretary finally reached Tu Youyou by phone to inform her of the award and invite her to the December ceremony in Sweden.

Inspiration from Ancient Texts

At this point， Tu Youyou began to reassess her research strategy: Why did ancient medical texts frequently mention that qinghao (Artemisia annua) was effective in treating malaria， but her experiments showed poor results? “Since January 1969， our research has gone through over 380 experiments and 190 samples. We noticed the effect of qinghao extracts early on， but subsequent tests showed only a 12% to 40% inhibition rate on the malaria parasite in mice. We analyzed that the low inhibition rate might be due to the low concentration of active ingredients in the extract，” Tu Youyou explained to reporters.

Tu Youyou immersed herself in ancient Chinese medical texts again. When she read Handbook of Emergency Prescriptions by Ge Hong， a medicinal scientist from the Eastern Jin Dynasty， one sentence caught her attention: “Use one handful of qinghao soaked in one liter of water， wring out the juice and drink it all.” Tu Youyou recalled， “At that moment， I wondered why the method mentioned in the book differed from the traditional decoction method commonly used in Chinese medicine. It turned out that the juice of qinghao was used. Following this idea， we decided to extract at a lower temperature.”

Initially， Tu Youyou had used substances like ethanol in her experiments， but without success. Later， she switched to using ether for cold extraction， which significantly improved the results， proving that low-temperature extraction was the key to ensuring the efficacy of qinghao extracts. In October 1971， during the 191st experiment， Tu Youyou discovered that the extract achieved 100% inhibition of the malaria parasite.

However， science itself should be quiet. It is these “quiet revolutions” that have driven the continuous progress of human society. Moreover， Tu Youyou walked a path even quieter than most scientists. Over 40 years ago， she was deeply immersed in her laboratory work. For over 40 years， during the feverish waves of “going abroad，” “getting doctorates，” “becoming academicians，” and “publishing SCI (the abbreviation for the Science Citation Index in the United States， which is a system for indexing scientific literature， and its inclusion rate is an important criterion for evaluation in the Chinese scientific community)，” she remained unnoticed. Artemisinin is a gift from a unique era， following a unique path that led Tu Youyou to the Nobel Prize hall.

The Young People in a Military Project

Zhang Daqing， a medical historian at Peking University Medical Department， told reporters， “... To eliminate the malaria epidemic in southern China， Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai personally instructed the urgent development of new antimalarial drugs under the guise of a military project. This meant that developing new antimalarial drugs was not merely scientific research but a political task.” On May 23， 1967， the State Science and Technology Commission and the General Logistics Department of the PLA held a “Malaria Prevention and Treatment Drug Research Cooperation Meeting” and formulated a research plan. “To maintain confidentiality， the task was code-named ‘523.’”

More than a year later， the progress of the “523” task was not smooth. At the beginning of 1969， the person in charge of the “523” task came to the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences)， seeking scientific support. Tu Youyou， then 39 years old， also attended the meeting. After accepting the task， the Academy quickly established a project team. “Tu Youyou was very young at the time， belonging to the second generation of researchers at the institute， but her scientific abilities were widely recognized，” said Jiang Tingliang， chief researcher at the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， who had worked with Tu Youyou for many years.

In the 1960s， the parasites causing malaria had developed resistance to existing drugs， making them less effective. Therefore， Tu Youyou’s main task was to find new drugs. Jiang Tingliang told reporters， “After accepting the task， Tu Youyou organized ancient medical books， consulted old Chinese medicine experts， and meticulously reviewed various folk remedies offered by the masses around the nation. On this basis， she compiled the Compilation of Anti-Malaria Recipes， which included 640 herbal prescriptions.” Later， Tu Youyou was sent to work in the malaria-affected areas of Hainan for a period. During clinical trials in these areas， she found that pepper， which researchers had previously focused on， could not cure malaria.

To outsiders， switching to ether extraction might seem like a small step， making the discovery of artemisinin appear less challenging than it was. However， the reality was far more complex. When a new batch of qinghao was used， the experimental results were inconsistent again. Tu Youyou recalled， “Different varieties of qinghao had different effects， and only the leaves contained artemisinin. Therefore， identifying the correct variety of qinghao and the right harvesting season was crucial for extracting artemisinin from the leaves. Achieving these advancements took a lengthy research process.” The research conditions were very tough at the time. Many pharmaceutical factories had shut down， and there was a shortage of purification and preparation equipment. Tu Youyou and her team had to use makeshift methods， collecting large amounts of qinghao leaves， soaking them in ether， and then recovering the ether. Tu Youyou’s husband， Li Tingzhao， still remembers her coming home smelling of alcohol.

In 1972， Tu Youyou reported her research findings at an internal meeting on antimalarial drug research. Later， she and her colleagues named the compound artemisinin. The renowned medical scientist and Nobel laureate Joseph Goldstein once said， “Discovery and invention are two different pathways of biomedical progress.” With the birth of artemisinin， Tu Youyou had completed the discovery. The next step was to invent， meaning to bring artemisinin into clinical trials and turn it into an effective treatment for malaria.

To conduct clinical trials， a large amount of artemisinin needed to be prepared. Tu Youyou bought large water tanks to use as extraction pots， and the staff worked in three shifts non-stop， including weekends. Zhu Xiaoxin， the deputy director of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， recounted the situation: “Ether can damage multiple bodily systems， and the laboratory had poor protective measures and ventilation. Due to daily exposure to large amounts of ether， Tu Youyou often felt dizzy after a day of work and even developed toxic hepatitis.”

But new problems emerged. In pathological sections of certain animals， the extract showed suspected toxic side effects. Some believed that the extract needed repeated testing to ensure it was non-toxic before proceeding to clinical trials. Tu Youyou then proposed to test the drug on herself， bearing the consequences all by herself. Zhu Xiaoxin said， “The task was urgent， and Tu Youyou wanted to quickly verify the efficacy of artemisinin. Moreover， malaria is a seasonal disease; missing the outbreak season would delay research by a year. Although it was a no-other-way choice， her dedication to science was undeniable.” With the leadership’s consent， Tu Youyou and two other colleagues conducted trials on themselves， and fortunately， none of them became unwell.