Tao Enhai was once an outstanding doctor. He served as the chief physician in the department of neurosurgery at Ditan Hospital. At that time, he was not yet forty years old, which for a "doctor" could be said to be the prime of life—both technically and physically at the top of his game. He developed several neurosurgical techniques and published a few papers.
It was also a time of back-to-back surgeries, every day so busy he was close to passing out.
But there was no doubt that he was happy during that time.
Even today, Tao Enhai can still assert that.
With every life he saved, he felt his own value being realized.
Indeed, some research institutions approached him for collaboration, hoping he would transition from clinical work to scientific research. Once, he was nearly swayed. He was told that new technologies could save more lives, that this could be more efficient than him working at the operating table.
Tao Enhai admitted that he was indeed shaken then.
