Exploring the roots of the poem "Go to the People" by James Yen / 国際保健医療

ABSTRACT

"Go to the people" composed by James Yen or Yen Yang Chu is well known as an instructive poem or credo for rural reconstruction workers in various versions. One version commonly used includes the part of ‘when the task is done, people remark we have done it ourselves.’, but the authorized version by his successor does not include this part. The author tried to explore the roots of the poem and each version through interviewing with key people who knew Dr. Yen and using other information. The author concludes that Yen expressed his message in various ways according to the audience, and understanding the philosophy and spirit behind is most important.