The St. Luke's Hospital Era (1901–1951)
In the 27th year of the Qing Guangxu era (1901), French Catholic missionary Duang invited the Sisters of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary to establish the French Hospital on Ping'anqiao Street. Later, due to insufficient space, the hospital expanded upon its existing dispensary at No. 75 Madao Street, Ping'an Bridge, utilizing funds from the "Boxer Indemnity." It was subsequently renamed the French Catholic St. Xiu Hospital, becoming one of Chengdu's earliest medical institutions. The hospital employed six foreign physicians, and the administration was overseen by Maria Xu Mingda, a Catholic French nun who served as its院长 (director).
During the Sichuan Army street battles in Chengdu in 1932, the hospital treated wounded soldiers and officers, earning widespread praise from both military personnel and civilians. During the Anti-Japanese War, when Japanese aircraft bombed Chengdu, the provincial government designated the hospital as a key medical facility specifically tasked with rescuing critically injured patients. Medical staff organized an emergency rescue team to assist in post-bombing operations, actively participating in life-saving efforts. The hospital also began accepting students from West China University for clinical internships.
In 1944, the hospital established its own laboratory, initiating routine three-part diagnostic tests. That same year, it hired Chinese doctors to join the medical team, including Dr. Xiao Ji, a highly skilled physician who became the hospital’s first Chinese director. By 1947, the hospital had added a private vocational school for advanced nursing education, known as the Ren'ai Advanced Nursing Vocational School. Over the years, the school graduated three classes, training a total of 57 nurses. Notably, Professor Lang Yuxiu, a renowned American-trained soprano singer and the wife of Dr. Xiao Ji, personally taught English courses to the nursing students. Throughout their work, hospital staff conducted medical rounds, provided patient care, and maintained medical records entirely in English.
At the end of 1919, French physician Albert Gervais was dispatched by the then-Diplomatic Mission Office to serve as the medical director of the local French Catholic Church hospital in Sichuan, China. He also took on teaching duties at the Royal Military Medical College in Chengdu, jointly operated by the French and Chinese governments at the time. Deeply passionate about China, Dr. Gervais returned to France in 1925 after nearly a decade in Sichuan. Drawing from his experiences working and living in China, he went on to publish five influential books about the country: *Flowers of Emotion*, *The Shadow of the Devil Horse*, *The God of Medicine in China*, *The God of Medicine in China Amidst Rebellion*, and *A Doctor in China*. Through these works, Dr. Gervais played a vital role in promoting cultural exchange between China and France, earning him recognition as an ambassador of Sino-French friendship and understanding. In November 2015, Aurore Staiger, a French freelance writer, visited the hospital to trace her great-grandfather Albert Gervais’s legacy at St. Xiu Hospital.
