Pu Cheng, MD

I was born and raised in China, a country with more than 3000 years of history. Although I chose to be a doctor as my lifetime career, and currently am practicing psychiatry in the United States, I am also a history junkie in my leisure time. Actually, I plan to study East Asian history and become an archeologist after retiring from the medical field.

Earth is an important, or sacred concept in Chinese tradition. In ancient Chinese mythology, NuWa, the mother of humanity, created humans out of soil. Five essential elements, including Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, became the foundation of Chinese philosophy, establishing the Feng Shui system we know today. It was also integrated into Chinese social structure: Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, Teacher (Master) comprised the hierarchy of respect. Since the 15th century, Chinese emperors held ceremonies every year to worship Mother Earth at the Temple of Earth in Beijing, thanking her for the harvest this year and wishing for next year’s prosperity. This tradition continued until the fall of the Qin Dynasty in the early 20th century. The Emperor would also criticize himself publicly and pray for forgiveness in the case of any natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.

Many of the aforementioned traditions no longer apply to modern China, but some of the values still hold true, such as respect for Mother Earth.

China currently has about 1.4 billion individuals, about 18% of the total world population, with only about 9% of total arable land. As the second largest financial entity, just after the US, China’s GDP consisted of approximately 18% of the world’s total GDP in 2020, with about 28% of global manufacturing. China paid a dear price for the boom of the economy. Pollution became so severe and widespread that it endangered public safety, similar to what happened in Western countries during the Industrial Revolution.

Thankfully, the Chinese government started to recognize this issue and has been enforcing more strict regulations, resulting in noticeable improvement in recent years. Take Beijing, the capital of China, as an example. According to the World Green Building Council, a member of the UN Global Compact, the state of Beijing has undertaken measures such as issuing policies advising on strategies of air pollution control, promoting the regulation of bulk coal and the reduction/replacement of coal consumption, resulting in significant improvement of air quality and consistent annual reduction of outdoor PM2.5 concentration from 2014 to 2018.

 At the same time, public awareness of environmental issues has been rising and more consumers are willing to change their habits due to concern about issues such as global warming.

Increasing demands on Mother Earth can cause other issues, such as continuous deforestation, which is happening in the Amazon Rainforest, and many other places around the globe. This not only endangers natural habitats, but also introduces human beings to novel pathogens, such as AIDS, Ebola, and SARS. At the early stage of the pandemic, scientists already suspected COVID-19 also originated in wild animals, then spread to humans.

 The World Health Organization investigation just finalized the conclusion to confirm this.

In my peer-support work for health care workers in Wuhan, China last year at the beginning of the pandemic,

, I have seen too much suffering. This experience has led me to think that even with our advanced technology, we still need to respect the Mother Earth, and cherish what we already have.

With the fast evolving of human society, maybe more than ever, the ancient Chinese wisdom of respecting Mother Earth is old, but still gold.

is the Medical Director of Addiction Service at Meridian Health Services and is a Volunteer Clinical Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine Muncie campus.

To see more on Earth & Psychiatry, please see 

The Power and Potential of Earth Week and Psychiatry

1. Qingqin W. Clearing the Air: How Beijing is building up to better air quality. World Green Building Council. Accessed April 8, 2021. 

https://www.worldgbc.org/news-media/clearing-air-how-beijing-building-better-air-quality

2. Wong S. Environmental quality in China - statistics & facts. 

https://www.statista.com/topics/2028/environment-in-china/

3. Zarocostas J. WHO team begins COVID-19 origin investigation. 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00295-6/fulltext

4. World Health Organization. WHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part. March 30, 2021.

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part

5. Cheng P. Supporting frontline health care professionals: lessons from Wuhan experience. 

https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.4b34

Articles

Earth is a sacred concept in Chinese tradition. How can we continue respecting it today? 

Respect Mother Earth as Ancient China Did

is the Inpatient Director at Meridian Health Services and is a Volunteer Clinical Assisstant Professor in Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine.  

If you are interested in hearing more from Dr Cheng, you can read his recent article about racism in the Unites States 

Videos

Frontline workers are being hailed as heroes, and while their bravery should be commended, we need to acknowledge them for what they are before their profession: people. 

Human Before Hero

Born and raised in China, I only came to the United States in adulthood to pursue my dream and freedom. Having not grown up in the United States, I lacked certain cultural experiences, and these became a significant barrier that preventedme from understanding the scope of US racial issues. Even in China, I did not have much exposure to racial issues. That is not to say China does not have any, I just wasn’t exposed to them often enough to realize it. I am Han, the main race in China (according to 2017 data, Han makes up 91% of the Chinese population). I lived in Shanghai, the biggest city in China, with population of 27 million per 2020 census, before coming here. This led to some degree of culture shock once I came to the United States with no knowledge of racism or experience of discrimination. I soon found out every great thing also has its dark side. 

I learned racism in the United States. I first arrived in Pittsburgh in the winter of 2000. I did not have a car at that time and needed to take 2 buses to go to work. If I missed the connecting bus, I needed to wait outside in freezing weather (about -5 °F) for 45 minutes for the next one. That is especially unbearable for someone coming from a city where they would issue a warning whenever temperature drops below 32 °F. One day I went to catch the first bus, and saw it leaving the stop even as I ran towards it. Thinking that the bus driver did not see me, I started running and beat the bus to the next stop, but the bus driver drove by me. Then I ran towards the 3rd stop. A passenger saw me and told the driver while pointing at me, but the bus drove past me again without stopping. I looked at the bus driver while she drove by. For the first time, I understood racism. 

Another time, I walked the street in early evening near University of Pittsburgh campus. A tall African American male stopped me and asked me if I had any change. I was on high alert right away as friends warned me about gun and robbery. I pretended that I did not know English and tried hard to calm myself down. But he only smiled at me and shook my hand,saying, “welcome and have a good day.” Then he walked away. I felt shock, relief, and a bit ashamed.

In the following years, I started to encounter many different races. This is certainly a different experience compared to China. While making friends with them, I also am learning the experience of being a minority in the United States. Officially, foreigners like me are still designated as “aliens.” Perhaps this disadvantaged position helped me to have a better perspective and allowed me to understand those being discriminated against. It also prompted me to choose psychiatry. Psychiatric patients face discrimination and stigma too. I took a fellowship in Community and Public Psychiatry so I can work with many brilliant and passionate colleagues from all races in order to help populations most in need, among which many are minorities.

The United States is a great country, that is why it attracts so many people from around the world to come and plant their roots. I do hope all races and cultures can stand together to fight racism and all other kinds of discriminations, and build a better, safer, fairer society for everyone. That is the American spirit I always long for.

is the Inpatient Director at Meridian Health Services and is a Volunteer Clinical Assisstant Professor in Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Dr Cheng shares his experience with racism in the hopes that we can join together to create a better country for everyone. 

Pu Cheng, MD

Articles

Respect Mother Earth as Ancient China Did

Human Before Hero

Learning Racism: An “Alien” Experience