Professor Wan Chengkui, a famous chief expert in health education and a model of vibrant elders in my country, passed away in Xi'an on April 30, 2025 due to illness at the age of 92.

Upon hearing the bad news of Professor Wan Chengkui's death, grief and reluctance instantly surged into his heart. As a health educator, we have known him for more than 20 years. We are not only teachers and students, but also close friends, and have formed deep friendships with us. The pictures of learning and sharing healthy experiences together in the past are still vivid in my mind, as if they were yesterday...

The picture shows Professor Wan Chengkui, 88, giving a health report at the charity event of the China Elderly Health Promotion Action sponsored by the China Elderly Health Association in 2021.

In the journey of pursuing the health of the whole nation, Professor Wan Chengkui is like an ever-extinguishing beacon, illuminating the path of countless people to a healthy life with his life. From setting ambitions in his youth to becoming a household name for health science, he devoted all his efforts to the cause of health education and wrote a moving legend with his major and love.

Wan Chengkui was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province in 1933. He joined the army in July 1951. He graduated from the Fourth Military Medical University. He served as the director of the Political Department of Xijing Hospital and has been engaged in ideological and political work for a long time. During his growth, he witnessed many people suffering from illness due to lack of health knowledge, and deeply realized that only by passing on scientific health concepts to the public can people truly improve their quality of life. With this simple and firm belief, in the late 1980s, he resolutely embarked on the long journey of health education. After years of research and practice with his wife Professor Sun Huixin, he jointly established the science of health self-management.

With deep professional accumulation and unremitting research, Professor Wan Chengkui has been highly recognized by the industry. In 1998, he was hired as the "Health Advisor of the People's Armed Police Force" by the Ministry of Health of the People's Armed Police Force; in 2003, he was selected as the chief expert of national health education by the Central Civilization Office and the former Ministry of Health of the State; at the same time, he was also hired as an expert of the expert group by the China Elderly Health Association, the China Health Association and other institutions. This honor is not only an affirmation of his personal achievements, but also a mission to spread health knowledge to the grassroots masses. He knows very well that the community is an important base for health education. Only by entering the community and being close to the people can the health concept be truly implemented.

Professor Wan Chengkui proposed "life is in your own hands", "a new concept of health in the 21st century" and self-care methods that are conducive to promoting physical and mental health. He pointed out that the 21st century is the era of longevity, and health has become the first in people's view of wealth. Diet is scientifically matched, and mental health is also crucial. At the same time, he built a unique "Science of Life Self-Management" system, summarized a complete set of self-health care methods, and transformed obscure medical knowledge into catchy health formulas such as "the emperor's breakfast, the minister's Chinese meal, and the beggar's dinner", so that the public can understand it and learn it once they hear it.

Professor Wan Chengkui knows that health education is a compulsory course in life and an important part of national quality education. He took "Wishing the people of the whole country not only to become rich, but also to be healthy" as his goal and wish, took health education as his mission, practiced it himself, and actively carried out health education activities. In the 37 years after his retirement, he transformed into an indefatigable "health messenger", covering 33 provinces, cities, autonomous regions (including Hong Kong and Macao) and the entire army, and even traveling overseas. He was also invited to central and local TV stations to do health programs more than 40 times. More than 3,000 speeches and tens of thousands of audio-visual materials have benefited more than 300 million people and have been warmly welcomed by all walks of life. He has gone abroad 21 times, participated in international sexual health education, health management and health promotion conferences, learned and exchanged new health concepts, new ideas and new methods, and continuously enriched and enriched the science of health self-management, and better served the health cause.

Professor Wan Chengkui has successively published popular science and health works such as "The Essence of Meeting with Healthy Community Tour", "Healthy Self-Management", "The "Five Keys" for Physical and Mind Health of the Elderly", "Health Starts Today", "Being the Messenger of National Health", "Wan Chengkui Health Wisdom", and "Doing This More Longer Life". Among them, "Health Self-Management" has been reprinted and has become the "Health Book" at the hands of the public.

Because of his outstanding achievements in health education, he is known as "a good teacher and friend for young people", a health guardian for middle-aged and elderly people", and a "Chinese health education speaker", and has won the "Natural Medicine Merit Award" of the World Peace Foundation. He has been cordially received by the leaders of the Party, the state and the military many times, as well as commended by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and other units: in 1991, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee awarded him the title of "Advanced Individual Individual for Veteran Cadres"; in 2005, the series "Essence of the Tour of the Health Community" compiled won the second prize of the "National Science and Technology Progress Award" awarded by the State Council; in 2006, the Central Civilization Office and the Ministry of Health awarded him the title of "Excellent Expert Award"; in 2013, the Information Center of the Office of the National Committee for Aging and the China Health Promotion Foundation jointly awarded him the "Excellent Contribution Award for Health Education"; in 2018, he was named "A Model of Vibrant Elders in the New Era" by the China Association for Elderly Care.

In his 80s, Professor Wan Chengkui is still ambitious. While taking care of his 95-year-old wife and his mentally disabled daughter, he continues to work hard and explore the health of middle-aged and elderly people. After several years, he completed the writing task of the book "Doing Longer Life" and dedicated his last book to middle-aged and elderly friends.

Professor Wan Chengkui's life is a glorious life and a life of struggle for the cause of health education. He is worthy of being the messenger of the health of the whole nation, a role model for the vibrant elders, and a role model for military cadres.

Today, although he has gone far away, the health concepts and popular science methods he left behind have set a benchmark for us health educators. Countless latecomers will take him as an example and actively convey health concepts in various fields. The healthy spark he sows is burning in the land of China, illuminating the future path of people to pursue a healthy life. (Zhou Hong specifically thanked Professor Wan Chengkui for providing material support for Professor Liu Bingyi, a friend of Professor Wan Chengkui)

[Editor in charge: Wang Yuqi]