Hua Tuo, the Distinguished doctor
In
ancient China, there were many famous doctors, such as Qi Bo in remote
antiquity, Bian Que in the Warring States Period , Sun Simiao in the Sui
and Tang Dynasties and Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty. The man that is
being introduced here was a distinguished medical man who lived towards
the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo.
In his childhood, Hua Tuo was very fond of reading, having at his finger-ends
such works as The Book of Songs, The Book of Rites, The Confucian Analects,
The Spring and Autumn Annals, together with many medical and pharmaceutical
books and the biographies of eminent doctors. He often went into the mountains
in search of medicinal herbs which he would use in treating the minor
ailments of ordinary people in the neighborhood.
His father having died early and his elder brother having been press-ganged,
Hua Tuo and his mother depended on each other for a livelihood. Later,
his mother was taken ill by an unknown disease. It pained him to see his
mother getting worse and worse from day to day, while he himself remained
helpless. Several well-known doctors of the day had been consulted, yet
one and all they had failed to cure his mother and, before long, she died.
There and then Hua Tuo made up his mind to become a doctor, a master in
the profession who was able to render help to the sick. After a long and
arduous journey, Hua Tuo arrived at a mountain in West China where he
was accepted as a student by a practitioner.
Hua Tuo proved to be a very alert student, observing carefully and asking
endless questions and thinking hard by himself. In this way, six years
had elapsed without anybody noticing it, and Hua Tuo had become a master
in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, gynecology, obstetrics and
acupuncture. Not long after he left the mountain, he became a famous medical
man. Several times he had been offered an official position, which he
always declined. Night or day, rain or shine, he was ever available to
cure the sick and administer medicines over several decades of his life.
Hua Tuo had left his footprints in many parts of the country and succeeded
in saving the lives of numerous patients. His great achievements have
become part of the history of Chinese medical science, and there are many
interesting folk stories about him.
One day, Hua Tuo was sent for by a governor. While feeling the latter's
pulse, he inquired about his condition and examined the coating on his
tongue. Then Hua Tuo pronounced, "Don't worry, My Lord. You certainly
will get well. " The governor was very happy to hear this. Then Hua
Tuo explained the case to the governor's son in private and told him what
to do. When all this was done, Hua Tuo wrote out a prescription.
The governor was greatly enraged when he read the prescription. He tore
the slip of paper to pieces, because it contained nothing more than slanderous
remarks about the governor. His eyes bulging, the governor yelled at his
soldiers to go and arrest Hua Tuo at once and have him executed. Hardly
had he finished when he started to vomit, throwing up as much dark-colored
blood as could fill several big bowls to the brim. With this, the patient
felt much better. And a while later, he was fully himself again. At this,
the son said to him, "That's Hua Tuo's recipe. " Only then did
the governor realize what had actually happened. Angry as he was, he couldn't
help admiring Hua Tuo for what he had done.
Another time, a famous woman painter suddenly began to feel an excruciating
pain in her stomach. Many skillful doctors had been consulted, but to
no avail. And her condition was getting worse and worse. Since many people
had heard that Hua Tuo was a brilliant doctor, they sent for him to make
a diagnosis. Hua Tuo asked many searching questions while giving the patient
a thorough checkup. At last, he came to the conclusion that an immediate
operation was called for.
Hua Tuo took out a small packet of anaesthetic named "mafeisan",
which was prepared by himself, and told the patient to take it with warm
wine. In a little while, the patient grew unconscious as if she had fallen
asleep. Hua Tuo then gave her an abdominal operation, and succeeded in
removing the inflamed appendix. He then sewed up the wound and applied
some ointment on it. A few moments later, the patient slowly came to,
and within a week, the incision was almost healed. Hua Tuo's successful
surgical operations were a significant contribution to Chinese medical
science. Actually he predated Western medical men by more than 1600 years
in the use of general anesthesia which was not adopted by the latter until
early in the 19th century.
Hua Tuo was also a pioneer in medico-athletics in China. He believed that
physical exercises could toughen the body, cure diseases, and prolong
life. Imitating the movements of five kinds of animal, that is, tiger,
bear, ape, deer and horse, Hua Tuo devised a set of calisthenics called
"Wuqinxi," or literally the five-beast-and-bird play which used
to be very popular in China.
Cao Cao, of the Period of the Three Kingdoms, often suffered from headache
which could only be relieved by Hua Tuo's acupuncture. So Cao Cao wanted
to retain Hua Tuo's service as his private doctor. Having the well-being
of the people at heart, Hua Tuo was not prepared to serve one man only,
even if the man be Cao Cao. Under the pretext of his wife's illness, Hua
Tuo went back home. When the truth later became known to Cao Cao, he dispatched
his men several times to ask Hua Tuo to come back, but without success.
And at last Cao Cao had this distinguished doctor murdered.
Although he had died ages ago, Hua Tuo has always been extolled for his
superb medical skills and his humanitarian spirit in curing the diseased.