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Five Millennia of Medical Practice
| Article
# : |
13119 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1987 |
6,849 Words |
| Author
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Jeffrey H. Mindich
Free-lance author Jeffrey H. Mindich resides in Taiwan. This
article is reprinted with permission from the Free China
Review. |
Following a doctor's prescriptions could be a risky proposition two and a half millennia ago. But on certain occasions, it was more dangerous to be the doctor than the patient. Wen Chih, an accomplished physician during the Period of Warring States (475-221 B.C.), is a case in point.
He was summoned to treat the king of the state of Chi because other physicians had failed to cure a debilitating disease. With the king's son anxiously looking on, Wen Chih carefully performed his initial examination. Later he told the prince, "Your father's disease is curable, but if I succeed, it will cost me my life." Surprised, because success brought substantial rewards to physicians, the prince asked for an explanation.
Wen Chih answered, "In order to cure the king he must be angered to the point of bursting, but if I do so he will surely have me put to death." The prince pleaded with the doctor to save the father, and promised on his won life that Wen Chih would not be harmed. The physician had no choice but to agree.
Wen Chih began his unique treatment by breaking his next three appointments with the king, sowing the initial seeds of anger in his patient. When he finally arrived, Wen Chih strode boldly into the royal chambers and onto the king's sleeping platform without removing his shoes. He then proceeded to step arrogantly on the king's silk robes and, using the most vulgar language he could muster, described the royal person and his ancestry in distinctly unflattering terms.
The king's face turned red, then deep crimson. Suddenly, he leaped from his
... (1997 of 42557 Characters)
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