The Warring States Period not only made remarkable achievements in the economic, political, and cultural fields, but also made remarkable achievements in medicine. During this period, the Qin State had already established medical institutions dedicated to treating the palace and officials, and began to have the official position of "Imperial Physician Order". It can be seen that China already had a very professional medical team at that time. The genius doctor Bian Que, a native of Qin and Yue, and his disciples Zi Yang and Zi Bao were all famous doctors at that time. Inspection, smell, inquiry, and palpation, which are still used in traditional Chinese medicine, were pioneered by Bian Que during this period. Moreover, psychiatrists are not unique to modern society. During the Warring States Period, there was a famous "psychiatrist" - Wen Zhi, a famous doctor in the Song Dynasty.
According to legend, there was a man named Uncle Long in the Song Dynasty at that time. Because he was very obsessed with Laozi's philosophy, he had reached a very high level in cultivation. One day, he went to Wen Zhi for help: "Mr. Wen, I heard that you have excellent medical skills. I am sick, can you help me cure it?" Wen Zhi said: "Please introduce your symptoms first." So Long The uncle started talking non-stop. He said that he was praised by the people in the village, but he should not be proud of it; he was slandered by the people all over the country, but he was not ashamed of it. I don’t feel happy when I get it, and I don’t feel sad when I lose it. Moreover, for his symptoms, no matter whether the court used high-ranking officials and generous salaries to encourage him or threatened him with severe punishments, it had no effect. His entire moral character was incompatible with society, so he could not serve the king, make friends or relatives, manage his wife and children, or even control his servants.
After hearing this, Wen Zhi felt that Uncle Long might have a mental problem, but his language was very logical and did not look like a mental illness. He hesitated for a moment, then asked Uncle Long to stand up with his back to the sun, and then he used the sunlight to see through Uncle Long's chest. After watching for a while, Wen Zhi happily said to Uncle Long: "I saw your heart. Your heart is empty. It is really very peaceful and empty. You almost became a saint. There are seven holes in your heart. , now six of your holes have been unclogged, and only one is still a little clogged.”
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the Song State was destroyed by the Qi State. Therefore, Uncle Long's experience is a bit like that of the last generation of nobles. After seeing the changes in political power and intrigues, I gave up my pursuit of fame, but I felt a little unwilling to be lonely in my heart, so I came to Wen Zhi for help. Wen Zhi used his naked eyes to see through Uncle Long's heart and untie his knot. This is a record in Liezi. Regarding Wen Zhi, there is another story in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals.
It is said that during the Warring States Period, King Min of Qi was ill. After many treatments failed, he sent someone to invite Wen Zhi for diagnosis and treatment. Wen Zhi arrived in Qi and after a detailed diagnosis, it was determined that King Qi Min was suffering from depression. He said to the prince: "The king's disease can be cured, but to cure the king's disease, I must die." The prince was very puzzled by this. It turns out that if you want to cure King Qi's illness, you must use the method of stimulating generals. But if King Qi is angered, his life will naturally be in danger. After hearing Wen Zhi's explanation, the prince begged and vowed that as long as King Qi's illness was cured, he and his mother would die to ask King Qi to save Wen Zhi's life. As the saying goes: "A doctor has the heart of a parent." Out of his instinct to save people, Wen Zhi agreed to the prince's request and decided to help King Qi treat his illness.
He first made an appointment with the prince for a diagnosis and treatment time, but in order to anger King Qi, he deliberately missed the appointment. The sick King Qi very much hoped that he could help him cure his stubborn illness, so he did not blame him for missing the first appointment and just made another appointment with him. However, the "ignorant" Wen Zhi has not yet come for the second time. The "good-tempered" King Qi was not angry yet and gave him a third chance. But what is unexpected is that he still did not come the third time. King Qi saw that he repeatedly missed his promise, and his expectation finally turned to anger. The emperor's wrath is a very terrible thing, and it may be like "the corpse is lying thousands of miles away, and the blood is flowing like a river."
But at this time, Wen Zhi did not hide, but appeared in front of King Qi "ignorantly". I saw him walking slowly to King Qi's bed. He neither saluted nor knelt down. He even climbed onto King Qi's bed without taking off his shoes. He stepped on King Qi's clothes and began to ask about King Qi's condition. how. King Qi was so angry that he could not speak, but Wen Zhi kept saying things that made King Qi angry. Finally, the emperor was angry. He yelled, sat up, and pushed Wen Zhi away. With this anger, his illness actually healed. However, as the saying goes, "anger is the devil", King Qi, who was being ruled by this "devil" at this time, could not calm down and thank the doctor who removed his stubborn disease.
The emperor's cruelty began to explode, and he wanted to kill Wenzhi alive. The prince and queen hurriedly came out to stop them, but how could the furious King Qi listen to their explanation? Therefore, in the end, no one could save Wen Zhi's life, and the famous doctor finally died in a steamer.
This is a record in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu". Of course we have no way of verifying its authenticity, but we can easily see that medicine at that time had developed to a relatively mature stage.
There were many medical works during this period, such as "Book of Forbidden Prescriptions", "Moxibustion Sutra of Eleven Meridians of Yin and Yang" and the prestigious "Huangdi Neijing". Medicine at that time had begun to absorb some philosophical ideas, such as the theory of vitality, yin and yang, the five elements, and the theory of correspondence between nature and man, etc., which were all borrowed and adopted by traditional Chinese medicine. This is also the reason why the later theories of traditional Chinese medicine are full of philosophical atmosphere. Bian Que's remarks during this period already involved concepts such as "five internal organs", "stomach", and "blood vessels" that we still use today.
"Huangdi Neijing" plays a very important role in the history of traditional Chinese medicine. It determined the formation of traditional Chinese medicine as an academic system. "Huangdi Neijing" not only talks about how to treat diseases, but also tells people how to prevent diseases and how to live a long and healthy life without taking medicine. Therefore, the "Huangdi Neijing" is not so much a medical book as it is a health-preserving scripture. The "Huangdi Neijing" says: "If you don't treat the disease, you can cure the disease; if you don't treat it, you can treat the disorder." This shows that our ancients have realized the importance of disease prevention during this period.
Someone asked Bian Que: "You three brothers are all good at medicine, but who has the best medical skills?" Bian Que replied that he believed that the eldest brother has the best medical skills because the eldest brother can treat the disease before it attacks, or even before the patient himself. When you feel the presence of a disease, prescribe medicine to eradicate the root cause. It can be seen that disease prevention has been recognized by the medical community at that time. "Treat the disease before it's too late" has become an important idea adhered to by medicine during this period.
At this time, pharmacology and pathology also began to sprout. Medical books unearthed later proved that the knowledge of materia medica at that time was very rich. According to some medical books, some doctors at that time had already begun to try to use compound formulas and explored some more feasible formulas. Principles and theories, prescription science also gradually began to develop.
During the Warring States Period, my country's medicine indeed made extremely glorious achievements. At that time, our ancestors had begun to use their wisdom to improve physical fitness, treat stubborn diseases, and save lives. The great theories of traditional Chinese medicine they left behind are worthy of our inheritance and promotion.
