A Millennial History of Yue Medicine

The city of Shaoxing is like a massive book.

If you open this book, you will be greeted with deep and profound historical culture. Shaoxing is an ancient city famous for its bridges, wines and celebrities, all of which are the stunning and popular chapters of this book.

There is another sparkling chapter in this book——the traditional Chinese medicine unique to Shaoxing, namely Yue medicine. Yue medicine shone through the ages of gorgeous and colorful ancient Yue culture, and it is an important branch that lasted in the long-standing history of traditional Chinese medical culture.

Therefore, in addition to the numerous existing laurels, Shaoxing deserves to have one more title——the hometown of famous TCM physicians.

Things changed in the past two thousand years. The shield and bliss of traditional Chinese medical culture, with its sound foundation and clusters of famous physicians, played an inseperable part in the long lasting vitality of Shaoxing.It became a unique genre named Yue medicine.

Way Back during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, there were already records of Yue citizens visiting physicians. According to Spring and Autumns of Wu and Yue , Yue physicians were rather active when Gou Jian was the king.

Those unearthed relics displayed in Shaoxing Museum, such as stone needles of the ancient Yue state, porcelain pillows of Tang Dynasty, etc., witnessed the glory of Yue medical culture in that time.

During Southern Song Dynasty, when the royal family were moving to the south, they paused in Shaoxing for a while. A batch of physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine successively came to Shaoxing. From then on,the authority of imperial medicine and the creativity of grass-root folk medicine in Shaoxing became one, and Yue medical culture became an important branch of TCM culture.

Clusters of famous Yue physicians sparkled throughout the history. Dai Sigong was an imperial physician who served three kings. Zhang Jingyue was a grand master in the field. Yu Genchu was the founder of febrile disease of Shao School. He lianchen, Guo Jisheng and Cao Binzhang were the three best-known luminaries in Shaoxing's medical history. All of the above were and will be remembered forever.

There were also old and well-known families practicing Yue medicine in the folk. Qian family's medical department for women, “Third Sixth Ninth”department of traumatology( because the physicians came to Shaoxing every third, sixth and ninth days on lunar calender), Shou Mingzhai ophtalmology department, malnutrition section in Luo Si Bridge, Zhu family's herbal medicine in Xia Fang Bridge, all of which gained considerable fame and benifited the local people.

According to the Encyclopedia of Chinese Medicine and Medical History, there are 10 Shaoxingnese out of the 107 famous traditional Chinese and western physicians recorded in the book. The Yue medical culture has been shining in the millennial history of traditional Chinese medical culture.

The profound cultural foundation of Shaoxing is the soil for the prosperity of Yue medical culture.

Many famous cultural figures in the history of Shaoxing were also celebrities in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. Wei Boyang wrote Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi, intiating an approach to preserving good health by practicing qigong. Wang Chong wrote 16 articles on regimen. Lu You liked to study prescriptions when young, research regimen methods in his middle age, and even was a local physician in his later years. Xu Wei, an unusual talent in the literary world, who also had a great deal of research on medicine, once left the medical book Notes on Su Wen. Lu Xun, who once went to Japan to study medicine, had a deep understanding of traditional Chinese medicine. He criticized its fallacies, but still turned to it for help when his family or himself was ill. He even painstakingly collected the prescriptions and left 50 pieces altogether.

In the long process of searching for the best methods and most effective medicines, Shaoxing Yue medical culture has formed its unique academic ideas and numerous schools, which have influenced the whole country. Director of the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wang Guoqiang once said: Yue medicine has formed its uniqueness throughout the millennial history, which is characterized by its emphasizing on practice, innovation and Conclusion, as well as by the variety and number of schools, celebrities and writings. Yue medicine plays a key role in and makes an important contribution to the development and prosperity of traditional Chinese medicine.

Yue medical culture was formed in practice. In the struggles with harsh natural environment and diseases, the ancestors of Yue state had accumulated the experience of treating various diseases, formed the unique Yue medical culture system, and became a wonderful part of traditional Chinese medical culture.

Febrile disease of Shao School was the most famous school of Yue medicine, which was the product of clinical practice. Its foundation marked another innovation on recognition and treatment of febrile disease in traditional Chinese medicine. On the basis of four traditional diagnostics, namely, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, pulse-taking and palpation, febrile disease of Shao School paid special attention to abdomen examination, which enriched the TCM theory and diagnostic methods, and was listed in the doctrine of Theories of Different Schools of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yue medical culture develops through innovation. Yue physicians learn from but not bound by the predecessors, explore the general rules as well as the special nature of diseases, which help them to be ahead of time and develop a school of their own.

Zhang Jingyue proposed the theory of warm-recuperation, which became a milestone in the history of traditional Chinese medicine, and he created many new treatments with remarkable effects, which are still in use today. In his later years, he turned his life experience into a book named Complete Works of Zhang Jingyue, achieved the transformation of becoming a grandmaster. This book was written four hundred years ago, and it is still the main content of the textbooks of TCM universities. Professor Xiao Luwei, the former president of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University once appraised: as far as integrity, comprehensiveness and dialectical character, are concerned Zhang Jingyue and his book are still unsurpassed.

He Lianchen designed a new medical case named the "formative" medical case. Since then, it was widespread and its influence was nationwide.

Yue medicine established clinics and hospitals where TCM and western medicine coexisted, advocating the combination of TCM and western medicine, and leading the way.

Yue medical culture matures in accumulation. Yue physicians can not only cure the very sick, but also write masterpieces. According to the data, over 60 kinds of medical books have been written by past generations of Yue physicians, which has become a treasure in the literature of traditional Chinese medicine.

Hu Hanmin, who came to Shaoxing with Sun Yat-sen, was cured by Qiu Jisheng with only one dose. Sun Yat-sen inscribed the words “Relieve People from Sufferings” and sent it to Qiu Jisheng. Qiu edited and published the Integration of Rare Medical Books, which was praised as "the greatest contribution" by the director of the Central Medical Museum at that time.

From his collection of nearly 10,000 medical books, Cao Bingzhang selected and compiled the Great Achievements of Chinese Medicine in 3 categories of 1000 volumes, which shocked the Chinese medical field at home and abroad.

Shaoxing Municipal Party Committee and Government attached great importance to the protection of this historical and cultural heritage. They established a leading group for revitalizing and issued several opinions on accelerating the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

A five-year protection plan has been fully launched in Shaoxing.

Establish TCM culture institute and a special fund to support TCM culture. Conduct all-round, multi-layered and in-depth researches on the origin and motivation of Yue medicine culture, as well as its status in and influence to Chinese medical history, and the mutual effects with Yue custom. Establish Yue medical culture museum and inheritance base to cultivate more inheritors. Evaluate the first top 10 famous TCM physicians and cited by the municipal government. Hold Yue medical culture forums and seminars on Zhang Jingyue's academic thoughts. Carry out the reconstruction project of classical ancient Yue medical books. Compile Yue Medical Culture Series.Combine the research of Yue medical culture with the construction of "three famous projects", namely, famous physicians, famous departments and famous hospitals, and with the education of national health quality, so as to integrate Yue medical culture into people's daily life. Exploit medical and cultural resources related to Yue medical culture and build Yue medical culture brands with distinctive regional features.

The traditional Chinese medicine is warm like the spring sun. It shoulders heavy responsibilities and still has a long way to go. Shaoxing will take a number of measures to protect and explore its medical culture. Let the Yue medical culture be inherited and carried forward.

This article was written by Shao Tiantian in 2009, also a television commentary of the same name