Great Doctors In The History Of Chinese Medicine
Although the earliest history of Chinese medicine is indistinguishable from fact, there is a good possibility that the legendary doctors existed in one form or another. Many ancient mythologies like Celtic and Egyptian seemed to base many of their deities on actual people. So legendary doctors described in the history of Chinese medicine are probably based on people who actually lived.
The Founding Trio
The history of Chinese medicine credits three founding fathers, which may or may not have actually lived. They are described as clan leaders, although they seemed to possess incredible medical skills as well. They are named Fu Xi (the legendary author of the I Ching, or Book of Changes), Shen Nong and Huang Di. Fu Xi, a great Chinese folk hero, is credited with the creation of the first acupuncture needles along with his creation of the I Ching hexagrams.
Shen Nong was an emperor thought to have lived over 5,000 years ago. He helped give great gifts to his people through the promotion of farming and agriculture. In legend, he is often called "the Divine Farmer". But Shen Nung also had a love and insatiable curiosity about plants and what they or couldn’t do. He is credited in the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the discoverer of the first herbal medicines. Until writing was developed, Shen Nong’s knowledge was memorized and taught to others to memorize.
Huang Di is another name for the Yellow Emperor, thought to have lived about 2698 to 2596 BCE, is credited with writing the oldest known text in the history of Chinese medicine called Huang-Di Nei-Jing (The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine) which refers to older texts and older oral teachings. This talked about such (then) mind-boggling things as acupuncture meridians, diagnosis of a sick person and disease prevention.
Bian Que
One of the most interesting legends in the history of Chinese medicine is that of the doctor Bian Que. When the crown prince of the Kingdom of Guo lay dying, Bian Que was summoned. When Bian Que arrived, the funeral preerations for the prince was already under way. Bian Que insisted on seeing the corpse. He claimed the prince was not dead, but in a deep coma. And it was so. The Prince eventually recovered. Whenever Bian Que was hailed to be able to raise the dead, he is reported to have always reminded everyone that the Prince was not dead.
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