Chinese medicine has a long history and is one of the most mystical sciences in ancient China. Many famous doctors in the past were cultivators with unique abilities. Some had met monks in the mountains who taught them arcane alchemy or extraordinary medical secrets before they embarked on medicine. Some famous doctors were so skilled they could foretell their patients’ fate.
These doctors were skilled in the “Tai Su” pulse, a type of pulse diagnosis to predict a patient’s fortune, misfortune, life, and death. It was a supernatural art form in medicine, and during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), there was no shortage of doctors who were proficient in this method of diagnosis.
Healing patients without concern for personal gain
Zhang Rulin was a native of Yishi (now Linyi County, Shanxi Province). As a child, he studied Confucianism, then later studied medicine, eventually becoming quite famous in the region. When he treated people, he wasn’t concerned about his gains and losses and tried his best to heal his patients.
Zhang Rulin was incredibly proficient in the Tai Su pulse and could even predict a patient’s date of death after checking their pulse. His methods of diagnosing illnesses were unique and accurate.
During that time, a monk was suffering from summer fever. Zhang Rulin saw him washing his head with water and said: “You’ll have a splitting headache in a month. It’s not too late to take medicine now.”
Despite the warning, the monk didn’t follow Zhang’s advice, so he developed a headache a month later. Later, the pain became more severe and unbearable, so the monk visited Zhang Rulin. But this time, Zhang Rulin said: “It’s too late. It is useless to take medicine now. If you can tough it out this year, you’ll be fine by next year. But by then, I’m afraid you will have dental issues.”
As predicted, the monk’s headache was gone one year later, but all his teeth fell out.
Another case is of a Confucian scholar who caught typhoid fever and, years later, still was not better. Zhang Rulin told his family: “If his symptoms worsen, that will be a good sign because it means he will heal.” Shortly after that, the scholar became sicker. His family became so worried that they asked Zhang Rulin to see him again.
After inquiring about the patient’s sleep and the symptoms of his illness, Zhang said: “This is a good thing. Don’t take any medicine yet.” But the family insisted that Zhang Rulin write a prescription. So Zhang wrote a prescription and said: “Let him sweat.”
The family thought it was some secret prescription, so they immediately looked at it. It turned out it was a list of common medicinal herbs. They boiled the herbs and had the scholar drink the concoction. He soon broke out in a sweat and recovered completely.
Preparing for his self-predicted death
When Zhang Rulin turned 93, he knew he would die soon. He summoned his children and grandchildren and said: “I will die on a certain day next year. I’m still writing a medical book, so please help me finish the manuscript.”
Zhang Rulin had them record his dictation every day. He had already finished many manuscripts, but he remembered some missing information and corrected some previous mistakes. He often told his children: “I’ve left out a few words on such page in such volume, so make sure you add them. And don’t forget to correct the mistakes here and there.”
He was healthy and strong the day before his passing, and his face looked young. He invited his clan members and friends for a few drinks, reminisced about the good old days, and spent the entire day chatting. After explaining his affairs to his children and straightening his outfit the next day, he closed his eyes and left peacefully.
