In Chinese history, the word “Xinglin” is the name given to the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Traditional Chinese medicine, which saves lives, adheres to the ancient cultural concept of “harmony between man and nature.” Those with superb medical skills possessed high morals and were broad-minded and caring.
According to the Biographies of Immortals written by Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty, a famous doctor, Dong Feng, lived in seclusion in the mountains for many years during the Three Kingdoms period. Although he had superb medical skills, he never took any payment for treating patients. If Dong Feng cured a seriously ill patient, he only requested that the patient plant five apricot trees in his yard.
Over an extended period, as Feng cured more and more patients, the number of apricot trees in his garden increased. As the harvest season arrived, Feng built a small thatched house in the apricot forest. He never charged people who came to buy his apricots, but instead, he bartered with them for the millet they grew. As time went by, Feng’s storage houses were filled with millet. He used the millet to help people who were unable to make ends meet and those passing by the area who lacked money.
Once, a governor in the State of Wu fell ill due to poisoning and asked Dong Feng to treat him. However, when Feng arrived, he found that his patient had been unable to breathe for three days and three nights. Due to Feng’s reputation for never giving up on any patient easily and his desire to save people, he carefully checked the governor’s pulse and surprisingly told the others: “His pulse is still beating; there is still hope!” He placed three pills into the patient’s mouth along with warm water and then massaged his chest and abdomen.
After a while, the Governor slowly stretched his limbs and began to breathe. The color returned to his pale face as the blood coursed through his body. After a few days of care, the patient’s health gradually returned to normal. Later generations have praised this ability to bring the dead back to life.
After Dong Feng’s death, the story about “Xinglin” circulated among the people. It has become a model for doctors of all generations to motivate and spur them to work hard in improving their medical skills and relieve patients’ suffering. Later, “Xinglin” became synonymous with the Chinese medical community. “Xinglin Masters” refers to doctors with superb medical skills and noble moral character. People praised doctors with “Xinglin Spring Warmth” and “Famous Xinglin.” The apricot flowers later became known as the “Flowers of Traditional Chinese Medicine.”
Four famous doctors during the Qing Dynasty brought the dead back to life instantly and cured them quickly. Western medicine has not mastered these miraculous skills, which rely on surgical instruments, drugs, and medical equipment.
4 Chinese medicine doctors who brought the dead back to life
1. Xiong Qinghu used acupuncture to save a woman who died during childbirth
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, there was a doctor named Xiong Qinghu (also known as Shuling) in Anyi County, Jiangxi Province. He was born into an official family. His father, Xiong Qimo, was a Jinshi in the 25th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign and later served as an official in the Imperial Court. As a youngster, Xiong Qinghu was a scholar in the county, and after studying for a few years, he realized his desire to become a good doctor. He gave up his quest to sit for the Imperial Exams and began to study medical books.
Possessed with intelligence and a high level of comprehension, he soon mastered extraordinary medical skills. While treating patients, he could quickly find the hidden lesions in the internal organs and cure the diseases. He could also promptly revive patients who were suffocating or fainting.
Once, Qinghu came across a woman who had been dead for half a day; at a glance, he thought she could still be saved. He boiled a bowl of medicine and passed it down her throat, and not long after, she woke up.
There was another woman who fainted due to obstructed labor. After an examination, he saw what happened and said to the woman’s family: “Don’t worry, she can still be saved. The baby in her womb is grabbing her heart, so it can’t come out.” He immediately gave her an acupuncture treatment, whereby the baby came out, and the woman woke up.
At that time, a Jin Governor had been suffering from a chronic disease and had consulted many doctors, but none of them could cure him. He heard that Xiong Qinghu was an excellent doctor, so he sent someone with an invitation. Qinghu treated him by allowing him to drink medicine for a few days, which cured his chronic disease of many years. Such superb medical skills impressed the Governor so much that he recommended Qinghu to work in the Imperial Hospital. Qinghu politely declined.
Over many years of practicing medicine, Qinghu has compiled his work into medical books. His medical records and experiences in diagnosis and treatments were recorded in Bian Que’s Book of the Pulse and Nanjing (A classic of complex issues). These have been passed down to later generations.
2. Liu Daojing saved a 3-year-old child with a bronze mirror
During the Jiaqing period, another scholar who studied medicine emerged in Anyi County, Jiangxi Province. His name was Liu Daojing (Yangshan and pseudonym Xinzhai). While studying at the county school, he felt he couldn’t help the ordinary people, so he gave up pursuing the Imperial exams and planned on finding another way. With his heart’s desire to save the world’s people, he took it upon himself to learn medicine from well-known Masters; he soon joined a famous teacher. After years of research and accumulating experience, he became a prominent pediatrician, and people came to seek his medical treatment.
A 3-year-old child in a neighboring county suddenly fell seriously ill and was about to die. His family hurried to invite Liu Daojing to come over, but when he entered the house, he saw that the family was collecting the child’s body and burying it. Liu Daojing stepped forward, looked into the coffin, and said, “Hurry up and take the child out. He can still be saved!”
The people around him found it incredible. The child’s parents wiped their tears and asked him half-doubtfully if there was any way to revive the dead. Liu Daojing replied: “This is a symptom of extremely high fever. There is still a trace of positive energy in his body. If the method is correct, he can be saved.”
He asked the couple to find a bronze mirror and then put the bronze mirror on the child’s belly button. After a while, he took the bronze mirror off. The bronze mirror was already hot when he took it in his hand. When it cooled down, Liu Daojing put it on the child’s belly button again. After repeating this several times, the child breathed. After doing it more than ten times, the child began to cry loudly. Before leaving, he prescribed a decoction. The illness was cured entirely after the child took it for a few days.
According to locals, Liu Daojing had many other stories of bringing the dead back to life, so everyone affectionately called him “Liu, the Immortal.” His book, Essence of Paediatrics, has been passed down to later generations, and his descendants can still access his work.
3. Wang Zuoji used fire therapy to revive a dead body
Wang Zuoji (also known by his courtesy name Dingbo and pseudonym Gu Yu) was a native of Fengxiang, Yining Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. He had a talent for reading since childhood and entered the Imperial Academy at 19. He once said that if he had the chance, he would serve as an official in the Imperial Court, and if he didn’t, he would practice medicine to save the world since he shouldn’t let his talent go to waste. In his spare time, he began to read and study the earliest medical books such as Ling Shu (the ancient classic on needle therapy), Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (the oldest surviving Chinese materia medica), and Nanjing, written by Bian Que, which existed since the time of Emperor Huangdi. Gradually, he realized the mysteries in these books and perfected his medical skills to cure diseases and save lives.
There was a family named Li whose son was seriously ill just one week after he was born. Wang Zuoji passed by the door of Li’s house and heard crying inside, so he went in. He looked at the child and said to the family: “This is a case of wind-retention syndrome. It’s not a big deal. I’ll try my best.” After that, he first massaged the child and then used moxibustion therapy, and as a result, he was able to save the child.
Wang Zuoji had a distant relative who had died of illness. After several days, Zuoji went to his relative’s house to pay his respects. He walked to the coffin and put his head close to the relative’s chest, which still felt warm. Zuoji concluded that the man was not wholly dead, but was temporarily experiencing symptoms of suffocation. He used fire to smoke the man’s back, and he woke up after a while. Later, the relative took the decoction prescribed by Wang Zuoji and recovered in just a few days.
Since he understood those early medical books, he was also very good at studying the five elements and numerology. His masterpieces for later generations include medical books, such as First Aid Prescriptions and The Book of Childbirth Protection, and feng shui books related to houses and terrain, such as The Complete Works of Yang House.
4. Xu Xie saved a dying man with a bowl of loess water
Xu Xie (also known by his courtesy name Yangji and pseudonym Liqi) was born in Minqing County, Fujian Province. He was born with an extraordinary memory, whereby he could never forget anything he heard or saw. He was well-informed and an excellent writer, including poetry and songs, but he was unwilling to show his talent in the Imperial Exams and become an official. Instead, he used all his abilities to cure diseases, save lives, and strove to improve his medical skills. He saved many people whose lives were hanging by a thread. His extraordinary medical skills and noble virtues garnered admiration and respect from the locals, and everyone was grateful to him.
One day, he took a sedan chair with bearers to see a patient of a wealthy family. Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, it started to rain heavily, so the group took shelter in a villager’s house. It was dark when the rain finally stopped. They couldn’t continue their journey, so they asked the villagers if they could stay at his house overnight. The villager looked embarrassed because there was a seriously ill person at home who could die at any time, and he had no time or energy to take care of the guests.
Upon hearing this, one of the sedan bearers hurriedly said: “This is Doctor Xu from Minqing County! His medical skills can bring people back to life. Why don’t you let him take a look?” The villager was overjoyed and immediately invited Xu Xie into the house. Xie looked at the patient and asked the villager to prepare a bowl of loess water for the patient to drink. After a few hours, the man gradually improved; by the next day, he had fully recovered.
Such miraculous medical skills spread countrywide, and everyone who heard about them was amazed. People admired Xu Xie, and from then on, an endless stream of people came to him to learn medicine.
Translated by Chua BC and edited by Maria
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