Famed Qing Dynasty physician Ye Tianshi was renowned for his extraordinary medical skills. He tailored his treatments to each individual and gained great acclaim for his unique approaches to healing.
Using mosquito bites to treat a child’s illness
Ye Tianshi’s 1-year-old grandson was suffering from a pox illness that had not fully surfaced, leaving the child in discomfort and constant crying. His daughter, distressed by her son’s condition, brought the child to Ye Tianshi for treatment.
Upon examining the child, Ye Tianshi solemnly said: “It’s too late to treat him. The eruption of the blisters has been delayed.” His daughter, angry and desperate, cried out: “You’ve always said this illness isn’t fatal, so why can’t you save your own grandson?”
Deeply saddened by her outburst, Ye Tianshi thought for a long time. Then, he stripped his grandson of all clothing, placed him in an empty room, and locked the door. No one was allowed to enter, and Ye Tianshi left to play mahjong.
His daughter, anxious and tearful, tried several times to open the door, but it remained locked. Each time she sent someone to call her father, he ignored them, fully engrossed in his game. It wasn’t until late at night that Ye Tianshi returned, unlocked the door, and saw his grandson covered in waterpox, each bump like a bead of pearls.
It turned out that the room was full of mosquitoes, and Ye Tianshi had deliberately used their bites to stimulate the pox to surface. Afterward, he administered medicine, and the child recovered. With a sigh of relief, Ye Tianshi said: “It was fortunate I thought of this method just in time — it saved him!”
Flipping a child on tables to save his life
In the town of Mudu, a wealthy family’s child also suffered from a pox that would not break out, and he was on the brink of death. The family believed only Ye Tianshi could save their son, but they feared he would refuse due to the distance. Knowing Ye Tianshi’s fondness for cricket fighting, the family purchased dozens of crickets and bribed one of his close friends to lure him over. When he arrived, they pleaded for his help.
Initially, Ye Tianshi refused, citing the severity of the child’s condition. But after much persuasion and the promise of the crickets, he agreed to try something unconventional. He ordered the family to find several large, clean tables. Then, he placed the child, naked, on one table and began flipping him from one table to the next. As each table heated up, he moved the child to the next one. By evening, the pox finally erupted, and after giving the child medicine, Ye successfully saved his life.
Treating lung abscesses with cold water, knives, and bloodletting
On another occasion, Ye Tianshi was called to treat a man suffering from a lung abscess. The man was near death, and Ye remarked: “Apart from an invasive procedure, there’s no other way to treat this.”
He ordered the man to be tied up, then doused him with a basin of cold water. Next, he pierced the man’s chest with a knife, allowing thick, dark blood to flow out. After about a gallon of blood had been released, Ye Tianshi applied medicine to the wound, and the man eventually recovered.
When asked about his method, he explained: “The lungs are located above the heart. In this case, the abscess had expanded and surrounded the heart. The cold water was used to shock the heart into rising, allowing me to pierce the abscess and drain it. If the procedure is done precisely, the patient will be cured.”
When others asked how he knew the abscess had enveloped the heart, Ye replied: “I could see it.” This statement led people to believe he had extraordinary supernatural insight.
A cure using foul odors
A newly married woman suddenly fell unconscious not long after her wedding. Her husband, desperate for a cure, sought Ye Tianshi’s help. He entered the room and, after a brief examination, said: “This is easy to treat.”
He instructed the family to move the woman to the center of the main hall, where he ordered several buckets of manure to be placed around her. As the stench filled the room, the woman suddenly regained consciousness.
Ye Tianshi explained to her husband: “Her condition was caused by an excess of fragrant substances like musk, which blocked her qi. I used the foul smell to counteract it. Make sure to remove all fragrances from the room before she returns. If this happens again, there might be no saving her.”
Following Ye Tianshi’s instructions, the woman fully recovered, proving that even too much exposure to pleasant aromas can have negative consequences.
A clever trick to heal the governor’s son
The son of a provincial governor, a young man in his twenties, had lived a life of luxury. One autumn, after passing his civil service exams, the family hosted a celebration when the young man’s eyes suddenly became swollen and unbearably painful. Ye Tianshi was quickly called in to treat him.
Ye Tianshi reassured him, saying: “Your eye condition is easily treated. But on the seventh day after your eyes heal, a painful abscess will form on the sole of your foot, and you will die if it erupts.”
Frightened, the young man begged for a solution. Ye Tianshi told him: “There’s no need for medication now. Follow this routine for the next seven days: Rub your left hand on your right foot 36 times, then your right hand on your left foot 36 times. Do this seven times daily, and come see me after seven days.”
The young man carefully followed these instructions, and his eyes were fully healed by the seventh day. He then anxiously asked Ye Tianshi if the abscess would still form. Ye Tianshi smiled and said: “By telling you about the abscess, I intentionally misled you. Because you are a person of great wealth and privilege, everything goes well for you, and the only thing you fear is death. So I had to use death to remind you, allowing you to focus solely on your foot. Thus, you diligently rubbed your foot, and the heat in your heart naturally subsided, healing your eye condition. Once your eyes healed, there could be no further danger of an abscess forming.”
Translated by Joseph Wu
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