Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1313 Can Modern Diseases Be Cured with Ancient Methods? A Test of Anton (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
"So it's all a series of interconnected events," Fang Yan said to them.

Everyone looked on with understanding after hearing this.

Chen Fang's mother's eyes reddened as she glanced at her daughter sitting in the wheelchair, then asked Fang Yan, "Director Fang, can this foul air be cleared out? Will my child's leg recover completely?"

"It can clear up, and it can heal," the dialect affirmed.

“However, we need to do it in two steps, we can’t rush it. The first step is to clear away the impurities and unblock the meridians. I’ll prescribe some medicine for her to scrape away the ‘sticky oil’ in the meridians and open up the blocked channels. The second step is to replenish the qi and blood, strengthen the spleen and kidneys, and make up for the deficiency. Otherwise, even if the impurities are cleared, if the qi and blood don’t keep up, the channels will become blocked again.”

At this moment, Chen Lei came over, looked at Chen Fang's legs, and asked curiously, "How long will you have to take the medicine? Your legs have atrophied, will you be able to walk normally again?"

"Let's try the medicine for seven days and see how it goes," Fang said. "If it works, she should feel that her left leg is not so cold after seven days, and the numbness will be less. After half a month, her toes may be able to move slightly. After about three months, she should be able to walk with crutches. After six months, with proper care, she should be able to recover to normal."

Chen Lei nodded, and Fang Yan had already returned to her seat and started writing the prescription.

Chen Lei, watching Fang Yan write out the prescription, couldn't help but interject, "Director Fang, gasoline poisoning is a problem that only occurs in factories. There was no such disease in ancient times. Can traditional Chinese medicine even cure this?"

Fang Yan glanced at him and said while writing:
"The disease is new, but the pathogenesis is based on ancient principles. In traditional Chinese medicine, the smell of gasoline is considered 'filthy air,' which is essentially the same as the toxic gas in ancient mines, miasma in the mountains, and the filth of decaying corpses. All of these are cold and turbid evils that obstruct the meridians."

Speaking in dialect, he gave an example:
"You've probably heard of accidents in mines, right? There's a medical book from the Guangxu era called 'Clinical Guide to Medical Cases,' which records a story about a silver miner in Zhejiang who fainted shortly after going down into the mine. When he was carried out, his legs were stiff like frozen popsicles, and his toes were curled up and couldn't be pried open. Look at that, isn't it similar to how Chen Fang's legs are now cold and numb?"

Chen Lei looked at Chen Fang's legs and nodded.

Fang Yan continued:

"The doctor who treated him was Ye Tianshi, a very famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty. As soon as he felt his pulse, he said that it was poisonous gas from the sulfur and saltpeter in the mine that had been heated and had entered the man's body and blocked his meridians. You see, the poisonous gas in the mine is foul, and the smell of gasoline is also foul. It's just that one comes from the mine and the other comes from the oil drum, but they hurt people in the same way."

Chen Lei blinked and tilted his head, clearly not knowing who Ye Tianshi was.

Fang Yan thought for a moment and asked:
"If you don't know who Ye Tian is, you should at least know the 'Compendium of Materia Medica,' right?"

Chen Lei nodded and said:

"I know that! It was written by that...that person..."

“Li Shizhen!” Chen Mengwan exclaimed from the side.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Chen Lei nodded.

Fang Yan continued:

"The Compendium of Materia Medica records a story: In Suzhou, there was an old craftsman in a dye shop who spent all his time working around the indigo dye vats. At only forty years old, he became paralyzed in both legs and couldn't even stand up. Li Shizhen went to examine him and touched his legs. The skin and flesh were dry and thin, colder than iron in winter, and his toes were curled up like hooks. Can you guess why? It was because the dye in the vat had spoiled, and that toxic fumes were constantly seeping into his body through his nose and pores, completely blocking his blood and qi channels. It's the same principle as Chen Fang inhaling the smell of gasoline in the warehouse; the foul fumes blocked the meridians in his legs!"

“There was a book in the Song Dynasty called ‘Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified,’ which was a book specifically for investigating the causes of death. It tells the story of a coroner who examined rotting corpses every day. Once, after dissecting a drowned corpse that had been rotting, his hands and legs became numb like wood that very night, and he couldn’t move at all. The doctor at the time felt his pulse and said that it was as deep as if a river was blocked by silt, and concluded that it was because ‘the filth from the corpse blocked the meridians.’ Then, he used moxibustion to heat the Guanyuan acupoint on his abdomen, and then had him bathe in water boiled with Atractylodes lancea and Eupatorium fortunei to remove the filth. In just seven days, the numbness lessened, and after half a month, he was able to walk with a cane!”

“Look at these three old cases. One is the toxic gas in the mine, one is the putrid gas in the dye vat, and one is the putrid gas from a corpse. The symptoms are similar to Chen Fang’s current leg numbness, coldness, and muscle atrophy. Gasoline is just a new name for this foul gas that has been around for hundreds of years, but the methods of traditional Chinese medicine to deal with it have been left by our ancestors. Ye Tianshi used agastache and calamus to neutralize the foul gas from the mine poison, Li Shizhen used smilax and achyranthes to clear the blockage caused by dye, and the doctor in the Song Dynasty used the heat of moxibustion to break up the numbness caused by the putrid corpse.”

"Now people use gasoline, while the ancients encountered miasma; now there are nerve blockages that electromyography can't detect, while the ancients had 'evil qi entangling the meridians' that doctors could feel. More than a thousand years have passed, and only the names of those harmful things have changed. What remains unchanged is that these foul qi damage the yang qi and block the meridians! So, no matter if it's an old ailment or a new one, as long as you find the root cause, traditional Chinese medicine can still cure it!"

"Oh, I see..." Chen Lei suddenly realized.

Chen Fang's father tightened his grip on the canvas bag, his face darkening as he glared at him: "You brat, don't you know the rules? Director Fang is giving your sister a proper medical checkup, and you're just spouting useless nonsense!"

He quickly turned to Fang Yan, his face full of apology: "Director Fang, please don't take offense. This child has always been honest, a bit slow-witted, and loves to ask questions when he doesn't understand. He didn't mean anything by it; he was just worried about his sister..."

Chen Lei shrank back as his father scolded him, scratched the back of his head, and lowered his voice: "I'm not just questioning things randomly, I just... I just find gasoline stuff new, and I've never heard of traditional Chinese medicine being able to treat this before, so I'm a bit unsure!"

He then looked at Fang Yan and said, "Director Fang, please don't take offense. I haven't read many books and don't know anything about 'pathogenesis' or 'turbidity.' I just noticed that my sister's legs have gotten so thin, and I'm really worried. After listening to you talk about ancient cases, I realized that this new ailment is based on the same principle as the old one. I just wanted to ask more questions to put my mind at ease..."

Chen Fang's mother also chimed in from the side:

"Lei Zi is just worried about his sister, Director Fang, please don't take it to heart. We were so relieved to hear you say she can be cured. It's just that the boy is bad at talking and doesn't know how to express himself."

Fang Yan put down his pen, smiled and waved his hand: "It's alright, it's only right to ask clearly. After all, treating illness is a big deal. You have questions in your hearts, and I'll explain them clearly so you can feel at ease."

"Healing depends on fate and cooperation; once you understand the principle, that's enough."

"Now let's decide how and where to treat Chen Fang." After Fang Yan finished speaking, the patient's family members looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What do you mean?" Chen Fang's father asked.

The dialect explanation is as follows:
"She'll need long-term medication and recuperation. The treatment plan has two steps: the first step, clearing away impurities and unblocking the meridians, will take about a month; the second step, replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the spleen and kidneys, will take several months of gradual recuperation. Given her condition, it's best for her to receive systematic treatment at a nearby hospital. Discuss whether you plan to be hospitalized in Beijing or return to Tianjin. If she stays in Beijing, we can arrange for her to go to Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Of course, if hospitalization is really inconvenient, she can take the prescription back to Tianjin to take the medicine. But you must ensure a few things: first, the medicine must be decocted and taken on time and in the correct dosage; second, you must send me a telegram every week detailing Chen Fang's physical changes that week, especially the feeling in her legs, her temperature, her attempts to walk, and any new discomfort, etc. If there are any abnormalities, send a telegram immediately."

Chen Fang's parents exchanged a glance, but before they could speak, Chen Mengwan spoke first, her tone confident: "Director Fang, stay at Xiehe Hospital! We can still take care of you if you stay at Xiehe Hospital."

She then turned to her uncle and aunt:

"Uncle, Aunt, the conditions at Peking Union Medical College Hospital are good, and Director Fang can go there to check on things anytime. It's definitely better than going back and forth all the time."

Chen Fang's father's tense face finally relaxed a little, and he immediately nodded:

"Yes, yes! We'll follow Director Fang and Meng Wan's arrangements and stay at Peking Union Medical College Hospital! Thank you for your help, Director Fang!"

"Don't say that. Treating the sick and saving lives is our duty." Fang Yan waved his hand with a smile and then continued writing.

At this moment, Anton and Chu Qiaonan approached Fang Yan.

They now want to see how Fang Yan plans to treat the condition.

All I saw was written in dialect:

Patchouli 10g, Eupatorium fortunei 10g, Aconitum carmichaelii 6g (decocted first), Asarum sieboldii 3g, Prunus persica 9g, Carthamus tinctorius 6g, Achyranthes bidentata 12g, Citrus aurantium 8g, Atractylodes lancea 10g, Glycyrrhiza uralensis 5g.

There's another recipe at the end, which reads:
Astragalus membranaceus 15g, Angelica sinensis 12g, stir-fried Atractylodes macrocephala 12g, Poria cocos 15g, prepared Glycyrrhiza uralensis 6g, Rehmannia glutinosa 10g (decocted with Amomum villosum 3g), Cornus officinalis 9g, Dioscorea opposita 15g, Eucommia ulmoides 12g, Taxillus chinensis 12g, Spatholobus suberectus 15g.

Fang Yan looked at Anton and asked him:
"Can you understand it?"

He was going to test his apprentice.

Anton was taken aback, then said:

"Agastache rugosa and Eupatorium fortunei dispel foulness and turbidity... Aconitum carmichaelii and Asarum sieboldii break up cold stagnation... Prunus persica and Carthamus tinctorius resolve blood stasis... Achyranthes bidentata guides the medicine downwards directly to the lesion... Citrus aurantium and Atractylodes lancea promote qi circulation and dry dampness... This formula... is aimed at the pathogenesis of foulness and turbidity obstructing the meridians and cold stagnation causing blood stasis!"

“Not bad, you didn’t learn from me in vain. Being able to connect the ideas of ‘expelling turbidity, breaking cold, removing blood stasis, and guiding the medicine to the meridians’ shows that you not only memorized the names of the medicinal materials, but also figured out the pathogenesis and the logic of the compatibility.” Fang Yan nodded.

He paused, then looked at the Chen family members beside Chu Qiaonan, deliberately slowing down his speech to explain, which was also to fill in the gaps in An Dong's thoughts: "Agastache and Eupatorium are a pair of 'fragrant turbidity dispelling' herbs, just like using mugwort to remove the musty smell from the house, specifically dispelling the foul smell of gasoline from the spleen, stomach, and meridians; Aconite and Asarum are good at 'warming yang and breaking cold'. Chen Fang's legs are as cold as ice, which is because the yin cold and turbid evil has wrapped around the meridians. These two herbs can be like 'charcoal fire' to dispel the cold evil. However, the aconite must be decocted for half an hour first, so as not to make the medicine too strong and damage the spleen and stomach."

"As for peach kernel and safflower, they are old partners for 'promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis'. When the meridians are blocked for a long time, there is not only turbidity but also stasis, just like a water pipe that is blocked and rusted. These two herbs can break up the stasis. Achyranthes bidentata can guide the medicine downward, bringing all the power of the previous herbs to the legs, so that the medicinal effects do not float on the surface and become useless. Fructus Aurantii Immaturus promotes qi circulation and Atractylodes lancea dries dampness. One helps to clear the qi pathways and the other clears dampness. When the qi is smooth and the dampness is gone, the meridians can be truly opened."

Anton nodded repeatedly, then pointed to the prescription for replenishing qi and blood at the back and asked:
"Master, this prescription uses Astragalus and Angelica to replenish Qi and blood, and Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos to strengthen the spleen. Is it because after the first step of clearing away turbidity and removing blood stasis, the body's Qi and blood are severely depleted, and we need to replenish the foundation first? Also, is the combination of Rehmannia glutinosa and Amomum villosum because we are worried that Rehmannia glutinosa is too nourishing and will affect the absorption of the spleen and stomach?"

"You get it right away." Fang Yan patted his shoulder with a smile. "Most of the medicines for clearing heat and turbidity tend to be warm and dry. After a month of use, the spleen, stomach, qi, and blood will be somewhat depleted. So the second step is to combine tonification and nourishment. Astragalus tonifies qi and angelica tonifies blood. These two are the foundation of the blood-tonifying soup. Qi can propel blood, and blood can nourish qi. Neither can be lacking. Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos strengthen the spleen. The spleen is the source of qi and blood. If the spleen is well nourished, the food you eat can be transformed into qi and blood. Otherwise, no matter how much you tonify, it will be in vain."

He then pointed to the label "Rehmannia glutinosa (decocted with 3g Amomum villosum)": "Rehmannia glutinosa nourishes the blood, but it is also greasy. Chen Fang had a lot of spleen dampness before, and using it directly would easily cause her to have abdominal distension and loss of appetite. Adding 3g of Amomum villosum makes a difference. Amomum villosum can invigorate the spleen and stimulate the appetite, and it can also neutralize the greasy nature of Rehmannia glutinosa. It nourishes the blood without hindering the spleen and stomach from functioning. This is the principle of 'nourishing without causing stagnation'."

Fang Yan put away the prescription and handed it to Chen Fang's father:

"Take the first prescription first, and have a follow-up visit every week to adjust the dosage; once Chen Fang's leg sensation has recovered most of its original value and it is no longer so cold, then switch to the second prescription to nourish her. Be prepared, I estimate it will take about three or four months."

“After I was admitted to the hospital, I went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital for rounds every day. If you have any questions, just let me know.”

"Thank you, Director Fang," Chen Fang's father said gratefully.

Chu Qiaonan then moved closer to Fang Yan and said with a smile, "Brother Fang, you've taught your apprentice quite well. Anton can understand the prescription now."

“What are you saying? I understood it a long time ago!” Anton said from the side.

PS: I've gained another 100 monthly votes. After finishing this chapter, I still owe everyone 6000 words.

(End of this chapter)