Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 782 My master never intended to combine Chinese and Western medicine, did he? A prescription he'd been holding back for over a decade (Part 2 combined)
"What country are you looking for, and why do you want to see me?" Fang Yan asked them.

Currently, the top three countries for international students are Vietnam, North Korea, and Afghanistan.

Then came Romania, Cuba, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.

Fang Yan thought that if Du Heng had been in contact with Albanians or Vietnamese, then it would have been fine.

In July and December of 1978, these people all had to go back.

Those who are on good terms with these people will find themselves in a rather awkward position. Fang Yan knew the course of history and took precautions in advance.

“It’s from Cuba, it’s called… what’s it called again?” Du Heng turned his gaze to Yan Yifan.

Yan Yifan opened his mouth, then slapped his thigh and said confidently:
"Josue Miranda!"

Du Heng said:

"Yes, yes, that's the name, José!"

"His name is indeed quite difficult to pronounce."

Fang Yan nodded slightly after hearing this.

"Oh, Cuban..."

Du Heng asked Fang Yan:

"Brother Fang, have you heard of this person?"

Fang Yan shook his head and said:
"No."

"But it's no big deal to meet them. It's just a meal, so why not take advantage of it?"

Cuban students studying abroad were featured in the newspapers some time ago.

Today they sent 50 people, mainly to learn traditional Chinese medicine and agricultural techniques.

China also sent a small number of Spanish translators to Cuba to participate in the translation of Cuban sugar industry technical documents.

I searched my memory for a long time, trying to recall the dialect of Hossué, but I couldn't find anyone who matched it.

I don't know if it's a fake name.

Of course, using a fake name is not a special thing. Some people will deliberately hide their real name. For example, a certain future sun deliberately hid his real name when he was studying abroad.

Du Heng and Yan Yifan were quite happy to hear that Fang Yan had agreed.

After all, this was the first time Hosseini had asked them for a favor. If they succeeded, it would be much easier for them to make money off this kid.

Brother Fang was quite accommodating.

Fang Yan glanced at his watch and said to them:

"Alright, class is about to start, hurry up and get to the classroom."

"Okay!" the two quickly replied.

He happily followed Fang Yan towards the classroom.

When they arrived at the classroom, many students were already seated. Fang Yan remarked that people were very enthusiastic about attending classes these days. Back in his previous life, it was considered good if someone could arrive at the classroom three minutes after the bell rang, let alone arrive ten minutes early.

As soon as he entered the classroom, his classmates noticed his dialect and immediately greeted him warmly.

"Good morning, squad leader!"

"Good morning, Brother Fang!"

"Good morning, Brother Fang!"

"Monitor..."

Fang Yan nodded repeatedly:

"morning!"

Good morning, everyone!

"..."

When they got to their seats, Zhang Yanchang took out an enamel mug, and Yang Jingxiang immediately took out a kettle and started making tea for Fang Yan.

Everyone around was stunned.

Goodness, this treatment is something else!

"You guys are going too far! You're making me seem special..." Fang Yan criticized their behavior.

With so many people watching, isn't that inappropriate?
"It's mainly because I'm used to it!" Yang Jingxiang said to Fang Yan with a smile.

Fang Yan said to them:

"Alright, don't do it again next time."

After saying that, he addressed the podium:
"Make Lao Fang a drink later."

"Okay!" The two understood each other perfectly.

Under the instructions of the class monitor, Fang Yan, they prepared to brew a good cup of tea for the class teacher, Fang Yaozhong.

Before class started, Fang Yan gave all the medical case notes and other materials she had brought with her to the appropriate people: Li Zhengji's case on the early stage of emergency treatment with the special heart-saving decoction, Song Jianzhong and Wang Zhijun's case on He Xiu, and the folk remedy that Lei Lian wanted.

Song Jianzhong handed several medical case records to Fang Yan:

"Brother Fang, these are my family's medical records. My grandfather chose them for you last night, saying they are the most representative medical records."

Fang Yan took it with some surprise and said:

"Oh, really? Then we have to thank the old man."

I never expected Song Zuomin to be so generous.

Song Jianzhong, being the opportunist he is, immediately seized the opportunity to invite others to speak the dialect as soon as it was mentioned:
"Haha, how about coming over to my place for a get-together this weekend?"

Fang Yan said with a chuckle:

"Oh dear, unfortunately, I can't make it this weekend. I have a lot of things to do."

I have a family gathering at home this weekend, and I also need to take the opportunity to chat with Lao Hu. I don't have time to go to their house.

Song Jianzhong didn't feel there was anything wrong with being rejected, and still cheerfully said:
"Oh, it's alright. Just let me know whenever you have time."

"Okay." Fang Yan nodded and carefully put away the medical records from Song Jianzhong's home.

Then Wang Zhijun came up and took out his medical records. This guy was even more ruthless than Song Jianzhong. He filled a bag with about twenty medical records.

The guy's bag pockets were so stuffed they were coming undone.

He spoke in dialect:

"These are my grandfather's and father's medical records. I've selected some for you to take a look at; they should be of some help."

Fang Yan took the heavy bag of medical records and politely said to Wang Zhijun:

"Okay, thank you, Zhijun!"

"Mm." Wang Zhijun nodded, accepting Fang Yan's thanks.

"..." Fang Yan was speechless. Well, he still wasn't quite used to dealing with this guy. He didn't beat around the bush and just said what he meant.

You say thank you, and he accepts it, that's all.

If he promises to take more books, he will take more books. He won't let you have much discussion; he'll focus on authenticity.

To some extent, this can be considered a unity of knowledge and action.

Talent!
A sentiment expressed in dialect.

"Brother Fang, this is mine. It might be a bit messy, not as neat as yours. There's some local dialect in it. If you don't understand, just ask me." Then Lei Lian handed a yellowed notebook to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan looked through the records and found that they were all folk remedies that Lei Lian had made while traveling with her grandfather to treat patients.

It's quite similar in style to the one Fang Yan gave us.

Fang Yan nodded and said:
"Okay, let me take a look first. I'll ask you if I don't understand."

At this moment, the only person who received the dialect medical case notes but did not produce anything in return felt somewhat awkward in the classroom.

Li Zhengji could already feel several people looking at him.

In the end, Li Zhengji also succumbed to the prevailing societal norms and was swayed by worldly opinions.

He stood up, took his notebook, walked to the dialect speaker's seat, and said:

"Hey Fangyan, well... while I can't teach you anything else, I can share my own learning experience with you. I have a notebook here..."

Fang Yan saw the notebook handed to him and nodded with a smile:
"Okay! I will definitely read it carefully!"

Fang Yan discovered that Li Zhengji was indeed too particular about rules.

Actually, everyone could understand if he didn't give it, but after seeing so many people give it, he felt bad about it.

Even though they couldn't exchange the teacher's things, they still took out their own study notes, fulfilling the rules in another way.

He seems to be a gentleman!
People with different dialects like to interact with this kind of person.

After all, who wouldn't like a nice person?

Even bad people like good people; only fools don't like good people.

Of course, a good person doesn't necessarily mean a saint.

"Ring ring..." Before Fang Yan could even see what was in his hand, the bell rang for class.

He had no choice but to put his things away first.

I'll check back after class.

Soon, the other students who hadn't entered the classroom rushed in, and shortly after, the homeroom teacher, Fang Yaozhong, came in with a teacup and a book.

"Class monitor and academic representative, take some people to the textbook storage room and get our class's basic textbooks."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan, as the class monitor, was the first to stand up, followed by Li Zhengji, the vice class monitor, and then Xiao Chengzhi and Cheng Baogui, the academic representatives, who followed closely behind.

People usually choose roommates or people they know well.

The dialect was the most popular, and everyone actively participated.

Soon a large group of people poured out of the classroom and went to collect their things.

After walking a few steps, Fang Yan stopped and asked:

Where is the textbook section?

“I know!” Cheng Baogui stepped forward, pointed in a direction towards Fang Yan, and said:

"Right over there."

"Okay!" Fang Yan nodded, then gestured for Cheng Baogui to lead the way.

Without a word, Cheng Baogui immediately took the lead and walked ahead. After a short while, they rounded a building and arrived at the textbook department, where the people were already waiting for them.

The international students haven't arrived yet; Fang Yan and his classmates were the first to arrive.

Of course, it's also possible that they don't have to move it themselves.

The person in charge here was Xie Chunrong. Upon seeing Fang Yan, he immediately started calling him "Brother Fang," leaving many people around him dumbfounded.

Why does this senior student also use the dialect word "brother"?
After Deng Nanxing explained things to them, everyone finally understood that this person was also working at Xiehe Hospital under Fang Yan's tutelage.

Furthermore, he is a student of Vice Principal Wang Yuchuan, so his future is limitless after graduation.

To make it easier for Fang Yan and the others to move the books, Xie Chunrong even got them a tricycle. They didn't have to do any hard work; they just carried all the books up there. Then, the group of them pushed the mountain of books toward the teaching building.

The dialect is included later, so you don't need to do it yourself.

Just look at it.

It's true that having connections in high places makes things much easier.

Fang Yan suddenly understood why Fang Yaozhong had called him over: because the international students were coming to move books, and they had nothing.

The international students, who were originally entitled to special privileges, were now struggling to lift it by hand.

On the contrary, Fang Yan and the others pushed their carts back to the teaching building, chatting and laughing.

The foundational textbook is *Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine*, which mainly introduces the basic theoretical knowledge of TCM, including Yin-Yang and Five Elements, Zang-Fu organs, meridians, etiology, and pathogenesis, laying the foundation for learning TCM clinical practice and other professional courses. Another book is *Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine*, divided into two parts. The first part focuses on basic theory, introducing Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the relationship between humans and nature, Zang-Fu organs, and meridians. The second part provides a general overview of clinical diseases in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, etc., as well as Qigong, massage, and nursing.

In addition, categories such as traditional Chinese medicine, prescriptions, clinical applications, and ancient books have not yet been published.

In other words, the thirty-six students in Group C who want to start memorizing the "Huangdi Neijing" in advance still have to buy it from the bookstore, just like before.

They can't even borrow things from the school library now because it's not open yet.

Once the door is open, the dialect can be used to arrange for Da Jin to be admitted.

"Let's distribute the books to all the students," Fang Yaozhong said to Fang Yan and the others.

Fang Yan and the others then began distributing the materials to everyone in their seats. Fang Yaozhong shouted from the podium:

"Check it after you receive it. Report any missing pages immediately and then go back to replace them."

"We'll distribute the basic textbooks for today's class, and the other textbooks will be distributed later."

"After the next class, the class monitor and the academic representative will organize another trip to the Youth League branch to pick up the political textbooks."

Fang Yan turned around and answered:
"okay!"

Yang Jingxiang muttered to himself:

"Can't we just send it all at once? We have to go to several places."

Fang Yan said to him:
"Alright, stop complaining. We'll return the truck once we've moved all the books."

Yang Jingxiang nodded and began moving things even more diligently.

The books were distributed in no time.

After Fang Yan returned to his seat, Fang Yaozhong said:

"In today's lesson, we will explain the basic theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine, including Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the theory of Zang-Xiang (visceral manifestation).

"Everyone, turn to the first page!"

"Most of you students have heard of these theories, but some of you haven't. I'll focus on explaining these theories in this class."

"Because some people used to regard this theory as feudal superstition and thought it should be discarded, replacing the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine with the foundation of Western medicine, and promoting the integration of Chinese and Western medicine. Now I'm telling you, this is wrong!"

"I can confidently tell you all that traditional Chinese medicine can only be learned well using its theories! The integration of Chinese and Western medicine is impossible unless Western medicine practitioners come to learn the theories and basic knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine."

Good guy!
Fang Yan never expected that Lao Fang would be even more radical than himself.

He once again brought out his previous argument about Western learning being integrated into Chinese.

Fang Yan then observed the expressions of the people around him, finally settling on Cheng Baogui's face. To Fang Yan's surprise, the guy didn't show any astonishment at all; instead, he nodded in agreement.

what's going on?
The dialect speaker didn't quite understand what was going on with this kid.

This is... a betrayal of one's master and ancestors?

Or are they open to all different theories?

Fang Yaozhong continued at this point:
"The Yin-Yang theory of traditional Chinese medicine developed from the 'Qi monism' theory. This theory holds that all things in the universe are composed of 'Qi,' and the movement of Qi differentiates into two opposing attributes, Yin and Yang."

"Yang is active, outward, rising, warm, bright, and functionally hyperactive, such as daytime, summer, and human bodily functions."

"Yin represents stillness, introspection, descent, coldness, darkness, and functional inhibition, such as night, winter, and the material basis of the human body."

He paused for a moment, noticing that Fang Yan was looking elsewhere, and said:
"Come on, stop looking around, tell me, what does the *Suwen. Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun* say about Yin and Yang?"

Fang Yan snapped out of his daze and casually replied:

"Yin and Yang are the way of heaven and earth, the guiding principles of all things, the parents of change, and the origin of life and death."

After saying that, he added:

"It is also said that when Yin and Yang are in balance, the spirit is at peace."

"In general, traditional Chinese medicine believes that the state of human health is reflected in the dynamic balance of Yin and Yang, and emphasizes the importance of the coordination of Yin and Yang."

"Furthermore, traditional Chinese medicine believes that the essence of disease is an imbalance of yin and yang. When yang is excessive, there is heat; when yin is excessive, there is cold. When yang is deficient, external cold occurs; when yin is deficient, internal heat occurs."

"Our treatment principle is to first distinguish between Yin and Yang by observing the complexion and feeling the pulse. When making a diagnosis, the first thing to do is to identify the Yin and Yang attributes."

Fang Yan then expressed his opinion:
“I completely agree with this view.”

The prescription states:
"Good, as expected of the class monitor, your summary is very accurate."

Then he gestured to Fang Yan, indicating that he should sit down.

After Fang Yan sat down, Fang Yaozhong continued:
"Then let's continue talking about the Five Elements!"

In traditional Chinese medicine, the Five Elements correspond to the natural world and human organs, functions, emotions, etc., according to the five categories of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

"Remember this order!"

"The five elements correspond to the five internal organs: liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys!"

"It also corresponds to the five internal organs: gallbladder, small intestine, stomach, large intestine, and bladder!"

"It also corresponds to the five limbs: tendons, vessels, flesh, skin, and bones!"

"It also corresponds to the five emotions: anger, joy, thought, grief, and fear!"

As he spoke, he wrote on the blackboard. The classroom was occupied by the thirty-six students from Group C, who began to write furiously, copying down what was on the blackboard.

After he finished writing the prescription, he turned to the crowd and asked:

"There's only one left. Can any of you who have studied Traditional Chinese Medicine tell me what it corresponds to?"

After saying that, he pointed to the class monitor:
"Cheng Baogui, you tell me!"

Cheng Baogui was somewhat taken aback, as he had always maintained a serious attitude towards listening to the lectures.

However, he still stood up, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and said:

"Corresponding to the five seasons: spring, summer, late summer, autumn, and winter."

The prescription asks:
"What does 'long summer' mean? Explain it to me."

Cheng Baogui opened his mouth, then scratched his head, as if he hadn't thought of how to answer yet.

Fang Yan wondered if Cheng Baogui had only studied the basic theories of Western medicine.

Just when he thought Cheng Baogui was going to say he didn't know, Cheng Baogui said instead:

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic defines late summer as the sixth month, corresponding to earth being born from fire and growing in the middle of summer. Zhang Jingyue of the Ming Dynasty summarized it as follows: "Spring corresponds to the liver for nourishing life, summer corresponds to the heart for nourishing growth, late summer corresponds to the spleen for transformation, autumn corresponds to the lungs for nourishing harvest, and winter corresponds to the kidneys for nourishing storage." Clinically, the spleen belongs to earth, which corresponds to the "transformation and transportation" function of late summer. In late summer, dampness easily damages the spleen yang, leading to loss of appetite, abdominal distension, and loose stools. Late summer is a special seasonal concept created by traditional Chinese medicine to adapt to the theory of the five elements. Its core characteristics are "earth's transformative and transportation function and dampness trapping the spleen."

Having said that, he looked at the prescription and tentatively said:

"Um... teacher, I'm done talking."

The prescription was filled with some confusion, so he asked:

"Aren't you from Zhang Xichun's school? Why are you studying traditional Chinese medicine theory too?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan immediately perked up, thinking that Lao Fang's question was much more direct.

He directly asked the question he wanted to ask.

Upon seeing Cheng Baogui, he paused slightly, then shook his head and smiled wryly:
"Oh dear, actually everyone has misunderstood Master. He really doesn't support the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, but rather advocates the convergence and complementarity of Chinese and Western medicine."

"What's the difference?" Fang Yaozhong asked.

Cheng Baogui explained:

He proposed that "medicine should aim to save lives and should not be divided into Chinese and Western medicine," emphasizing that the ultimate goal of medicine is to cure diseases and save lives, rather than adhering to the barriers between different schools of thought.

"We advocate that, while maintaining the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine's holistic view and syndrome differentiation and treatment, we should absorb the microscopic analysis techniques of Western medicine, such as anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology, to form a complementary medical system."

He paused after speaking, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the prescription:
"Actually, when you think about it, my master was more inclined to support my teacher's view of Western learning in China."

"It's just that some people later distorted my master's meaning and dragged him into the ranks of those who support the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. We, as his juniors, are really helpless..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yaozhong looked as if he had just realized something.

Fang Yan suddenly realized something; no wonder Cheng Baogui nodded earlier, that's how it was.

In other words, some people have misrepresented the truth; the original poster did not think that way.

I didn't really care about the dialect in this class, but unexpectedly, Lao Fang asked me a question in front of everyone and made Cheng Baogui's position clear.

In that case, this guy, dialect can actually be used to win people over.

Then this first lesson was worthwhile!

However, we still need to observe the students' reactions after class regarding dialects.

There are over a hundred people, who knows if any of them support the integration of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine?

After Fang Yaozhong understood, he continued explaining, talking about the relationships of mutual generation and restraint among the five elements and the treatment principles related to the internal organs.

Then they started talking about the theory of Zang-Xiang (hidden imagery).

The core idea is: "Hidden within, manifested without."

That is, by observing external signs such as complexion, tongue coating, and pulse, one can infer the state of the internal organs.

He then went on to discuss the combination of Zang-Xiang (hidden phenomena) and Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

That is, the five viscera belong to Yin and store essence and qi, while the six bowels belong to Yang and transmit water and grain. It is also said that each viscera is further divided into Yin and Yang, such as heart Yin and heart Yang, kidney Yin and kidney Yang, etc.

There is also the application of the Five Elements.

For example, the liver belongs to the wood element and is responsible for regulating the flow of qi. Pathologically, liver qi stagnation is analogous to "trees being unable to grow". The kidney belongs to the water element and is responsible for storing essence. The treatment of kidney deficiency often combines the "metal-water mutual generation" method, which is to nourish the lungs to nourish the kidneys.

Finally, he summarized the theoretical value and clinical significance.

"In summary, the three cornerstones of the TCM theoretical system—the Yin-Yang theory, the Five Elements theory, and the Zang-Xiang theory—construct a unique cognitive framework for TCM."

"The Yin-Yang theory reveals the dynamic balance of opposites in life activities. As the Suwen says, 'Yin and Yang are the way of heaven and earth.' Clinically, we can grasp the fundamental contradiction of diseases by 'observing the complexion and feeling the pulse to distinguish Yin and Yang.'"

"The Five Elements theory explains the synergistic and restrictive relationships of the functions of the internal organs through the relationships of 'generation, restraint and transformation'. For example, the theory of 'liver wood overpowering spleen earth' not only explains the pathogenesis of indigestion caused by emotional depression, but also guides the treatment method of 'supporting earth and suppressing wood'."

"The theory of Zang-Xiang (visceral manifestation) realizes the diagnostic logic of 'inferring the internal from the external,' inferring the state of the internal organs through external signs such as tongue appearance and pulse. This is different from the anatomical localization of Western medicine, but emphasizes the overall functional network. For example, the kidney in my traditional Chinese medicine is not the two kidneys in Western medicine."

"The organic combination of these three elements forms the holistic view of 'harmony between man and nature' and the diagnostic and treatment system of 'adapting to the three factors' in traditional Chinese medicine. Compared with the structural-functional reductionism of Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine pays more attention to the dynamic regulation of system relationships."

After finishing his explanation, Fang Yaozhong looked around at everyone.

Then he said in a serious tone:
"Now, everyone listen carefully! The theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine are completely different things. Our Yin-Yang and Five Elements are not feudal superstitions, but the laws governing the universe that are higher in dimension than anatomy! While they are looking at cells with microscopes, we have already seen the essence of the flow of life energy using Yin-Yang two thousand years ago, and they still cannot understand what 'Wei Qi' is! This is the biggest difference between our theory and Western medicine."

"They only focus on liver cells when treating hepatitis, while we know that liver stagnation suppresses spleen earth, and kidney water depletes liver wood, resulting in water failing to nourish wood. A single dose of Xiaoyao San can soothe the liver and strengthen the spleen, and also prevent peptic ulcers. They will never learn this kind of systematic thinking in their next life!"

"Cure thrombocytopenia by removing the spleen? Let me tell you, that's a joke! We treat 'spleen failing to control blood' with Gui Pi Tang, which can raise platelet counts without surgery. Their 'treating the symptom' approach will never even scratch the surface of traditional Chinese medicine in a hundred years!"

"Those who shout about 'integrating Chinese and Western medicine' don't understand traditional Chinese medicine at all! When taking a pulse, they're thinking about white blood cell counts? When prescribing medicine, they're thinking about pharmacological molecular formulas? This is called forgetting one's roots! Back then, Yu Yunxiu couldn't destroy traditional Chinese medicine, so he thought of integrating Chinese and Western medicine. Now, some people don't even dare to talk about 'the heart governs the mind,' and they wish they could turn the 'Huangdi Neijing' into 'Human Anatomy.' These kinds of people should be kicked out of the ranks of traditional Chinese medicine!"

“My students, remember this! A stethoscope will never detect ‘liver qi stagnation,’ and a CT scan will never detect ‘deficiency of kidney yang.’”

"If you want to truly master traditional Chinese medicine, you must internalize the 'Suwen' and 'Lingshu'! I hope that each of you can be like Fang Yan, standing up when Western medicine is baffled and giving patients a death sentence, and using your skills to teach Western medicine what real medicine is!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned by Fang Yaozhong's final summary.

You could tell from his dialect that Lao Fang was very frustrated. He really was frustrated. Back when he was about the same age as me, he realized that combining Chinese and Western cultures was a huge pitfall, so he started a movement to learn Western culture from China. But when the storm came, he was forced to stop. Now he's saying these words because he's been holding it in for who knows how many years.

"Ring ring..." The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

This brought everyone back to their senses.

Fang Yaozhong adjusted his glasses, picked up his lesson plan, and addressed the crowd:

"get out of class is over!"

At this point, Fang Yan led the applause.

"Clap clap clap..."

In no time, the classroom erupted in applause.

Fang Yaozhong glanced at Fang Yan, and his brows relaxed slightly.

Then, he waved and walked out of the classroom without looking back.

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)