Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 783 Do you know what the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Day commemorates? Yu Yunxiu isn't stupid, he's genuinely wicked! (Bonus chapter for monthly votes)
After Fang Yaozhong left, the classroom immediately became lively.

"The teacher's explanation was really engaging!"

"I felt he was a bit angry, but his words were rough but his point was valid, and I agree with his point of view."

"It's a bit radical, but the radicalism makes a lot of sense."

There were also newbies who didn't know Yu Yunxiu at all, and asked curiously:

"Wait, who is Yu Yunxiu? How did he destroy traditional Chinese medicine?"

After Yu Yunxiu made the remarks about eliminating traditional Chinese medicine in 1950, the first voice of opposition in the country came from the Lingnan faction, led by Deng Tietao, who issued a counter-article.

As Deng Tietao's apprentice, Xiao Chengzhi then took over the conversation:
“Yu Yunxiu... he’s a very influential figure... ever since he returned to China after studying at university in Japan, he’s been stirring up trouble and has spent his whole life targeting traditional Chinese medicine. If you think what the professor said just now was too extreme, then compare it with what he has said before, and you’ll know that the professor is not extreme at all, and is even quite conservative.”

Upon hearing the class monitor's words, those in the classroom who didn't know Yu Yunxiu gathered around and asked:

"What did he say?"

Xiao Chengzhi said:
He said that without destroying the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic), the root of the problem could not be eradicated. If traditional Chinese medicine was not eliminated, it would not only hinder the prosperity of the nation and the improvement of people's livelihood, but also be detrimental to the improvement of China's international standing.

Deng Nanxing also said at this moment:
"Yes, he also said that traditional Chinese medicine is a murderer, that it is a feudal superstition evolved from witchcraft, and that it has no scientific basis whatsoever. He said that we should learn from advanced Western medicine in a comprehensive way, which is the only way to achieve civilization."

"Hiss..." Everyone gasped.

If that's the case, then what the prescription just said was indeed quite tactful.

At least they didn't say anything about eliminating Western medicine, so that's quite polite.

The doctors from the Lingnan school knew a great deal about Yu Yunxiu. Seeing that the crowd had become interested, they said:
"In fact, this is not the first time Yu Yunxiu has said that he would eliminate traditional Chinese medicine. He did it several times when he was young. In 1917, Yu Yunxiu wrote a book called Ling Su Shang Dui, in which he used Western medical knowledge at the time to conduct a detailed critique of many topics in the Huangdi Neijing, the first of which was Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, as the professor just mentioned."

"In addition, there are the five internal organs and six bowels, the physiology of the internal organs, the twelve meridians, the meridians and collaterals, the four diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry and palpation, the causes of disease, and the pathogenesis."

He proposed that traditional Chinese medicine originated from witchcraft, and believed that concepts such as the sexagenary cycle, seasons, colors and flavors, meridians and internal organs were pure fantasy and insufficient to form a precise academic basis.

"They even criticize the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine from the perspective of Western anatomy and physiology, and thus conclude that the theories in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic are far-fetched and absurd, saying that the book is a fabrication of an outsider's imagination. Compare this with what our professor said. Does it sound excessive now?"

The group looked at each other, then shook their heads.

Where in the prescription is it excessive?

The prescription is far too mild. Compared to what Yu Yunxiu just said, which was written in a book to criticize traditional Chinese medicine, this is definitely quite restrained.

"And then what? What happened next?" Some people were very interested in the rest of the story.

At this moment, Meng Jimin, who was standing to the side, said:
"At the time, this book caused a huge reaction in traditional Chinese medicine, and many famous doctors at the time stood up to criticize it."

"Looking back now, he must have benefited from that time. He went from being nobody to gaining the support of Western medical capital, and at the same time, he began to be known by people all over the country. After all, being disliked by everyone is also a way to become famous."

Meng Jimin's analytical perspective was refreshing for everyone else.

Yes, when you think about it, he really is that famous.

Among the people of the Lingnan school, some even gave Meng Jimin a thumbs up, feeling that he had hit the nail on the head.

Meng Jimin smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Keep going, keep going! What else did he do?" the crowd urged.

Then a doctor from the Lingnan school of medicine said:

“He did a lot more. In 1925, when the education sector was preparing to incorporate traditional Chinese medicine into the school system, he wrote a joint letter to the Ministry of Education at the time to resolutely resist it, making the efforts of the traditional Chinese medicine community for many years go to waste. At that time, he already had the intention of putting all Western medicine practitioners and all traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in opposition.”

Having said that, he slammed his hand on the table, indicating:
"You know what, after what Meng Jimin said earlier, I also feel like Yu Yunxiu has been paid off."

At this moment, Xiao Chengzhi asked the crowd:

"And do you know how the Chinese National Traditional Medicine Day on March 17th came about?"

Everyone looked at the class monitor with curiosity.

Xiao Chengzhi said:
"It was set up to celebrate this day after Yu Yunxiu's plan failed."

Everyone was surprised.

"Huh? Is that so?"

"what happened?"

One by one, curious onlookers turned to Xiao Chengzhi with questions. Xiao Chengzhi enjoyed being the center of attention; he paused, then slowly said:
"That was in 1929. Before the first meeting of the Central Health Committee, Yu Yunxiu drafted the 'Proposal to Abolish Traditional Medicine to Remove Obstacles to Health Care' and received the support of Wang Jingwei and Chu Minyi before the meeting. However, he was not able to succeed because of the nationwide protests against traditional Chinese medicine."

After he finished speaking, a classmate chimed in:
"That's right, we also have a branch of the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum in Wuhan! It was built to commemorate this event."

The other students started discussing it:

"This guy is so mean!"

"I wonder what traditional Chinese medicine practitioners did to offend him?"

"This guy is absolutely wicked..."

At this moment, Xiao Chengzhi glanced at everyone and said:

“He did a lot of things; he dedicated his life to eliminating traditional Chinese medicine.”

"This isn't a matter of offending or not. Meng Jimin's point just now was very interesting and gave me a lot of inspiration. I absolutely do not believe there is no benefit involved."

At this moment, someone in the crowd said:

"What if he's a person with ideals?"

Everyone looked over and saw that it was a boy from Group C. Xiao Chengzhi smiled and asked:

"Haha, that's a good question, what's your name?"

The boy felt like he might have said something wrong.

He shrank his neck and scratched his head awkwardly.

Xiao Chengzhi got excited at this point and said:

"Then let me tell you, he is definitely not an idealist. Because in 1950, at the health conference in our capital, he once again repeated his old tune in front of everyone. At that time, two leaders from the Ministry of Health expressed their support for Yu Yunxiu's proposal."

"But later, my master took the lead in issuing a counter-article, which was responded to by TCM practitioners across the country. After learning about this, my teacher convened a meeting and clearly pointed out that TCM is a traditional cultural heritage that cannot be taken lightly. He and Wang were dismissed from their posts."

"When Yu Yunxiu was found by the instructor and confronted, he actually failed to uphold his ideals."

"What's going on?" someone who didn't know the story asked Xiao Chengzhi curiously.

Xiao Chengzhi said:
"At the time, the instructor asked him why he proposed abolishing traditional Chinese medicine at the conference. Yu Yunxiu explained that his real purpose was to draw attention to the reform of traditional Chinese medicine in the whole society. If he did not raise the issue in such a radical way, it would be difficult to promote profound changes in traditional Chinese medicine. He did it for the good of traditional Chinese medicine, not to eliminate it."

Everyone was startled.

No? He jumped so many times before, and traditional Chinese medicine resisted so fiercely. Is it right for him to say this now?

Xiao Chengzhi said:

"Don't you think this person is ridiculous?"

Everyone nodded in agreement; it was more than just laughable, it was downright clown-like.

At this point, someone who had been listening to the dialect for a while took over the conversation and said to them:

"In fact, the instructor asked him a final question, asking how he viewed the dismissal of He and Wang, who supported his abolition of traditional Chinese medicine. It was at this point that Mr. Yu revealed his true nature."

Fang Yan asked the people in Group C:

"Guess what his answer will be?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and finally their gazes fell on the boy who had just said Yu Yunxiu had ideals. Sensing everyone's attention, the boy said somewhat uncertainly:

"Shouldn't we try to plead for them? After all, they are comrades who support his ideals!"

Fang Yan shook his head and said:
"No, that's something only normal people do. You're overestimating his normality."

"He said on the spot that the two people's methods were too radical, and that medical reform should be carried out in a gradual manner, rather than being completely rejected."

“These remarks are completely different from what he said at the conference.”

"He's an opportunist with no ideals. He's not unaware of what traditional Chinese medicine is. He's not stupid at all; he's just genuinely bad."

PS: I got another 200 monthly votes, so after finishing this chapter, I still owe everyone 62000 words.

There will be more this afternoon.

(End of this chapter)