Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2276 Stages of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment

There is often an unspoken barrier among professional TCM doctors: they do not comment on each other in public or in private, and each goes their own way!
Most patients are unaware of these industry taboos. Every now and then, someone will come to Doctor B with a prescription written by Doctor A, asking if the prescription is correct, whether it can be taken, and for how long. Most TCM doctors will smile and politely decline. Everyone knows that the amount of leeway you leave for your colleagues today will soon make you realize that the amount of room for maneuver you had back then is roughly the same as the amount of leeway you left for them when you encounter problems in the industry yourself in the future.

Since ancient times, traditional Chinese medicine has been divided into various schools, such as the Typhoid Fever School, the Tonifying Earth School, the Supporting Yang School, the Attacking Pathogen School, the Nourishing Yin School, and so on. While adhering to the most basic pathological and pharmacological foundations, each school has its own emphasis, breakthroughs, and strengths. When faced with the same patient and the same disease, TCM doctors from different schools of thought will naturally show very obvious differences in various aspects, such as tracing the root cause of the disease, analyzing the etiology, and formulating specific treatment plans. The prescriptions they prescribe and the treatment plans they formulate will naturally have their own merits. Sometimes, TCM doctors from different schools will prescribe completely different prescriptions, reflecting completely different clinician approaches.

Therefore, it is generally not advisable to comment on prescriptions written by other TCM practitioners. This can be considered an unwritten rule in the TCM profession.

During the late Tang Dynasty, there was a family surnamed Lu in Lingnan. Their ancestor was exiled to Lingnan after committing a crime. The head of the Lu family originally intended to find a way to return to his hometown, since it would be closer to the capital, Chang'an, and life would be better for Mu Tianen!

Later, war broke out in the Central Plains, while the Lingnan region was more stable. At least they didn't have to live a life of constant fear and displacement. So, the Lu family abandoned their desire to return home and settled down in the area, marrying wives and having children.

The Lu family had only one son per generation. That year, the only son of the Lu family had been married for almost three years, but he still couldn't conceive. Naturally, the Lu family visited famous doctors everywhere in hopes of continuing the family line.

Some renowned doctors advocated starting treatment with Lu Gongzi, while some famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioners took a gynecological approach, suggesting that Lu's daughter-in-law take medicine and recuperate slowly. Other local famous doctors were convinced that the Lu family was either preparing to have Lu Gongzi take a concubine or simply divorcing him and marrying a new wife.

For a time, various medical theories emerged, and prescriptions differed greatly. The Lu family tried one prescription but it didn't work, and other prescriptions didn't seem to be very effective either. After a while, the old master of the Lu family got a little anxious and prepared generous gifts to visit the Lu family's daughter-in-law's family to persuade them for some time.

In that era, the Lu family's daughter-in-law's family felt they were in the wrong and worried that their daughter would live a miserable life in the future. They could not accept the idea of ​​taking a concubine, so they had no choice but to agree to let their daughter be "friendly sent back" by the Lu family, and for the Lu family to take another wife.

Unexpectedly, the Lu couple, who were usually very loving, refused to accept the family's arrangement to separate, causing a great uproar in the city and even alarming the local prefectural governor.

A guest happened to arrive at the governor's house. He was in his early thirties and had come from Chang'an on some business. This man was skilled in medicine and had heard that the Lu family was a prominent family in Chang'an County. Out of friendship, the guest offered to take the pulses of the young master and his wife.

The guest later told everyone that the medical experts were all right. The mistake was that the Lu family was suspicious and indecisive, which caused them to miss the best time for treatment. The guest suggested that Young Master Lu return to Chang'an with him, partly to participate in the upcoming imperial examination, and partly to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. The guest would provide food and lodging free of charge, not for any other reason than to fulfill the friendship between fellow townsmen and relatives.

The guest was of a respectable status, so the Lu family naturally trusted him. Besides, it was indeed time for Young Master Lu to go to the capital for the imperial examinations, and having such a distinguished guest look after him on the journey would make the family feel more at ease.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Lu followed that distinguished guest by sea and then by land to Chang'an. The distinguished guest was an expert in physiognomy and had long believed that Mr. Lu was loyal and righteous and would surely achieve great things in the future. So he treated the couple with great care.

The guest instructed the Lu couple that the prescription he gave them must be made with water from a spring called "Jing'an Spring" in the southwest corner of Lishan Mountain. There were no other special arrangements. After about eight or nine months of recuperation, the Lu family's daughter-in-law successfully conceived a son. Upon receiving the news, the Lu family was overjoyed and sent someone to Chang'an with a considerable amount of money, hoping to arrange for their son to seek better opportunities there.

The distinguished guest firmly objected, saying that the world was becoming increasingly chaotic, and that it would be enough to come out and pay homage to one's ancestors and seek fame and fortune; the Lingnan region would be safer in the future.

Later, Young Master Lu successfully passed the imperial examination and, following the advice of that distinguished guest, took his wife and children and returned to Lingnan by sea.

Less than three years later, Chang'an was thrown into chaos. The distinguished guest fled by sea with his family to Lingnan. The Lu family provided both money and effort to help him settle down there. This story became a local legend, and many famous plays were adapted from it.

After listening to Bian Mu recount this old story with great interest, the female bookseller finally understood the painstaking efforts of Master Bian.

"Does the clinic owner mean... that the original prescription they gave wasn't a big problem? Was I too impatient?! That I was eager to change things before my condition had even improved?"

“Given your status… and being a local, you certainly wouldn’t see an ordinary TCM doctor. As a renowned expert, you wouldn’t just prescribe anything. Based on my current impression of you… their treatment approach has likely gone wrong in terms of its ‘stages.’ From my initial impression of you, you probably won’t let the illness progress naturally. So… as long as we make slight adjustments to the overall treatment, I believe we’ll see the corresponding results soon,” Bian Mu explained with a smile.

After hearing this, the female bookseller frowned noticeably, and judging from her expression, she probably didn't understand.

"I'm sorry... I didn't understand very well. To be honest, the doctor who prescribed the medicine for me was Mr. Wu Mochen. If it's convenient, please explain it in simpler terms, Master."

Upon hearing this, Bian Mu was slightly taken aback.

Mr. Wu Mochen is quite remarkable. He is a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Beiqi. I heard that he is a few years older than Nie Yixiong. In terms of reputation alone, Mr. Wu is almost on par with Nie Yixiong. He comes from a family of doctors. Due to his advanced age, he is said to not see ordinary people at all.

"That's how it is... No matter what disease a person gets, it actually goes through stages. At a certain period, it may manifest as disease A, and later it may manifest as disease B. Sometimes, for various reasons, people fail to see a famous doctor in time and miss a certain moment. When they finally come to Master Wu's door, the first thing the old man will diagnose when he takes their pulse may be disease C. Can you accept my explanation?"

Upon hearing this, the female bookseller immediately realized something, and for a moment, she lowered her eyebrows and remained silent.