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Fan Zhongyan, when he was in humble circumstances, once visited a spiritual shrine to pray and ask: "Will I be able to serve as Chancellor in the future?" The deity did not grant this. He prayed again: "If not, then I wish to become a good physician." The deity still did not grant this.

Shortly thereafter, he sighed and said: "To be unable to benefit and bless the people is not the ambition of a great man that I have held in my heart all along." Later, someone said to Lord Fan: "For a great man, aspiring to be Chancellor is natural; but why do you wish for the art of medicine? Is it not too lowly?" Lord Fan replied: "Alas! How could it be so! The ancients said: 'One who is always good at saving others will find no one discarded; one who is always desirous of saving things will find nothing wasted.' Moreover, the pursuit of learning by a great man is originally to encounter a sage and holy ruler, thereby being able to implement his principles; he thinks of every common man and woman in the world, worrying if any are not benefiting from his grace. If they were pushed into ditches (and left to die), only the Chancellor can truly reach and benefit the people of all ranks. Since becoming Chancellor may not be attainable, none can better practice the heart of saving people and benefiting things than a good physician. If one can indeed become a good physician, one can treat the illnesses of the ruler and parents above, rescue the hardships of the poor below, and preserve one's own body and longevity within; among those in lower positions who can benefit the people of all ranks, apart from a good physician, there is none!"

Li Yuanzhong of the Northern Qi dynasty had an elderly mother who suffered from many illnesses. Li Yuanzhong devoted himself to the Way of Medicine, studying for years, until he became skilled in medicine. When the mother of his clan cousin fell ill and the physician's treatment failed to cure her, Li Yuanzhong carefully studied acupuncture and herbal medicine, and his cousin's mother's illness was finally cured. Xu Daoyou of the Sui dynasty also, due to his mother's illness, perused classical prescriptions thoroughly, achieving mastery, and was known in the world as a famous physician. He warned his sons: "If a person has tasted food and medicine [serving parents] but does not know medical formulas and techniques, how can this be called filial piety?" Thus, they passed it on to each other. Wang Bo of the Tang dynasty once said: "A child must not be ignorant of medicine." At that time, Cao Yuan of Chang'an possessed secret arts, and Wang Bo traveled with him, mastering all its essentials. Wang Bo's insights were similar to those of Xu Daoyou. Wang Tao of the Tang dynasty also learned medicine because of his mother's illness, and used his knowledge to write books for posterity. Gao Ruona of the Song dynasty also, due to his mother's illness, came to master medical texts. Although the imperial physicians of the time submitted to him, the key principles of Zhang Zhongjing's *Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases* (*Shanghan Lun*), Sun Simiao's *Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold* (*Qianjin Fang*), and Wang Tao's *Secret Essentials of the Outer Cabinet* (*Waitai Miyao*) had long ceased to circulate. Gao Ruona examined and corrected all errors and absurdities in them and put them into circulation, so the world began to know of these books. Famous physicians mostly came from Hengzhou, all basing their learning on the Gao family's teachings. These are all examples of treating medicine as a form of filial piety.

Li Xuji of the Song dynasty had a mother who went blind. Li Xuji diligently licked his mother's eyes morning and night without rest, and after two years, his mother's sight was restored. Li Xingjian's father suffered from a severe carbuncle causing extreme pain. Li Xingjian sucked out the pus until it was completely clean, and the disease soon healed. This is another example of using filial piety as the motivation for practicing medicine.