典藏书目

It is truly great that my medical Dao (Way of Medicine) is not alone. There are as many doctors practicing in Shanghai as there are carp, yet it is rare to find those who have mastered the "San Fen Wu Dian" (a term referring to ancient profound classics) and possess substantial learning.

This is largely due to years of war and fire disasters, which forced officials living in seclusion and scholars who had lost their positions into poverty. Having merely learned some herbal formulas and materia medica, they boldly began practicing medicine. There are those in society who rely on hearsay rather than observation and are eager to praise such practitioners. With three or four errors out of ten treatments, occasional luck and catering to trends allow them to gain fame. By analogy, this is because the cost is low, and they do not hesitate to treat medicine as a market commodity, disregarding consequences, benefits, harms, life, and death. When lives are at stake, they travel in high carriages with four horses, acting as if they are omnipotent in the medical field. If asked about the *Suwen* (Basic Questions), *Lingshu* (Spiritual Pivot), *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues), *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet), *Waitai Miyao* (Secret Essentials of the Outer Terrace), *Qianjin Fang* (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold), *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), *Taisu*, *Maijing* (Pulse Classic), *Chushi Bingyuan* (Source of Diseases by Master Chao), *Shengji Zonglu* (General Records of Sacred Relief), *Yizong Bixiu* (Medical Master's Essential Readings), *Yizong Jinjian* (Golden Mirror of Medicine), as well as the medical heritage of the Four Great Masters and other sages, they stare blankly and say, "Use new methods now, do not use old prescriptions; take advantage of my ten-year fortune, come see me early when sick." Thus, medical standards become confused, distinctions between male and female patients are blurred, and no wonder Ministers of Education Liu and Wang proposed abolishing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the year Guichou (1913).

I once served in Shandong. In the year Gengzi (1900), during the Boxer Rebellion's disturbance of the capital, Marshal Yuan Shikai from Xiangcheng established his headquarters in Qilu, commanding the entire Military Guard. Because his biological mother, Lady Liu, was critically ill, sixty physicians including Chief Physician Xu Huaqing treated her in rotation without success. The Marshal was anxious and invited Governors Hu Jinggui and Pan Yanzu to discuss whether any of his colleagues knew medicine. They recommended me and Mr. Zhang Lanzhou of Shaanxi. General Jiang Guidi persuaded the Marshal to try the prescription I formulated. One dose cured her instantly; the skill was miraculous! My brother Shilian and younger brother Shifu were astonished (the prescription was published in the *Shanghai Medical Journal*). Subsequently, I was appointed to the position of Quartermaster for the Infantry Guard. Looking back, many of my contemporaries in the Military Guard became great figures of the Republic of China, which is fortunate.

For this reason, in the second year of the Republic of China (1913), colleagues in Shanghai initiated the establishment of the Divine Land Medical Association and elected me as the clerk. Although I knew I was filling a spot unqualifiedly, I recalled Mr. Gu Tinglin's words: "The rise and fall of the nation concerns every common man." I could not decline responsibility and chose to fulfill my duty. When the proposal to abolish TCM arose, Ruan Zhongshu, an old friend and Secretary-General of the President's Office, came south on a mission to mediate the swap between Zhang Xun and Feng Guozhang. He temporarily stayed at the Huchu Arsenal near Six Elephant Bridge in Nanjing. I waited at the Guanglingchun Hotel near Menlian Bridge in Nanjing for four nights before finally meeting him. I presented five reasons for our application. After reading, he replied, "Very good, this matter cannot be abolished." I earnestly said, "If you can turn things around, providing a ray of hope for the people, you will be the Buddha born to ten thousand families." Upon returning to Shanghai, in the spring of the following year, Order No. 35 of the State Affairs Council issued by the President included the phrase in the approval of President Yu Dexun's petition: "There was initially no intention to abolish TCM." We achieved our goal of non-abolition. Due to my advanced age and declining strength, I felt clerical work was beyond my capability, so I resigned. This outcome relied heavily on Mr. Ruan's mediation. The reason TCM was not abolished is that it has its own origins; it is not that TCM is like "cow urine and horse fungus" (metaphors for worthless things) where opportunistic prescribing can be appreciated.

My family's medical lineage traces back to the Tang Dynasty Censorate. My ancestor Zhu Yin Gong retreated to the Hao River area and used medicine to benefit the world, with successors continuing through generations, many recorded in local gazetteers. I was the seventh disciple of my elder brother, Xiao Wu Gong, serving as an attendant physician for ten years. At that time, the threshold of our clinic was nearly worn through due to the crowd; we saw much and knew widely, supplemented by classical texts. We understood that syndrome differentiation must be accurately identified using the eight characters: Yin-Yang, Cold-Heat, Exterior-Interior, and Deficiency-Excess, to be considered a skilled practitioner. Furthermore, at critical moments, one must dare to administer heavy doses to hope for turning danger into safety. This preserves morality and represents the art of benevolent people. Medicine entrusts life and death; half is accumulated hidden merit, half is self-cultivation. How easy is it? If used for profit, leading to negligence and failure, one's heart would be unfathomable.

Shanghai is filled with doctors, many with specialties. My father, Jia Liu Gong, and I were particularly famous in Gynecology. Our social credit was generally acceptable. In ancient times, Bian Que called himself a specialist in women's diseases (Daixia Yi). The *Jingui Yaolue* records that ancients listed thirty-six types of diseases related to meridians, all termed Daixia Bing (women's diseases), which does not refer to the modern concept of leukorrhea (red and white discharge). Regarding the mechanisms of Yin-Yang deficiency and excess, and the safety of acupuncture and herbs, unless a physician distinguishes them proficiently, how can treatment be error-free? The thirty-six diseases include twelve masses, nine pains, seven harms, five injuries, and three chronic conditions. Later scholars proposed theories of one hundred and eight diseases. In short, women's diseases differ from men's, largely due to the differentiation of the Chong, Ren, Du, Dai meridians, Yin-Yang Qiao Wei vessels, and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels; most illnesses arise from these pathways. Sages stated: "Leukorrhea results from prolonged metrorrhagia; prolonged uterine bleeding dries up the bone marrow." Hence the warning: "Better to treat ten men than one woman." Ancient texts contain specific prescriptions for this. Women's diseases involve subtle circumstances hard to describe, requiring intuitive understanding, which is not learnable by everyone. If chaotic and inconsistent, guidance is needed. Therefore, my father Jia Liu Gong was distressed and compiled essential points from major masters, naming it *Nuke Zhezhong Zuanyao* (Compendium of Gynecological Synthesis). It was authenticated by my elder brother and teacher, Xiao Wu Gong. I presumptuously added notes, disregarding my own shallowness. Mencius said: "The fault of man lies in his liking to instruct others." Thus, my father only accepted one disciple, Li Danping of Liangxi. This manuscript was originally intended as a model for descendants, simple and standard, not for publication. However, urged by Mr. Qiu Jisheng from Yuezhong and colleagues to circulate the legacy, and proposing to publish the Ling Family Medical Legacy, I submitted my father's biography to the *Shanghai County Gazetteer* under Literature and Official Service, along with the manuscripts for correction. I dare not keep them secret but share them with enthusiasts, regardless of flaws, hoping future students will have a guide to follow, study concisely, and realize that within Gynecology lies this boat of compassion, worthy of preservation and celebration.

Recorded respectfully by Ling Yongyan, the Medical Elder of Anji, on the Shangding day of the Confucius Memorial Sacrifice in the year Gengshen (1920), residing at Shangsu Studio, Shoushitang, Shanghai, aged seventy-two.