The Geneva Declaration of Medicine of 1948 contains the following words: "When I was absorbed as a member of the cause of medicine, I solemnly pledged to dedicate my life to the service of humanity." I will exercise my profession with my conscience and dignity. The health of my patients will be my first consideration. I will honor the secrets that the patient has given me. I will do everything in my power to maintain the honor and valuable traditions of the medical profession. My comrades are my brothers. I do not allow religion, nationality, political affiliation, or status to interfere with my duties and my relationship with patients. I have the highest respect for human life from the very beginning of its inception, and I will never use my medical knowledge for anything that violates humanitarian norms, even under threat. I solemnly pledge this from the heart and with my honor. "The hearts of the healer's parents, I don't think everyone who sincerely studies medicine will violate this declaration, and in ancient China, there were many such doctors.
In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing (1566), a Daoist emperor finally couldn't hold out after eating the "immortal elixir" for more than forty years, and went to heaven to meet the Taishang Laojun he dreamed of.
A few days later, the whole world learned of the emperor's death, and a commoner in Huguang Prefecture shook his head helplessly after learning the news, and then continued to go back to his thatched hut to write his book. This book later had a major impact on the development of medicine in the world. This is the Compendium of Materia Medica.
Li Shizhen (1518-1593), also known as Dongbi, in his later years called himself a native of Lihushan, Puzhou Town, Puchun County, Hubei Province, and a famous medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty.
Li Shizhen
Li Shizhen's father, Li Yanwen, was a well-known divine doctor at that time, and there is such a legend about Li Shizhen's life. It is said that on the day Li Shizhen was born, Li Yanwen was fishing on the rainy lake. Usually lucky, but this time even the next few nets were found, until the last net was pulled up, it felt heavy. Li Yan was secretly happy, thinking it was a big fish, and pulled it up to take a look before he found that it was a big stone. Li Yanwen sighed: Stone, stone, I have no grievances and no enmity with you, why are you teasing me today? Make me more worried. The stone suddenly spoke as well: Stone, stone, come to celebrate the joy without worry. Mr. Lady is about to set the moon, I don't know what Mr. asks for? It turned out that this stone was the god of rain lake. Li Yanwen hurried home, just as Li Shizhen was born, he named him "Shi Zhen". That night, Li Yanwen had another dream, dreaming that the immortal Tie abducted Li to come to Daoxi and said: "Shi Zhen Shi Zhen, a hundred diseases can be diagnosed." Be my disciple and spread my reputation. ”
After Li Shizhen grew up, he took the township exam three times, but he always failed to pass. Until he was in his twenties, he contracted a lung disease that was difficult to treat at that time, and lung disease was very guilty, and Li Shizhen suffered countless sufferings and countless sins after all kinds of tosses. Only to save a life. Li Shizhen, who had just recovered from a serious illness, made up his mind to abandon Confucianism and practice medicine. Maybe Li Shizhen is saying: I have experienced pain and do not want to let others bear it.
After Li Shizhen changed careers to become a doctor, he had a small achievement. In the thirtieth year of Jiajing (1551), Li Shizhen cured the son of Zhu Houkun, the king of Fushun, at the age of thirty-three, and has since become famous, and was later hired by the King of Chu as a personal doctor in the palace. In the Chu King's Mansion, Li Shizhen cured many people and was known as a divine doctor, and his reputation naturally grew day by day. Three years later, when the Jiajing Emperor heard about it, he transferred him to the Tai Hospital. Some people believe that Li Shizhen once served as the judge of the Tai Hospital (正六品), but others believe that he only served as the imperial physician (正八品).
Zhu Houxi
At the Tai Hospital, Li Shizhen met the emperor. After seeing the "Jindan" that the Jiajing Emperor ate, Li Shizhen expected that the emperor's life would soon be over. Because this "golden dan" is now considered to be organic chemistry, its main components roughly include mercury (mercury) and a variety of heavy metals and minerals. I think that the frontiers of chemistry in our country (Taoists) accidentally invented gunpowder when they were refining Dan, and Zhu Houxi ate explosives day after day and year after year, and the consequences can be imagined.
Later, Li Shizhen got tired of life in the palace and left the Tai Hospital. Leaving the capital, Li Shizhen began his long journey, and his footprints traveled all over the country, as long as there were medicinal herbs, there was Li Shizhen's figure. He had personally tasted many botanicals and almost died several times. After twenty-six years, Li Shizhen finally completed the greatest medical work in Chinese history: the Compendium of Materia Medica. In addition, he also wrote "Qijing Eight Pulse Examination", "Endangered Lake Pulse Science" and many others. He is revered by later generations as a "medicine saint".
In the twenty-first year of the Wanli Calendar (1593), Li Shizhen was too tired to collect medicinal herbs and died of illness.
Three years later, the Compendium of Materia Medica was officially published in Nanjing, and soon spread to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, and decades later to Europe and North America, becoming an authoritative work in the history of world medicine. For the significance of the "Compendium of Materia Medica", there is no need to say too much, we just need to know that the advent of this book has saved countless people until now.
But Li Shizhen did not see all this.
I think Li Shizhen is pleased.