Dai Liang’s “Biography of the Old Gent of Danxi” (丹溪翁传 )

OR Why were there not more Gods of Medicine in China?

Edward Allen 225r

Why ask this question?

• The text we are working with shows the lifestyle of one particularly gifted medic operating both at the level of the literati and powerful local interests and with the sick and impoverished. If we can understand this interface better, then it will be clearer how religious phenomenon across local society in the Song and Yuan could be formed and spread across a region such as central Zhejiang.

Framing the Question

• It is hard to come to a rounded understanding of the Confucian Physician (儒醫 ) phenomenon in Song and Yuan China. Why? Many of them emerge from the literati spectrum but even the most famous tend “to neglect the place of medicine in their lives” (Furth 2006; 423). This is especially surprising given claims by Furth, Elman and others that the Neo-Confucian program could be seen as scientific. In the context of emerging ‘local’ societies and interests, why not unify around the figure of the medic?

• Chinese medicine is also inseparable from the deepest concerns of villagers of any age, as Zhu Zhenheng’s bio shows; so why is no Physician sanctified ‘from below’?

Some Background

• Restored Hua Tuo temple in Haozhou, Anhui (Tang provenance).

• Shennong? Only five temples.

• Just 12 temples. Notice proximity to traditional centers of Chinese medicine.

The Text• 丹溪翁者，婺之义乌人也，姓朱氏，讳震亨，字彦修，学者尊之曰丹溪翁。翁自幼好学，日记千言。稍长，从乡先生治经，为举子业。後闻许文懿公得朱子四传之学，讲道八华山，复往拜焉。益闻道德性命之说，宏深粹密，遂为专门。一日，文懿谓曰：“吾卧病久，非精於医者，不能以起之。子聪明异常人，其肯游艺於医乎？”翁以母病脾，於医亦粗习，及闻文懿之言，卽慨然曰：“士苟精一艺，以推及物之仁，虽不仕於时，犹仕也。”乃悉焚弃向所习举子业，一於医致力焉。

• The Old Gent of Danxi was a man of Yiwu in Wu. His family name was Zhu, his taboo name Zhenheng, his cognomen Yanxiu, and those who studied under him, as a term of respect, called him the Old Gent of the Cinnabar Stream [Danxi]. From his youth the Old Gent was fond of learning, daily memorizing down thousands of words. When he was slightly older, he followed a local teacher in studying the classics, this for the sake of the State Examinations. After this he heard that Xu Wenyi (Xu Qian 1269 – 1337) had obtained some learning under a fourth generation disciple of Zhu Xi, and that he was lecturing on the way at Bahua Mountain – so went to pay his respects to [and seek learning from] the man. He learned more of the theories of the way and morality, of man’s nature and his fate, [it was vast and deep and profound, and so he made this his only focus. One day, Wenyi asked him: “I’ve long been incapacitated due to illness – if there’s no one expert in medical matters, then we I won’t be able to overcome this. You are a person of exceptional intelligence – might you be willing to dabble in medicine?” Now since the Old Gent’s mother had an affliction of the spleen, he had some simple skills relating to medicine, so when he heard Wenyi’s words, he immediately spoke with fervor: “If a humble literatus (shi) is expert in one art and extends the benevolence that reaches things, though he might not be appointed as an official for the times, it is as if he is so.” He then consigned to flames and abandoned all that he had previously studied with regard to the examinations, and single-mindedly put his efforts into medicine.”

• 时方盛行陈师文、裴宗元所定《大观二百九十七方》翁穷昼夜是习。旣而悟曰：“操古方以治今病，其势不能以尽合。苟将 [or yu- wish]起度量，立规矩，称权衡，必也《素》、《难》诸经乎！然吾乡诸医鲜克知之者。”遂治装出游，求他师而叩之。乃渡浙河，走吴中，出宛陵，抵南徐，达建业，皆无所遇。

• At this time the Two-hundred and ninety-seven prescriptions established in the Daguan Period by Chen Shiwen and Pei Zongyuan was widespread, and the Old Gent exerted himself day and night into this study, until he had a sudden flash of understanding and said: “In using the old formulas to treat present illnesses, it is inevitable that they cannot be completely in congruence. And so, if we wish to make new measures, establish standards and state means of measuring, it must be with classics such as the Su-Wen [Elementary Questions] and the Nan [Classic of Difficulties]! This is something that the doctors back home rarely understand.” Then he packed his bags and went a-wandering, seeking out other teachers and bowing before them to seek learning. He crossed the Zhe river, travelled in Suzhou, through Wanling [Xuancheng], up to Nanxu [Zhenjiang] and reaching Jianye [Nanjing] – without a single [helpful] encounter.

• 及还武林，忽有以其郡罗氏告者。罗名知悌，字子敬，世称太无先生，宋理宗朝寺人，学精於医，得金刘完素之再传，而旁通张从正、李杲二家之说。然性褊甚，恃能厌事，难得意。翁往谒焉，凡数往返，不与接。已而求见愈笃，罗乃进之，曰：“子非朱彦修乎？”时翁已有医名，罗故知之。翁旣得见，遂北面再拜以谒，受其所敎。罗遇翁亦甚懽，卽授以刘、李、张诸书，为之敷扬三家之旨，而一断於经，且曰：“尽去而旧学，非是也。”翁闻其言，涣焉无少凝滞於胸臆。居无何，尽得其学以归。

• He then went back to Wulin [Hangzhou] and soon somebody told him about Mr. Luo, from the some Commandery. The name of this Luo fellow was Mingti [Luo Mingti, 1243 – 1327], his cognomen Zijing, though the generation knew him as Mr. Big Pile of Nothing [Taiwu Xiansheng]; he was an Attendant at the Court [siren] under Emperor Lizong, and his learning was exceptional in matters of medicine, having attained the learning of Liu Wansu of the Jin from a first-generation disciple, whilst on-the-side becoming fluent in the learnings of the schools of Zhang Congzheng and Li Gao. Yet he was a stingy man by nature. Relying on his talent, he hated serving others. It was hard to impress him. The Old Gent went to pay a visit on Luo, going back and forth several times without Luo receiving him. But the Old Gent’s entreaties grew ever more fervent, and so Luo received him in, saying: “Aren’t you Zhu Yanxiu?” By this time the Old Gent had already some fame as a medic, so Luo had heard of him. The Old Man thus got to meet with Luo, and facing north he twice prostrated himself so as to ask for instruction [ye], and then received what Luo had to teach. Luo was extremely joyful at meeting the Old Gent, and handed over to him the books of Liu, Zhang and Li, elucidating the essential message [zhi] of the three teachers, which was entirely determined by the Classics. He then said – “Depart entirely from your old way of study – it’s not right.” When the Old Gent heard this, no small amount of obstructions were cleared in his chest. Staying a little while longer, he attained Luo’s learning to the full and went home.

• 乡之诸医泥陈、裴之学者，闻翁言，卽大惊而笑且排，独文懿喜曰：“吾疾其遂瘳矣乎！”文懿得末疾，医不能疗者十馀年，翁以其法治之，良验，於是诸医之笑且排者，始皆心服口誉。数年之间，声闻顿著。翁不自满足，益以三家之说推广之。谓刘、张之学，其论脏腑气化有六，而於湿热相火三气致病为最多，遂以推陈致新泻火之法疗之，此固高出前代矣。然有阴虚火动，或阴阳两虚湿热自盛者，又当消息而用之。谓李之论饮食劳倦，内伤脾胃，则胃脘之阳不能以升举，幷及心肺之气，陷入中焦，而用补中益气之剂治之，此亦前人之所无也。然天不足於西北，地不满於东南。天，阳也；地，阴也。西北之人，阳气易於降；东南之人，阴火易於升。苟不知此，而徒守其法，则气之降者固可愈，而於其升者亦从而用之，吾恐反增其病矣。乃以三家之论，去其短而用其长，又复参之以太极之理，《易》、《礼记》、《通书》、《正蒙》诸书之义，贯穿《内经》之言，以寻其指归。而谓《内经》之言火，盖与太极动而生阳、五性感动之说有合；其言阴道虚，则又与《礼记》之养阴意同。因作《相火》及《阳有馀阴不足》二论，以发挥之。

• The medics in his hometown were immersed in the teachings of Chen Shiwen and Pei Zongyuan, so that hearing what the Old Gent had to say, they were first greatly shocked, and then laughed and rejected the whole thing – it was only Wenyi who showed delight, saying: “Would that my illness would be cured, oh!” Xu was suffering from partial paralysis in his legs and arms, and no doctor had been able to treat him in over ten years, but the Old Gent, with his methods, provided a treatment and a proper analysis, so that those who had laughed and spurned him were persuaded in their hearts and began to praise him in their speech. Within a few years his reputation was established. Yet the Old Gent was not satisfied with himself, and progressively spread the sayings of the three schools. He said that in the teachings of Liu and Zhang, there were six sayings on detrimental changes in the qi of the internal organs, and that qi from damp, heat and xiang-fire were the most frequent cause of illness, gradually putting forward the methods of Chen Zhixin for dispelling fire, which was indeed huge progress over previous generations. If there were cases when yang was empty or fire active, or yin and yang both empty and dampness and heat thriving of their own accord, then one ought to consider again and make use [?] of this. The Old Gent also discussed the theory of Li Gao – that there was weariness and tiredness from drinking and eating, causing internal damage to the spleen and digestive organs [wei], so that yang from the stomach could not rise up, heading to the qi of the heart and lungs and descending to the thorax – that medicine to replenish the qi in the middle-region should be employed as a treatment, this again something which predecessors had lacked. Then there was “The sky not being sufficient for the northwest, the earth not being full in the southeast” – the sky being yang and the earth being yin. It was easy for people in the northwest to see a decline in their yang essence, and for people in the southeast to witness a rise in their yin fire. Not knowing this, and simply going by one’s methods, those whose qi declined could still be treated, but those whose fire was rising would also use this treatment, which I [the Old Gent[ fear would have had the opposite effect of exacerbating the illness. The Old Gent then took theories from the three schools, removing the shortcomings and using all positives, once more consulting the principles of the Great Ultimate, the meanings in the Yijing, Liji and the works of Zhou Dunyi and Zhang Zai, penetrating through the words of the Huangdi Neijing, so as to find the overriding principal. It was only the Huangdi Neijing which spoke of fire, basically combining it with the movement Great Ultimate producing yang and the affectation and movement of the five natures; saying that the way of yang was empty was identical with the meaning in the Liji on the nourishing of yang. It was on account of this that the Old Gent composed his two digressions on the Xiang Fire and Excess in Yang and Insufficiency in Yin, so as to put forth and promote this view. [these two essays follow]

• 於是，翁之医益闻。四方以病来迎者，遂辐凑於道，翁咸往赴之。其所治病凡几，病之状何如，施何良方，饮何药而愈，自前至今，验者何人，何县里，主名，得诸见闻，班班可纪。

• Afterwards the Old Gent’s fame as a medic grew wider. In time the axles of the carts of those coming from the four corners to see him on account of illness spread out over the road – and the Old Gent would go out to them all. As to how many he cured of illness, what manner of affliction they had, what beneficial prescription he issued, what medicine they imbibed and recovered with, and from previous times to now, what people he examined, what county and li, what their first name and surnames were – he got them personally through meetings and hearing things, and they can be recorded clearly.

• 浦江郑义士病滞下，一夕忽昏仆，目上视，溲注而汗泄。翁诊之，脉大无伦，卽告曰：“此阴虚而阳暴绝也，盖得之病後酒且内，然吾能愈之。”卽命治人参膏，而且促灸其气海。顷之手动，又顷而脣动。及参膏成，三饮之苏矣。其後服参膏尽数斤，病已。

• Zheng Yishi of Pujiang was brought down with dysentery, and one evening suddenly collapsed, his eyes rolled upward [?], with no control over his urinary tract, and sweating feverishly. The Old Gent examined him, and his pulse was found to arrhythmic, whereupon he reported: “This is depleted yin with the yang exploding and exhausting itself – it probably came about through drinking and pleasures of the flesh once the illness had happened. Even so, I can cure you.” Having ordered ginseng extract [?] prepared, he hastened to place acupuncture needles on Zheng’s pressure cavities [qihai?]. After a while Zheng’s hands moved, and after that his lips. When the ginseng was ready, Zheng was given three drinks of it and regained consciousness. After this Zheng drank several jin of ginseng, and his illness was cured.

• 天台周进士病恶寒，虽暑亦必以绵蒙其首，服附子数百，增剧。翁诊之，脉滑而数，卽告曰：“此热甚而反寒也。”乃以辛凉之剂，吐痰一升许，而蒙首之绵减半；仍用防风通圣饮之，愈。周固喜甚，翁曰：“病愈後须淡食以养胃，内观以养神，则水可生，火可降；否则，附毒必发，殆不可救。”彼不能然，後告疽发背死。

• A jinshi surnamed Zhou from Tiantai was sensitive to the cold [technical term?], so that even in summer he had to cover his whole head with cotton. Having imbibed cassia soup for several days [?], his condition deteriorated rapidly. The Old Gent examined him, finding his pulse slippery and rapid, and reported: “This is extreme heat reverting to cold.” So he gave a treatment that was spicy and cooling, had him spit out around a sheng of phlegm, and had the cotton balaclava reduced by one half; after this he had Zhou drink ‘Resisting Wind and Joining the Sage’ [Liu Wansu’s formula], and the man recovered. Zhou was absolutely delighted, and the Old Gent said: “Once your illness has recovered you have to eat light foods to nourish your digestive system, look inwards to nourish your spirit – in you do this water will be born and fire will reduce; if you do not, then I am afraid that I cannot save you.” Zhou could not do this, and later on got carbuncles on his back and died.

• 一男子病小便不通，医治以利药，益甚。翁诊之，右寸颇弦滑，曰：“此积痰病也，积痰在肺。肺为上焦，而膀胱为下焦，上焦闭则下焦塞，辟如滴水之器，必上窍通而後下窍之水出焉。”乃以法大吐之，吐已，病如失。

• There was a boy who could not urinate, and his doctor prescribed a strong medicine – and the problem got worse. The Old Gent examined him, and the pulse on his right arm was found to be thin and slippery [?]. He said: “This is an illness from aggregated phlegm. The aggregation is in the lungs. The lungs are in the upper torso, as the bladder is in the lower torso. When the upper is closed off, then the lower part is blocked, just like in the operation of a water-clock, where the upper mechanism has to be passable for the water in the lower mechanism to come out. Then he prescribed the method of vomiting the phlegm out in huge quantities. When the child had finished vomiting, it was as if his illness had disappeared.

• 一妇人产後有物不上如衣裾，医不能喻。翁曰：“此子宫也，气血虚，故随子而下。”卽与黄芪当归之剂，而加升麻举之，仍用皮工之法，以五倍子作汤洗濯，皱其皮。少选，子宫上，翁慰之曰：“三年後可再生儿，无忧也。”如之。

• There was a woman who, after giving birth, had something that would not return to its original place like the front part of a garment – the doctor could not understand this. The Old Gent said: “This is her womb. The qi and the blood are depleted, and so it has followed the child in its descent.” Then he used a preparation of milk vetch [astralagus], adding cimifugae and using the ‘leather tanner’s method’, that is adding galla Chinensis to make a soup, which was washed, and massaging the skin [?] so as to reduce it in size. The woman’s womb ascended, and the Old Gent comforted her, saying: “Three years from now you can have another child – fear not.” And so it was.

• 一贫妇寡居病癞，翁见之恻然，乃曰：“是疾世号难治者，不守禁忌耳。是妇贫而无厚味，寡而无欲，庶几可疗也 [27]。”卽自具药疗之，病愈。後复投四物汤数百 [28]，遂不发动[29]。

• There was a poor widow who had leprosy. The Old Gent saw her and felt stirred to compassion. He said: “this affliction is said today to be hard to manage, which is because it affects people who do not respect strictures and taboos. Yet this woman is poor and does not get strong-tasting food, she is a widow has had no desires – perhaps it can be treated.” Then he made his own medicine and treated her, and she recovered from her illness. Later, by giving her [tou?] several hundred bowls of siwu [jujube, ginger, pepper and ?] soup, the illness gradually stopped breaking out [?].

• 翁之为医，皆此类也。盖其遇病施治，不胶於古方，而所疗则中；然於诸家方论，则靡所不通。他人靳靳守古，翁则操纵取舍，而卒与古合。一时学者咸声随影附，翁敎之亹亹忘疲。

• The Old Gent manner as a doctor was all of it of this kind. In basic terms, whenever he encountered illness he would come forth with a way of dealing with it, and his diagnosis would be on target without being confined to the ancient prescriptions. Yet there were no prescriptions or theories of the various schools in which he was not fluent. Where others were stubborn and stuck in the prescriptions of the Jufang, the Old Gent was flexible in adopting or abandoning procedures, so that ultimately they agreed with the ancient. Scholars of the time all followed his words and formed around his shadow, and the Old Gent taught them untiringly, as if forgetting what it was to be weary.

• 翁春秋旣高，乃徇张翼等所请，而著《格致馀论》、《局方发挥》、《伤寒辨疑》、《本草衍义补遗》、《外科精要新论》诸书，学者多诵习而取则焉。

• When he became advanced in years, the Old Gent hearkened to the invitation of Zhang Yi and others, writing the Further Digressions on the Investigation of Principles, Bringing out the Jufang, Discussing Questions on the Shanghan, Supplement to the Simplified Bencao Gangmu [?] and the New Digression on the Essential Matters of External Medicine, which many scholars recited and put into practice, taking principles from these works.

• 翁简悫贞良，刚严介特，执心以正，立身以诚，而孝友之行，实本乎天质。奉时祀也，订其礼文而敬泣之。事母夫人也，时其节宣以忠养之。宁歉於己，而必致丰於兄弟；宁薄於己子，而必施厚於兄弟之子。非其友不友，非其道不道。好论古今得失，慨然有天下之忧。世之名公卿多折节下之，翁为直陈治道，无所顾忌。然但语及荣利事，则拂衣而起。与人交，一以三纲五纪为去就。尝曰：天下有道，则行有枝叶；天下无道，则辞有枝叶。夫行，本也；辞，从而生者也。苟见枝叶之辞，去本而末是务，辄怒溢颜面，若将浼焉。翁之卓卓如是，则医特一事而已。然翁讲学行事之大方，已具吾友宋太史濂所为翁墓志，兹故不录，而窃录其医之可传者为翁传，庶使後之君子得以互考焉。

• The Old Gent was simple, honest, pure and kind to others, yet strict with himself and without desires . He held his heart firm to the correct, and established himself on a basis of integrity, whilst his performance of filial obligations and his way of being a friend was based on his natural endowment. When making the seasonal ritual offerings, he fixed the text for the ritual and offered his respectful tears. In serving his mother, he was timely in feeding her and seeing to her daily needs, and nourished her with his loyalty. He would rather lack himself, but must provide a bounty for his brothers; he would rather his sons go without, but must give in plenty to the sons of his brothers. If someone was not meant to be his friend, he would not try to make them so, and if something was not the Way, he would not treat it as the Way. He was fond of digressing on the gains and losses of antiquity and the present, fervent in his concern for the world. Many famous men of the day humbled themselves to come before him, whereupon the Old Gent would state in a straightforward manner the Way of dealing with sickness, holding nothing back. And yet! One word of matters of glory and profit and he would ruffle his garments, rise and leave. In his dealings with people, he was distant or intimate in accord with the Three Principles and Five Constants. Often he would say, “If the world has the Way , then one’s actions have branches and leaves; if the world lacks the Way , then one’s words have but minor details. Actions are the root and words come from this.” If he saw words that were minor details, that departed from the root and were concerned with the secondary, then his face would be beclouded with anger, as if he had been insulted. The Old Gent was a cut above the rest, and medicine was merely one thing [he cared about]. The Old Gent’s manner of discoursing on learning and conducting affairs have already been detailed all in an epitaph made by my friend Song Lian, so we do not record it here, but records what can be passed down of his medicine, for the reference of the gentlemen of posterity.

• 论曰：昔汉严君平，博学无不通，卖卜成都。人有邪恶非正之问，则依蓍 [shī诗 ]龟为陈其利害。与人子言，依於孝；与人弟言，依於顺；与人臣言，依於忠。史称其风声气节，足以激贪而厉俗。翁在婺得道学之源委，而混迹於医。或以医来见者，未尝不以葆精毓神开其心。至於一语一默，一出一处，凡有关於伦理者，尤谆谆训诲，使人奋迅感慨激厉之不暇。左丘明有云：“仁人之言，其利溥哉！”信矣。若翁者，殆古所谓直谅多闻之益友，又可以医师少之哉？

• The judgment: in the ancient Han there was Yan Junping [Yan Zun], erudite and fluent in all arts, and a fortune teller on the streets of Chengdu. If someone asked a about something wicked or unorthodox , then he would use divination by turtle plastron to describe the consequences. Yet talking with sons, he relied on the filial principle; talking with brothers, by the principle of yielding; talking with officials, by the principle of loyalty. The History [Shiji?]acclaimed his style and reputation, his manner and integrity, as enough to move the corrupt and stir up vulgar customs. The Old Gent in Wu attained the source of the Learning of the Way, integrated it with medicine. When someone came with regard to medicine, none would not have their mind newly opened to [ways of] nourishing the spirit. As for speaking and silence, abroad or at home, on anything that was relevant to morality, he was particulary instuctive, so that people were stirred, moved and felt angst at not giving time [to their own cultivation]. “How vast the benefit of a compassionate man’s words!” says Zuo Qiuming – and how true. Such as the Old Gent are what the ancients called the upright and learned good friend– can we see him as minor just because he was a teacher of medicine?

Possibilities• The efficacy of a Confucian Physician was limited to the generation in

which he practiced. Technique hard to translate into a school, and theory perhaps not as effective as Dai Liang would want.

• Some limitations on what knowledge the Old Gent was willing to reveal? He does not discuss his individual method for curing the old lady.

• Most important perhaps is the lack of any solid base in local society in which to ground the Confucian Physician. He belongs in the family system, so will not become part of any local religion unless the family achieves complete dominance and he is enshrined in some form of family temple.

• Another possibility is that this is a different type of ‘fan’ phenomenon present in Song culture. In life he is venerated and efficacious, and probably more ‘talked about’ than many actual gods.