Seeking Truth with a Sword
Chapter 47 - 46 Imperial Physician

Chapter 47: Chapter 46 Imperial Physician

"HISS!"

"AH!"

"EH!"

The peers around her couldn’t stop exclaiming in surprise.

No wonder they reacted so strongly. They watched as the young girl grasped a silver needle, heated it over a candle, then twirled it between her fingers, piercing Yong Hongzhong’s scalp, temples, neck, and other points.

Before long, seven or eight silver needles adorned Yong Hongzhong’s head, with two more inserted into his ankle and calf.

A student whispered, "It looks so painful, those long needles piercing the scalp..."

"You don’t understand, this is acupuncture!"

Another, slightly chubby student with some knowledge, wearing a know-it-all expression as if no one understood acupuncture better than he did, whispered, "One only needs to diagnose the cause, determine its nature, and identify the meridians and internal organs related to the illness. Then, by applying acupuncture and moxibustion to the relevant areas, one can clear the meridians, regulate qi and blood, restore the balance of yin and yang, and bring the organs into harmony. And do you know who is performing the acupuncture?"

"Who?"

"Qiu Feng, daughter of Qiu Quan, a Director from the Pharmacy Bureau."

"Is that Imperial Physician Qiu Quan, the one who cured the Minister of Justice with acupuncture?"

"Who else could it be?"

The crowd around them buzzed with conversation. Li Ang blinked curiously.

As a doctor, he had known since his time in Yizhou City that the Yu Country’s central medical institutions comprised three major systems: the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Chamber of Imperial Medicine, and the Medicine Storage Bureau.

The Imperial Medical Bureau was responsible for national medical administration and education. The Medicine Storage Bureau served the Crown Prince, and the Chamber of Imperial Medicine served the Emperor.

Within the Pharmacy Bureau, two Imperial Attendants oversaw all medicinal tributes for the palace, serving as the Emperor’s personal physicians. The four Directors acted as their deputies, assisting in managing palace medicines and also providing services to princes, ministers, and members of the imperial family upon the Emperor’s command.

In short, a Director of the Pharmacy Bureau was an Imperial Physician, and one possessing the most advanced medical skills at that. Some less favored concubines and princes lacked the status to demand personal treatment from a Director; they could only be attended by Medical Officers or Medical Assistants subordinate to the Directors.

The most outstanding doctors, huh..._{fre ewe bnove l.com}

Li Ang stood by, observing with keen interest. The Yizhou City he hailed from was neither particularly large nor small. However, in terms of medical expertise, it certainly couldn’t compare to the established Imperial Physician families in Chang’an City.

Qiu Feng, the Imperial Physician’s daughter, seemed completely oblivious to the surrounding discussions, her expression calm as she administered the acupuncture.

After all the silver needles were in place, she waited quietly for about seven and a half minutes. Then, she removed them all, took a deep breath, stepped back slightly, and asked Yong Hongzhong, who was seated, in a clear voice, "Alright, how do you feel?"

"I... I feel... it’s... it’s alright," Yong Hongzhong, who had a stutter, replied haltingly. "J-just, my legs feel a bit cold."

"It’s normal for them to feel cold; your trouser legs are still rolled up." Qiu Feng smiled charmingly and said with a touch of playful innocence, "Stand up and walk around a bit."

"Alright."

Yong Hongzhong stood up from his chair and took a few steps. His gait was stable, showing no signs of dizziness.

"Is it really that miraculous?"

"He got better just with a few needles?"

"As expected of an Imperial Physician’s daughter! By the way, did you know she’s also taking the Academic Palace entrance exams with us this year?"

The crowd murmured in low voices.

Li Ang, curious, patted the shoulder of the slightly chubby student next to him who seemed knowledgeable. "Friend, you mentioned earlier that Imperial Physician Qiu Quan cured the Minister of Justice with acupuncture. What’s the story behind that?"

"You’re not a student from Chang’an, are you?" The slightly chubby student looked Li Ang up and down and said with a friendly smile, "Ah, that happened a while ago. Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Justice suffered from a wind illness; his lower back and legs were impaired, preventing him from kneeling or standing. At the Emperor’s command, Imperial Physician Qiu Quan, a Director of the Pharmacy Bureau, went to Minister Zhao’s residence to treat him. He needled the Shangliao (two points), Huantiao (two points), Yanglingquan (two points), and Juxu Xialian (two points) acupoints. In no time, Minister Zhao’s lower back and legs returned to normal, and he could bend and stand."

Beside them, Song Shaoyuan’s eyes widened slightly. "Is it really that miraculous?"

"Of course," the slightly chubby student pursed his lips and complained softly. "People always say moxibustion is superior to acupuncture, but I don’t necessarily agree. Being cured by acupuncture is surely better than moxibustion, at least it doesn’t leave scars."

Li Ang listened to the resentment in the slightly chubby student’s tone and smiled faintly. The term "acupuncture-moxibustion," in fact, is a general term for both needling techniques (acupuncture) and cauterization techniques (moxibustion).

Needling techniques involve inserting needles into the patient’s body at specific angles, using methods like twirling, lifting, and thrusting to stimulate particular points. Cauterization techniques, or moxibustion, involve burning prepared moxa pillars or moxa floss on specific points on the body’s surface; hence it’s also called "mugwort cautery."

Although "acupuncture" comes before "moxibustion" in the term "acupuncture-moxibustion," in the Yu Country, moxibustion held a far higher status than acupuncture. Moxibustion was primary, and acupuncture secondary.

From princes and ministers down to the common people, for any headache or fever, apart from taking medicine, people would undergo moxibustion, which is why many bore unsightly moxibustion scars.

In the *Essential Formulas of the Golden Thousand*, there were 510 formulas on moxibustion and only 50 on acupuncture. In *Qianjin Yifang*, there were 560 formulas on moxibustion and only 90 on acupuncture.

This was partly because few physicians were skilled in acupuncture, and partly because of the prevailing view among the Yu people that acupuncture was inferior to moxibustion.

The comprehensive medical text *Secrets of the Outer Platform*, compiled by Wang Dao—grandson of Wang Gui, a famous prime minister from the early years of the Yu Country—even bluntly stated: "Needling can kill the living; it cannot bring back the dead."

Li Ang harbored no particular ill will towards acupuncture or moxibustion. He was well aware that their popularity among the people was largely due to the stark reality of the Yu Country’s lack of doctors and medicine—the more remote, impoverished, and underdeveloped an area, the less access to medical care, and the more people were forced to resort to various means of self-help. Simple and inexpensive acupuncture and moxibustion (especially moxibustion, which was easier to perform and less likely to be fatal) were undoubtedly the only options to address pressing needs.

He looks cured? Li Ang glanced at Yong Hongzhong, who was walking normally, and gestured to Song Shaoyuan. "Well, Brother Song, I’ll be off then."

"Oh, sorry to have troubled you, Risheng..."

Song Shaoyuan was mid-sentence when the surrounding crowd suddenly cried out in alarm. Yong Hongzhong, who had been about to joyfully bend down and roll down his trouser legs, had just stooped when he lost control and pitched forward, falling to the ground.

Although Qiu Feng, the Imperial Physician’s daughter, quickly helped him up and onto a chair, Yong Hongzhong’s eyelids drooped, and he was clearly dizzy again.

"What happened?" A young lady in fine clothes gracefully emerged from the crowd. Frowning, she addressed Qiu Feng, "Why has he fainted again?"

Qiu Feng, visibly nervous, nearly bit her tongue. "Reporting to the Commandery Princess, the *Su Wen: Zhi Zhen Yao Da Lun* states: All instances of wind, agitation, and vertigo are associated with the Liver. The Fengchi acupoint is on the Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian and is a meeting point of the Foot Shaoyang and Yangwei Meridians. It functions to pacify the liver and extinguish wind, clear heat and resolve the exterior, and clear the head and brighten the eyes. Two more needles should be applied to the Fengchi acupoint, along with moxibustion. That should resolve it."

Commandery Princess?

The surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar. The somewhat chubby student beside Li Ang stared, dumbfounded, at the finely dressed young lady, his lips trembling.

Li Ang’s eyelids twitched upon hearing the title "Commandery Princess," but before he could dwell on it, Qiu Feng had already taken a moxa pillar woven from mugwort from her medicine chest. She was about to light it with the candle to apply it to Yong Hongzhong.

"Wait a moment." Moxibustion could cause pain and potentially fatal wound infections. Li Ang felt compelled to step forward and said clearly, "Perhaps you’ll allow me to take a look?"