Chapter 28: Treating Illness and Teaching Apprentices

  The first patient to come in was a sixty-year-old man, supported by a young boy. As soon as they came in, the boy hastily said to Wang Zhi: "Doctor Wang, please take a look at my grandfather quickly, he has been coughing constantly for some time and it's getting worse."

  "Sit!" Wang Zhi smiled lightly and asked the old man to sit down, then began to take his pulse.

  About a minute later, Wang Zhi let go of the old man's wrist and said in a low voice: "The elderly should have had a cough and expectoration for many years, with symptoms worsening in winter, accompanied by shortness of breath, chest tightness, it should be lung-spleen-kidney qi-yin deficiency, also known as obstructive pulmonary emphysema in Western medicine, the main treatment is to tonify the lungs, spleen and kidneys, nourish yin."

  At this point, Wang Zhi turned his head and looked at Qian Senhu, saying: "How should this symptom be treated with medicine?"

  Qiansen Hu heard Wang Zhi ask himself, thought for a moment and hastily said: "You can use 3 qian of Fentazi Sen, 6 qian of Mai Dong, 2 qian of Wu Wei Zi, 3 qian of Shu Di Huang, 3 qian of Shan Yu Rou, 3 qian of Shan Yao, 3 qian of Dan Pi, and 6 qian of Fu Ling. Decoct them together for use."

  "Well, that's fine. Add two qian of Ze Xie and six qian of Dan Shen to the prescription." Wang Zhi nodded in satisfaction and said.

  "Alright, Master." Qian Senhu quickly wrote out a prescription, thinking about the two medicines Wang Zhijia had mentioned.

  Wang Zhi took the prescription from Qian Senhu and looked at it for a moment before saying to the young man, "Your grandfather's illness is chronic, so be sure to take the medicine on time. Let the old man exercise more, do less physical labor, and avoid catching colds."

  After sending the old man away, Wang Zhi began to receive the next patient.

  The patient was a measles patient. Wang Zhi examined him while explaining to Qian Senhu: "This disease is divided into three stages, the first stage is the latent period, which lasts from six to eighteen days. The second stage is the prodromal period, generally lasting three to four months, with the most obvious symptom being fever...

  The third stage is the rash stage, which lasts about two to five days. It usually starts on the fourth day of fever, beginning behind the ears and spreading to the forehead and cheeks, then rapidly spreading downwards to reach the limbs, palms, soles, and nose tip, marking the completion of the rash.

  This disease can be treated with traditional Chinese medicine, the first step is to clear the lung and relieve the exterior, use Forsythia suspensa, Lonicera japonica, Pueraria root each 2.5 grams, Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Cimicifuga foetida, Bupleurum chinense, Phyllostachys nigra, Peucedanum praeruptorum each 2 grams decocted and taken orally. The second step is to clear heat and detoxify, assisted by relieving itching, use Saussurea lappa, Cicada moulting, Pueraria root... The third step is for the recovery period treatment, the pathogenesis is to tonify Qi and nourish Yin, clear remaining evil, use......

  Wang Zhi looked at Qian Senhu and said, "Is there a way to reverse this illness that you know of?"

  Qiansen Hu scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Although he had graduated for more than a year, he had almost no experience in treatment. During this period, he still asked Wang Zhi for advice on many things and could only treat some simple injuries such as rheumatism. To be honest, if it were Western medicine, Qiansen Hu knew a bit about it, but when it came to traditional Chinese medicine, it was a bit difficult.

  Ignoring the money, Dr. Wang wrote a medical record for the patient and arranged for the patient to be hospitalized first. Although this disease is simple, if it is not treated in time or neglected, it may cause some complications, so hospitalization is the most secure way.

  Seeing the patient off, Wang Zhi smiled and looked at Qian Senhu: "All kinds of diseases have their causes. This disease is essentially just an invasion of evil cold, belonging to a type of injury cold."

  Medical books say: "Yang deficiency gives rise to external cold, yin deficiency gives rise to internal heat. Yang prosperity gives rise to external heat. All yang qi is received from the upper jiao (burner) to warm and nourish the skin and flesh between. Now, cold air invades from outside, making the upper jiao unable to spread and yang qi unable to fully reach out to warm and nourish the skin and flesh. As a result, cold air stays alone on the surface of the muscles, leading to symptoms such as chills and eczema.

  The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon says that yin and yang are the general laws of the universe, the outline of all things, the origin of change, and the foundation of life and death. There is great reason in this. In treating diseases, one must seek out the root of the changes in the disease, and the principle is nothing more than the two words yin and yang. Taking natural phenomena as an analogy, clear yang energy gathers above to form heaven, while murky yin energy accumulates below to form earth. Yin is relatively still, while yang is relatively active; yang governs birth and growth, while yin governs maturation and storage. Yang can transform and generate power, while yin can construct and form the body. When cold reaches its extreme, it gives rise to heat; when heat reaches its extreme, it gives rise to cold. Cold energy can produce murky yin, while hot energy can produce clear yang. If clear yang energy resides below and does not ascend, then diarrhea will occur. If murky yin energy resides above and does not descend, then distension and fullness will occur. This is the normal and abnormal transformation of yin and yang, and therefore diseases also have distinctions between reverse and regular symptoms.

  "When treating, one must diagnose and treat based on the cause of the disease. I've already mentioned the principle of treating according to symptoms, you should also infer the principle of treating against symptoms."

  "This master, is it to clear heat and detoxify, to ventilate the lungs and open the orifices, to clear heat and detoxify, to benefit the throat and open the orifices, to calm the liver and extinguish wind, to clear the nutrient and detoxify?" Qian Senhu originally was not foolish, after Wang Zhi's hint he suddenly understood.

  "Hmm, this is not bad. Whether it's a symptom or a counter-symptom, the cause of the disease is the same. Remember, the way of traditional Chinese medicine is also ever-changing and always revolves around the cause of the disease. No matter how you change the prescription or treatment, they all revolve around the cause." Wang Zhi explained in detail, then invited the next patient to come in.

  This time, Wang Zhi gave a detailed explanation to Qian Senhu for each patient, from pulse diagnosis and observation of the tongue to pathological inference and finally to differential treatment. Qian Senhu listened comfortably, but the patients outside were somewhat puzzled. Many people had heard that Dr. Wang's treatment was fast and effective, but this time it seemed a bit slow.

  Although these people were somewhat puzzled, no one complained. After all, Dr. Wang was able to carefully and slowly diagnose and treat them, which was naturally better.

  Wang Zhi was treating patients inside, and it was almost time to get off work, but there were still more than a dozen patients waiting. At this time, Wang Zhi naturally sped up the pace, no way, patients come once not easy, if today is not their turn, then they have to come again tomorrow.

  It's finally okay, Wang Zhi intentionally sped up and finished seeing all the patients before getting off work. As he walked out of the clinic with Qian Senhu, Wang Zhi asked in a low voice, "What did you gain today?"

  "This," Qian Shentu said with some embarrassment, "still has its gains, it's just that they can't be put into words."

  "Is that right?" Wang Zhi smiled contentedly: "True gain and understanding are one's own, only when you have your own will you understand, it's normal if you can't say it out loud, just remember, the way of traditional Chinese medicine lies in cultivating the mind, a calm mind leads to deep understanding, a restless mind leads to shallow understanding."

  "Alright, Master." Qian Senhu nodded and asked with some confusion: "Master, isn't it said that traditional Chinese medicine has the principle of monarch-minister-assistant-cooler, what's this about?"

  “Haha,” Wang Zhi smiled lightly and said: “The various organs of the human body are like a court, with the heart being the monarch, governing the whole body. A person's spirit, consciousness, thinking, and activities all originate from here. The lungs are the prime minister, assisting the monarch, regulating the body's activities through the breath. The liver is in charge of anger, like a brave general, called the general official, with strategies originating from here. The xinzhong (heart governor) protects the heart and receives its orders, it is the ministerial official, transmitting the joy and happiness of the heart. The spleen and stomach are in charge of receiving and digesting food, they are the warehouse officials, relying on their functions to absorb and transport the flavors of yin and yang. The large intestine is the transmission official, passing on the dregs of food, transforming them into feces and expelling them from the body. The small intestine is the reception official, receiving the food from the stomach and further differentiating between clear and turbid. The kidneys are the strong officials, enabling people to exert strength and produce various skills. The sanjiao (triple warmer) is the decision-making official, able to circulate waterways. The bladder is the state capital official, storing up fluids, through the action of qi, only then can urine be eliminated.”

  Wang Zhi paused for a moment and continued: "These zang-fu organs in this small court of one's own composition, each has its corresponding functions and roles, and in treatment, it is naturally necessary to distinguish between them..."

  Qiansen Hu listened attentively as Wang Zhi spoke, carefully remembering in his heart that although what Wang Zhi said were all basics, they were also very significant.

  Wang Zhi looked at Qian Senhu's serious expression and was also satisfied in his heart. Although Qian Senhu is a smooth talker, he has a good heart and is very interested in traditional Chinese medicine. Otherwise, even if Wang Zhi had the intention, it would be difficult for Qian Senhu to achieve great success.

  PS: Hehe, I'm feeling a bit dizzy today, probably because I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. Sorry to say that I'll only be updating once today, but I'll try my best to make up for it later. Thank you to all the book friends for your support and comments, I hope everyone will continue to work hard and bring Chinese medicine to the top! Hehe is also taking time out to recharge and write a Chinese medicine novel that everyone will like.

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