Bian Que, Miracle-Working Doctor of Ancient China, Demands Professional Standing

When King Wuwang [r. BC 310-307] of the Qin State fell ill he summoned the well-known doctor, Bian Que. The king described his symptoms to Bian Que and then asked for his treatment.

Despite the fact that Bian Que was stood in front of the court officials they still advised the king not to receive any medical treatment from him. They argued that because the symptoms that had surfaced were situated between his eyes and ears that it was too sensitive an area and was also too vital an area for one to receive treatment on. They felt that Bian Que might not be able to cure this complicated illness and that the king would be taking a serious risk of damaging both his eyes and ears. Bian Que was so offended upon hearing these words that he smashed his medical stone, and told the king, “Your Majesty asked a medical doctor for medical treatment, but allowed those who are not medical doctors to interfere with my medical operations. If you rule the country in the same fashion, you will ruin the country in no time!” The king then obediently received Bian Que’s medical treatment.

Unfortunately, Bian Que’s demonstration of his excellent medical skills later led to his death. Li Meng, the court physician, saw that his medical skills weren’t as good as Bian Que’s. He became so jealous of Bian Que that he secretly assassinated him. The famous historian Sima Qian expressed his deep sympathy over Bian Que under, “The Biography of Bian Que” in his book The Book of History, “An unattractive lady with a narrow mind will become jealous of other court ladies’ beauty in the palace. An uncompetitive court official without moral values will suspect that everyone will surpass him in the royal court.”

For a thousand years, the miracle doctor Bian Que has been loved and respected by many generations of people. Bian Que travelled a distance of approximately 2,000 kilometres during his life. Along that route people of many different generations have built a mausoleum, a monument, and a temple to commemorate him.

This story was based on a passage recorded in classical Chinese in, “The Book of Qin Dynasty” in The Record of the Warring States.

Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/11/19/19314.html