Here
is my translation of a story about a famous, ancient Chinese doctor. The
original Chinese text is in my old textbook from the NTNU Mandarin Training Center
in Taipei: Stories from Chinese History,
Volume I.
The Legend of Bian Que
Bian
Que was a famous doctor during the Spring and Autumn Period. At the time,
everyone believed that he could immediately heal any difficult illness. But Bian
Que did not agree with such praise. He said, “I am not a miraculous doctor, who
is able to resurrect the dead; I can only heal those whose lives should not yet
end.”
He
traveled around healing people, and eventually he came to the State of Qi. Marquis
Huan of the State of Qi wanted to see this world-famous doctor, and he sent
people to Bian Que to invite him to the Marquis’s home as a guest. When Bian
Que saw the Marquis, he discovered that the coloring of the Marquis’s face was
somewhat abnormal. After observing him for awhile, Bian Que earnestly said to
Marquis Huan of the State of Qi: “I will not lie to you. You are ill now, but
fortunately, the illness is not yet serious. The poison is only in your skin.
Please allow me to heal you!”
When
Marquis Huan heard Bian Que say that he was ill, he became very angry, and he
thought that Bian Que was cursing him. Hence, he rudely said to Bian Que: “I am
not ill.” Bian Que had wanted to be helpful, but instead, he had been rebuffed.
He felt forced to leave quickly. After Bian Que was gone, Marquis Huan proudly
told his retainers: “Doctors are all like that. You are not really sick, but
they pretend to heal you, so that you will give them money and feel grateful to
them.”
After
Bian Que had gone home, he worried about Marquis Huan’s illness. Five days
later, he went without invitation to visit the Marquis. As soon as he saw
Marquis Huan, Bian Que knew that things were not good. He said to the Marquis:
“The illness has spread from your skin to your blood vessels. If you do not get
treatment, I am afraid it will get worse.” The Marquis thought, “This fellow
has come to play that same trick on me.” He impatiently said to Bian Que: “I
already told you that I am not ill!”
After
another five days, Bian Que could not resist going to see the Marquis again.
The Marquis’s illness was visibly worse than it had been previously. Bian Que
begged the Marquis: “Get treatment soon! The poison has entered your inner
organs, but you still can be healed with great difficulty.” Marquis Huan
completely ignored Bian Que; with a flourish of his sleeves he went into his
chamber. Bian Que had to leave the place.
Because
of his sense of responsibility, Bian Que still felt forced to visit the Marquis
after yet another five days. As soon as he walked through the door, he saw
Marquis Huan and was astonished. He turned around and walked out. Marquis Huan
felt that this time there was something strange, and so he sent a messenger to
ask Bian Que. Bian Que said to the messenger: “When an illness is in the skin
or blood vessels, it can be healed with medicine or acupuncture. Even when the
illness has progressed to the inner organs, I can still think of ways to heal
it. But now the illness has entered the bones and marrow; there is no way to
cure it. Therefore, I have nothing to say to Marquis Huan. It was best for
me to leave immediately.”
Five
days after this, Marquis Huan of the State of Qi felt very ill. He sent people
to invite Bian Que to examine him, but Bian Que had secretly departed many days
previously. Soon after this, Marquis Huan died, as expected.
1 comment:
Nice story...
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