BIOGRAPHIES OF
CANG GONG* AND BIAN-QUE**

by Si-ma Qian***

from the Enumerated Biographies (Lie Chuan) Chapter 49

in the Historical Records (Shi Ji)****

Shinjiro's Notes

*: Cang Gong was an official position to keep records of money and grains. Real name was Chun Yu-yi. He was the first doctor in China, who kept clinical records.

**: Bian-que: magpie: Considered as the originator of the pulse diagnosis system. Some believe he wrote the Eighty-one Difficulties (Nan Jing). His family name was Qin, his given name was Yue-ren (person from Yue). According to researchers, "Bian-que" was a name of a group of doctors which practiced medicine in hundreds of years.

***: Si-ma Qian: 145-86?B.C.: Historian. Under Emperor Wu (Crowned 141 - 87 B.C.) of the Early Han Dynasty (202 B.C. - 8 A.D.), he became the Chief of the Court Historians, In 99 B.C., he was executed by the emperor and became an eunuch. He finished his father’s work, the Shi Ji (Historical Records) with the 70 biographies of the important figures.

****:Shi Ji Lie Chuan 49: The Shi Ji (Historical Records, 97 B.C.?) has the 70 biographies of the important figures (Lie Chuan).

BIOGRAPHIES OF CANG GONG AND BIAN-QUE

Bian-que was from Zheng in Bo-hai County (Shan-tong Province, today). His family name was Qin; his given name was Yue-ren.

When he was young, he was employed as the chief manager of a guest house. There was a guest, whose name was Zhang Sang-jun, who used to drop by (the guest house). Bian-que and only Bian-que regarded Zhang as a special guest and always treated him with consideration. Zhang Sang-jun also recognized that Bian-que was not an ordinary man. He visited the guest house off and on for more than ten years. One day, he called Bian-que into his room privately and they quietly chatted together.

Zhang Sang-jun said,
“I know some secret (medical) tricks. I’m very old now, so I want to teach you those tricks. Please keep the secrets.”
Bian-que respectfully agreed. Then Zhang Sang-ju took out some medicine from his pocket and gave it to Bian-que saying,
“If you take this with the water from the upper pond*, you will gain the power of knowing things, within thirty days.”

*: upper pond: some translates “dew.”

Also he took out all of his books on secret medical techniques, gave them to Bian-que and then disappeared suddenly. His manner was almost not human.
Bian-que took the medicine for thirty days as Zhang Sang-ju told him and then he became able to see a man passing behind a fence. When he saw a person with an illness, with his knowledge he could find all any lumps within the five organs. He became known especially for his knowledge of pulse diagnosis. He

became a doctor and visited sometimes Qi* and other times Zhao**. He was called Bian-que when he was in Zhao.

*: Qi; A country existed between 386 and 221 B.C.

**: Zhao: The early Zhao existed between 304 and 329 B.C., and the Later Zhao, 319 and 351 B.C.

It was during the era of Majesty Zhao in the Jin Dynasty*, when all feudal lords were strong and the royal families were weak, that Zhao Jian-zi became a feudal lord and governed the country. Once Jian-zi suffered from an illness and lost consciousness for five days.

*: Jin Dynasty: There were 3 Jin dynasties in the ancient China. The first was 632?-376 B.C.. The second Jin was 265-316 A.D. The third Jin was the East Jin, 317-419. The Jin Dynasty with Majesty Zhao was the first one.

All the feudal lords were worried for Jian-zi’s life and they called Bian-que. Bian-que went into the bedroom and saw the patient, then came out. Dong An-yu (one of the feudal lords) asked Bian-que (about his diagnosis.) Bian-que answered,
“His xue mai* (blood vein)are fine. Why do you worry? In ancient times, Majesty Mu of the Qin Dyansty once woke up after sleeping for seven days, just like this patient. When he woke up he told Gong Sun-zhi and Zi Yu,

“I have visited the Lord of Heaven and enjoyed very much. The reason I have stayed there so long was that there were lots of things to learn. The Lord told me, “The country of the Jin Dynasty shall have a rough time. Until the fifth generation, there will be no peace. After that period, the Dynasty will try to become a conqueror. People (of Jin) shall die without aging. The children of conquerors will rape and kill men and women of your country.”

*xue mai: It could be Blood Pulse, but in the next segment, this word means “blood vein.”

Gong Sun-zhi wrote this (his master’s words) down as a document. It was the beginning of the Records of the Jin Dynasty. After this came the revolt of Lord Xian of the Jin Dynasty, the conquest of Lord Wen, then Lord Xiang defeated the army of Qin and Yao, raping and killing people before going back to his country. You all know those things happened. Now, your Lord is in his bed just as in that case. After three days, he will surely be healed. Then if you ask him questions, he will surely answer you.”
Two and a half days later, Jian-zi woke up. He told all the lords,
“I have visited the Lord of Heaven and enjoyed very much. I played with a hundred gods in the Palace of the Lord, (where they) played many kinds of music with many instruments, (and they) danced many kinds of dances. It cannot be compared with our ancient music of the Three Dynasties. Their melody moved my heart. There was a brown bear that tried to drag me. The Lord ordered me to shoot it. I shot the bear. It died. The Lord was pleased with me and gave me two boxes. The two (boxes) were paired. I saw a child by the side of the Lord. The Lord offered me a dog from Di and told me, “When your son becomes old, give this to him.” Then the Lord told me, “The rule of the country of Jin is going to decline. It shall fall at its seventh generation. Your family name, Ying, shall be widespread. You will defeat people of Zhou at the west of Fan-kui, and not only that, you will keep them from ever reclaiming that land again.”
Dang An-yu listened to (his master’s) words and wrote them down, then kept them. He told Bian-que’s words to Jian-zi. Jian-zi offered Bian-que forty thousand mu (seven million acres) of rice fields.
After this, Bian-que passed by Guo*. The prince of Guo* had died.

*: A country existed in the 7th century B.C., China, untill 655 B.C. Notice it was 300 years before Zhao and Qi. Thus some believe Bian-que should not be “a” doctor, but several doctors under the same name.

Bian-que went to the gate of the palace of Guo and asked an officer who had medical knowledge,
“What kind of illness did your prince suffer from? There are out of ordinary treatments and prayers among the people.”

The officer answered, “The illness of our prince was that his Qi and Blood were against the seasons, confused and clogged. They exploded outward and caused Zhong Hai (middle hazard). His vigor and spirit could not stop Evil Qi and Evil Qi accumulated and could not be expelled. That was when his pulses

were Slow Yang and Rapid Yin. This was the reason why suddenly his Qi flowed backward and he died.”
Bian-que asked, “When did he die?”
He answered, “This dawn.”
Bian-que asked, “Did they put him in a coffin?”
He answered, “Not yet. It hasn’t been more than a half day yet since he died.”
Bian-que told him, “I am Qin Yue-ren from Bo-hai of Zhai. I live in Zhen. I have never been able to be in front of your lord, but I heard the prince died unfortunately. I can try to revive him.”

The officer said, “Doctor, it can’t be true. How could you say that you can revive him? I once heard that, in ancient days, there was a doctor called Yu-fu1*. He didn’t treat patients with decocted soups, herb wines, stone needles, Dao Yin**, massages nor plasters, but he glanced at the symptoms of patients and detected the causes in the Shu points of the five organs. Then he cut the skin, operated on the flesh and opened the flow of stagnated veins (mai) and connected the muscles (jin). He massaged (nuo: press or rub) marrows (sui) and brains (nao). He grudged (she) the diaphragm (huang mu). He washed (jian huan) stomachs and intestines by pouring water. He rinsed (shu jing) five organs. He refined vigor and changed the bodies. If your skill is just like his, maybe you can revive our prince. But if your skill is far from that and you want to try to revive our prince, then you should not tell that even to the babies who just started to laugh.”

* : Yu-fu: Medical expert in the ancient China: According to the Extra Biographies of Poems in the Han Dynasty (403-230 BC) (Han Shi Wai Zhuan), he practiced mostly surgical operations.
**: Dao Yin: Dynamic Qi-gong.

Bian-que, after a while, looked up at the sky and sighed, “Your way of medicine is just like looking at

the sky through a tube or reading a book through a chink (in a wall). My way of medicine is not waiting to palpate pulses, nor to look at the complexion, nor to listen to the voice and describe the appearance. I point out the locations of the illnesses (at a glance) and if the illness is Yang then I guess to find the Yin of it. If the illness is Yin then I guess to find the Yang of it. The symptom of the illness appears on the surface (biao). I can find lots of illnesses without taking the trouble to examine the patients. I have no time to argue with you. If you doubt my words, then you should go in and check your prince by yourself. You will find his ears ringing and the wings of his nose swelling. When you rub both of his thighs to his genitals you will feel the warmth there.��
The officer��s eyes were blinking and his tongue was stiffened and fixed when he heard Bian-que’s story. He went into the palace and told the Ruler of Guo about Bian-que. The Ruler of Guo was surprised very much by this and he came out to see Bian-que at the middle gate.
“I used to listen to your great lectures secretly in the past. I have never had the honor of having your acquaintance. What luck, you passed by our country and are going to take care of our prince. What great luck for a vassal of the remote country. If we have you, ow, and his tears fell down on his cheeks. He couldn’t stop crying and his visage changed.

Bian-que told him,
“The illness of your prince is a kind of, so called, Shi Gui (a kicking corpse).

[Shinjiro’s Note: It is very difficult to understand Bian-que’s theory, or what Si-ma Qian interpreted as Bian-que’s theory. I do not have confidence in my translation, hereinafter.]

When Yang goes into Yin, it moves the stomach, then it follows along the middle Warps (jing)* up, and (goes to) the Wei connecting-vessels (luo). Then it is separated from them and goes down to the bladder of San Jiao (triple scorcher). This causes Yang Warps (jing) to fall down and Yin Warps (jing) to go up. All Hui Qi (meeting Qi) will be shut off and stagnated. Yin goes up and Yang goes inside. The lower body throbs inside and does not move. The upper body will be shut off from the outside and will not function. The upper body has the connecting-choroids (luo) of the extinct Yang (jue Yang) and the lower body has the Blood vessels (niu: string) of the broken Yin (po Yin). When the symptoms of the broken Yin and the extinct Yang disappear, the pulse (mai) becomes chaotic. That is why his body looks very quiet, as if he died. He is still alive. When Yang goes into the Yin criss-crossing (zhi lan) organs, the patient will survive but when Yin goes into the Yang criss-crossing (zhi lan) organs, the patient will die. These cases all occur suddenly when Yin and Yang flow backward, inside the five organs. The good doctor will find this and the bad doctor will wonder about it.”

*:jing: Habitually translated as Meridian or Channel, but I use “a warp" of a loom.
Bian-que told his disciple, Zi-yang, to hone needles and inserted them on the outside three Yang and five Hui points of the prince.

After a while, the prince revived. Then Bian-que made (his disciple) Zi-bao make five fen* plasters, mixing the eight sedations and decocted them. Then he let (Zi-bao) apply the poultice to both armpits, one at a time, alternately.

*: fen: One tenth or one hundredth.

The prince sat up and his Yin and Yang started to balance. After only two dosages of a decoction (not specified), the prince recovered his health. This is why people all over the world say Bian-que can revive even the dead.

Bian-que said,
“I, Yue-ren, did not revive the dead. Yue-ren just helped to wake up the person who can survive.”

When Bian-que passed by Qi, Sir Huan of Qi treated him as a guest. When Bian-que went into the palace and was received in audience by Sir Huan, he (Bianque) said to Sir Huan,
“Sir, you are ill. It is in the Cou Li (skin). If you don’t treat now, it shall go deeper.”
Sir Huan answered, “I do not have any illness.”
Bian-que left there. Sir Huan told the people to his left and right,
“The doctor who loves profit wants to treat a healthy person and make money.”
Five days later, Bian-que visited Sir Huan again and told him, “Sir, you are ill. It is in your Xue Mai (blood vein) now. If you don’t treat now, it might go deeper.”
Sir Huan answered him, “I do not have any illness.”
Bian-que left there. Sir Huan was not pleased at him. Five days later, Bian-que visited again and told him,
“Sir, you are ill. It is between your stomach and intestines. If you don’t treat now, it is going deeper.”
Sir Huan did not answer him. Bian-que left there. Sir Huan was not pleased at him. Another five days passed, Bian-que visited again but when he saw Sir Huan from afar he ran away from there. Sir Huan let his man go (get Bian-que and) ask him why. Bian-que answered,
“When the disease is in the skin, the decocted herbs and plasters can reach it. When it is in the Blood vessel, needles can reach it. When it is between the stomach and intestines, herbal liquors can reach it. But when it goes into the bone marrow, even God cannot do anything about it. Now his illness is in his bone marrow, that is why I do not have anything to say to him.”
Five days later, Sir Huan’s body fell ill and he sent his man to find Bian-que, but Bian-que had left the country already to run away. Sir Huan died at last.

When the sage could realize a small change (in your health) beforehand and (you let) the good doctor treat (you) fast enough, then that illness could be healed and the body could survive. People complain that there are so many diseases, but the doctors complain that there are so little ways to treat. Thus, there are six incurable illnesses. The first incurable illness is arrogance, not discussing health logically. The second incurable illness is negligence of health, attaching importance to wealth. The third incurable illness is insufficient food and clothing. The fourth incurable illness is when Yin conjugates with Yang and the organ’s Qi becomes unstable. The fifth incurable illness is the body being too tired to take medicine. The sixth incurable illness is to believe the psychic medium and not believing the doctors. If any one of them exists, then it is serious and hard to cure.

Bian-que was known all over the world. When he passed Han-dan, he became a gynecologist, because he heard that they admire ladies in this country. When he passed Luo-yang, he heard that people of Zhoe love older people, and he became a specialist of eyes, ears and Bi syndrome. When he came to Xian-yang, he heard theat people of Qin love children, so he became a pediatrician. He followed the habits of the places and changed his specialties.

The Minister of Health of Qin, Li Xi, realized his skills were inferior to Bian-que’s and sent a man to assassinate Bian-que. Even today, when people all over the world talk about the pulses, it is because of Bian-que’s distinguished services.

(End of the Bian-que’s Biography)

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No part of this site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher. Mail Address: shinjiro@shanghanlun.us