Academic Achievements
Hua Tuo was very skilled in medicine. He pioneered the use of general anesthesia to perform surgical operations, and was honored by later generations as the "originator of surgery." He was not only proficient in prescriptions, but also in acupuncture. His attainments in moxibustion and moxibustion are also very admirable. Every time he uses moxibustion, he only takes one or two acupuncture points and applies moxibustion to seven or eight acupuncture points, and the disease is cured. When using acupuncture, he only uses acupuncture. One or two acupuncture points, tell the patient where the needle will feel. Then when the needle feels the place he said, the patient will say "it has arrived", he will pull out the needle, and the disease will be cured immediately. In addition, he The Jiaji acupoint was used, "...point on dozens of places on the back, and the difference is one inch or five inches...the moxibustion point is one inch above and below the Jiaji point."
If there is a disease stagnant in the body, acupuncture and medicine will not be able to do it. Directly reaching the target, he used surgical methods to eliminate the patients. The "Mafei San" he used was the earliest anesthetic in the world's history. Hua Tuo used "Mafei San" in wine to perform abdominal surgery, setting a precedent for general anesthesia surgery. This kind of general anesthesia surgery is unprecedented in the history of Chinese medicine and a rare initiative in the history of world medicine. In terms of diagnosis, Hua Tuo was good at inspection and pulse detection, and based on this, he could correctly judge the prognosis of the disease. In medical sports Hua Tuo also made important contributions in this aspect, creating the famous Wu Qin Xi. Hua Tuo was also good at applying psychological therapy to treat diseases.
It is said that Hua Tuo's medical skills were all burned. His academic thoughts were not completely dead, especially Hua Tuo's research on traditional Chinese medicine. Except for famous prescriptions such as Ma Fei San, all Hua Tuo's prescriptions recorded in later medical books cannot be regarded as fake tributes to Hua Tuo's name (Nie Wentao). His disciple Wu Pu is a famous pharmacologist. Many contents of "Wu Pu's Materia Medica" can be seen in the medical books of later generations.
Hua Tuo's medical skills improved rapidly due to his scientific knowledge, and he became famous far and wide. Just when Hua Tuo was enthusiastic about dedicating his superb medical skills to the people, he rose to prominence. Cao Cao, who was in the turmoil in the Central Plains, heard about it and called him. It turned out that Cao Cao had suffered from a head wind disease in his early years. Every time he had an attack, he had unbearable headaches. He invited many doctors to treat him, but none of them worked. Hearing that Hua Tuo had excellent medical skills, Cao Cao sent him to the hospital. He asked him to treat him. Hua Tuo only gave him an injection and the headache immediately stopped. Cao Cao was afraid that his illness would relapse, so he forced Hua Tuo to stay in Xuchang as his doctor and serve him at his personal disposal. Hua Tuo was of a noble nature and would not Hua Tuo cherished utilitarianism and did not want to be a doctor who was like a servant. Cao Cao wrote several times asking him to come back, and sent local officials to urge him. Hua Tuo also said that his wife was seriously ill and refused to come back. Cao Cao was furious about this, and soon , Hua Tuo was captured and taken to Xuchang to treat Cao Cao. After diagnosing, Hua Tuo said: "The prime minister's illness is very serious, and acupuncture cannot be effective. I think it is better to give you Ma Fei powder, and then open the head. Only by performing surgery can the root cause of the disease be removed." When Cao Cao heard this, he became furious and thought that Hua Tuo was plotting to kill him, so he killed this doctor who had made outstanding contributions to Chinese medicine.
Hua Tuo ( About AD 145-208), a medical scientist in the late Han Dynasty. He was male and his height was about 1.61 meters today. Zi Yuanhua was born in Peiguoqiao (now Qiaocheng District, Bozhou City, Anhui Province). According to research, he was born in the first year of Yongjia in the Han Dynasty (145 AD) and died in the 13th year of Jian'an (208 AD). This research is very doubtful. Because "Book of the Later Han? Biography of Hua Tuo" records that Hua Tuo was "even a hundred years old, but still had a strong appearance, and people at that time thought he was an immortal." It is also said that he lived to be 150 or 60 years old and still remained in his sixties. His appearance is recorded as having white hair and a childlike face. According to this, Hua Tuo may have lived more than sixty-four years. Hua Tuo lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the early Three Kingdoms period. At that time, the warlords were in chaos, floods and droughts occurred, epidemics were prevalent, and the people were in dire straits. At that time, Wang Can, a famous poet, wrote the following two sentences in his "Seven Sorrow Poems": "When I go out, I see nothing, and the bones are covered with bones." This is a true portrayal of the social situation at that time. Witnessing this situation, Hua Tuo hated the feudal tyrants who committed many evil deeds and sympathized with the oppressed and exploited working people. For this reason, he did not want to be an official. He would rather hold the golden hoop and run around to relieve the people's suffering.
Not seeking fame, fortune, or wealth, Hua Tuo was able to concentrate on the research of medicine. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Biography of Hua Tuo" says that he "is also proficient in several classics and knows the art of nourishing one's nature", and is especially "good at prescriptions and medicines". People called him "the miracle doctor". He once compiled his rich medical experience into a medical work called "Qing Sang Jing", but unfortunately it has not been handed down. But it cannot be said that his medical experience was completely lost as a result. Because many of his accomplished students, such as Fan A who is famous for acupuncture, Wu Pu who wrote "Wu Pu's Materia Medica", and Li Dangzhi who wrote "Materia Medica", partly inherited his experience. As for the existing "Zhongzang Jing" by Hua Tuo, it was written by a person from the Song Dynasty and published under his name. But it may also include some of the remaining works of Hua Tuo at that time.
The brilliance of Hua Tuo is that he can critically inherit the academic achievements of his predecessors and create new theories on the basis of summarizing the experience of his predecessors. Chinese medicine had already made brilliant achievements in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Bian Que's elucidation of physiology and pathology can be said to be the culmination of it all. Hua Tuo's knowledge may have developed from Bian Que's theory. At the same time, Hua Tuo also conducted in-depth research on the theories of Zhang Zhongjing at the same time. When he read the tenth volume of "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" written by Zhang Zhongjing, he said happily: "This is a real book written by a living person." It can be seen that Zhang Zhongjing's theory had a great influence on Hua Tuo. Hua Tuo followed the path opened by his predecessors and created a new world in a down-to-earth manner. For example, at that time he discovered the extracorporeal heart compression method and the mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration method. There are many such examples.
The most outstanding ones should be the invention of anesthesia - Mafei Powder for drinking alcohol and the creation of the sports therapy "Five Animals Play".
The use of certain drugs with anesthetic properties as anesthetics was used by people before Hua Tuo. However, they are either used for war, assassination, or execution, but none are actually used for surgery and treatment. Hua Tuo summarized his experience in this area and observed the sleeping state of people when drunk. He invented the anesthesia technique of taking Mafei powder while drinking wine, which was officially used in medicine, thus greatly improving the technology and efficacy of surgical operations and expanding the scope of surgery. The scope of treatment. According to the research of Japanese surgeon Kaoka Qingshu, the composition of Mafei Powder is one liter of Datura flower, four qian each of Aconite root, Angelica sinensis, Angelica dahurica and Chuanxiong root, and Chao Nanxing one qian. Since the introduction of anesthesia, Hua Tuo's surgical operations have become more sophisticated and he has cured more patients. When he encountered abdominal diseases that could not be cured with acupuncture and decoction, he would ask the patients to drink Ma Fei Powder with wine first. After the patient had no consciousness after anesthesia, he would use surgery to cut open the abdomen and back and cut off the diseased tissue. parts. If the disease is in the intestines and stomach, cut it open and wash it, then sew it up and apply ointment. The wound healed in four or five days, and the disease was completely cured in about a month. At that time, Hua Tuo could already perform surgical operations such as tumor removal and gastrointestinal suturing. Once, there was a patient on a trolley who bent his legs and shouted that he had a stomachache. Soon, his breathing became weak and his screams of pain gradually became quieter. Hua Tuo checked his pulse and pressed his belly, and concluded that the patient was suffering from intestinal carbuncle. Because the illness was serious, Hua Tuo immediately gave the patient "Ma Fei Powder" mixed with wine, and after being anesthetized, he operated on him. After treatment, this patient recovered in about a month. His surgical operations have been praised throughout the ages. Chen Jiamo's "Materia Medica Mengquan" of the Ming Dynasty quoted a poem in "Illustrated Praise of Famous Doctors of the Past Dynasties" for a summary: "Wei had Hua Tuo, who established the Sore Department, removed bones to treat diseases, and had many magical effects." It can be seen that later generations respected Hua Tuo as the "originator of surgery," which is worthy of his name.
The "Five Animals Show" is a set of medical gymnastics that can stretch the muscles and joints of the whole body. Hua Tuo believed that "if the human body wants to work,... the blood vessels will flow and diseases will not occur, just like a door hinge, which will eventually become immortal." The movements of Wuqinxi imitate the flapping of the tiger's forelimbs, the stretching and turning of the head and neck of the deer, the lying down and standing up of the bear, the vertical jumping of the ape's toes, the spreading of the wings of the bird, etc. It is said that when Hua Tuo was in Xuchang (the name of the county in Henan Province), he instructed many thin people to do this gymnastics in the open space every day. Said: "Everyone can exercise regularly to get rid of diseases, and sharpen the hoofs and feet for guidance. If the body is unhappy, it will act like a bird, and it will make you sweat. Because it is powdered, the body will be light and you will want to eat."
In addition to systematically accepting ancient medical experience, Hua Tuo also valued and applied folk medical experience. He traveled to many places throughout his life, collecting medicinal herbs and learning medical knowledge from the masses. While looking for medicines from the folk, we also collected many prescriptions from the folk, and these prescriptions were often used to treat diseases. One time, Hua Tuo met a patient with a blocked throat on the road who couldn't eat and was riding for treatment. The patient moaned in great pain. Hua Tuo stepped forward and examined the patient carefully, and then said to him: "You can ask the cake seller on the roadside for three taels of duckweed, add half a bowl of sour vinegar, mix it, and eat it, and the disease will naturally heal." The patient pressed him. If you eat fennel and vinegar, you will immediately spit out a snake-like parasite, and the disease will be really cured. The patient hung the insect on the side of the car and went to Hua Tuo to express his gratitude. Hua Tuo's child happened to be playing in front of the door. When he saw it, he said, "That must be the patient my father cured." The patient walked into Hua Tuo's house and saw dozens of similar insects hanging on the wall. Hua Tuo has cured many patients with this folk prescription.
Hua Tuo's medical skills improved rapidly due to his academic skills, and he became famous far and wide. His fellow countryman Cao Cao often suffered from head wind and asked many doctors to treat him, but none worked. Hearing that Hua Tuo had excellent medical skills, he asked him to treat him. Hua Tuo only gave him an injection and his headache stopped immediately. Cao Cao was afraid that his illness would relapse, so he forced Hua Tuo to stay in Xuchang as his doctor and at his personal disposal. Hua Tuo had a noble nature and did not seek utilitarianism, so he did not want to be a doctor who was like a servant. In addition, he "missed home" and said he would go back to his hometown to find a prescription and never return. Cao Cao wrote several times asking him to come back and sent local officials to urge him. Hua Tuo also said that his wife was seriously ill and refused to come back. Cao Cao was furious about this and sent people to Hua Tuo's hometown to investigate. He said to the people sent there: "If Hua Tuo's wife is really sick, give Xiaodou 40 hu of dendrobium and extend the holiday. If it is "false", she will be arrested and punished." Soon, Hua Tuo was captured and taken to Xuchang , Cao Cao still asked him to treat his illness. After Hua Tuo made the diagnosis, he said: "The prime minister's illness is very serious, and acupuncture cannot be effective. I think it is better to give you Mafei powder, then cut open the skull and perform surgery. Only in this way can the root cause of the disease be removed." Upon hearing this, Cao Cao said, He was furious, pointed at Hua Tuo and yelled: "If the head is cut open, can a person still live?" He thought Hua Tuo was plotting to kill him, so he put Hua Tuo in prison and prepared to kill him. One of Cao Cao's counselors requested: "Tuo Fang's skills are really good, and people's lives are at stake, so we should forgive him." Cao Cao refused to listen and said, "Don't worry, there should be no such evil rats in the world?" He actually killed this doctor who had made great contributions to medicine. Before he died, Hua Tuo handed the medical papers he had compiled in prison to the prison boss and said: "This can save someone alive." Unexpectedly, the prison chief was afraid and did not dare to accept it. Hua Tuo had no choice but to endure the pain and "ask for fire".
It has been more than 1,700 years since Hua Tuo was killed, but the people will always miss him.
There is the Hua Tuo Memorial Tomb in Xuzhou, Jiangsu; there is the Huazu Temple in Peixian County. A couplet in the temple expresses the author's feelings and summarizes Hua Tuo's life: