Bian Que circa The first physician in China
3 min readBian Que was originally the name of a fabled doctor during the period of the Yellow Emperor，who reigned from 2697-2597 BC.But later，people gave the name to Qin Yueren，widely regarded as the first medical doctor and physician in ancient China.
Qin lived during the Warring States Period（475-221 BC）.
He first came into contact with medicine when he was a teenager working in an inn.
One day，a guest suddenly fell sick.It happened that a folk doctor was staying in the inn at the same time.Young Qin went to ask the doctor for help.After examining the sick guest，the doctor prescribed a herbal concoction which proved to be a quick, effective cure for the patient.
Qin was so amazed by the wonderful skill of the folk doctor that he decided to become his apprentice.
In the following years, Qin traveled with the folk doctor.
During the day, he carried out chores while watching closely how his master treated patients. At night, he jotted down what he had observed as well as his own understanding and thinking.
Thanks to his learning power and hard work, Qin himself soon became a very famous doctor and physician and people began to call him Bian Que, the highest honor for a doctor in ancient times.
Apart from the traditional medical skills he had learned from other doctors and experiences, Bian Que also invented his own methods. For instance, he founded the “Four Diagnostic Methods,”namely, looking (or observing a patient’s com-plexion and tongue), listening(to a patient’s voice and breath-ing patterns), inquiring (about a patient’s physical conditions and symptoms) and taking(a patient’s pulse). Even today, the four methods remain a foundation for diagnoses in traditional Chinese medicine.
Using his exceptional medical skills, he once brought a “dead”man back to life.
According to the legend, one day he traveled to the State of Guo and saw many people mourning in the streets. Bian Que asked one of them what had happened. He was told that a prince of the state, the designated heir to the duke, had just died of no apparent illness.
Bian Que decided to have a look. After introducing him-self to the duke of the state, he was led to the body of theprince. Following careful examination, Bian Que told the duke that the prince was only in a “feigned death.”After giving the patient acupuncture and force-feeding him a prescribed herbal tea, the prince came back to life a moment later and after two more days of treatment, he had fully recovered.
Bian Que is ascribed authorship of”Internal Canon of Medicine，”“External Canon of Medicine”and“Bian Que’sPrescriptions Approved by First Yellow Emperor.”Today，many Chinese medical practices are still based on his princi-ples of healing.
In 310BC，Bian Que was assassinated by Li Mi，a royal medical officer in the State of Qin out of professional jealousy.
Today，Bian Que remains a household name in China andtemples.Even some popular Chinese idioms，such as“起死回生”（qi si hui sheng）or“Bringing the dying back to life”and“讳疾忌医”（hui ji ji yi）or”Concealing one’s ail-ment and shying away from doctors，”are attributed to this legendary doctor.
