Over mij

Xinglin betekent vertaald "abrikozenbomenbos" en het verhaal daarachter heeft te maken met de onbaatzuchtigheid welke de arts Dong Feng (220 n.C. - 280 n.C.) ten toon spreidde.

De onbaatzuchtigheid voor het gewone volk

Before he became prime minister of the Song Dynasty distinguished Confucian Fan Zhongyan declared that he would like to be either a prime minister or doctor, because these two positions were the best chance to work for the benefit of the common people. He thus became a Confucian role model. Confucianism advocated peace and stability for common people through benevolent governance, achieved by entering officialdom. However, not every Confucian could achieve this goal and many opted instead for medicine, as a doctor’s work of providing peace of mind and stability to the common people through restoring and maintaining their health had a similarly social function.

Many ancient TCM doctors regarded their work of saving lives as a sacred task rather than a livelihood or profession. Zhang Zhongjing achieved a high municipal level in his official career, but never gave up his medical practice. He would deal with his official duties while at the same time seeing patients. When objections were raised, he resigned from his post as governor of Changsha to devote himself to medicine.

Hua Tuo was a tragic example of a truly upright TCM doctor. He was executed by Cao Cao as punishment for sticking to his principles of serving the broad masses of people. Cao Cao had chronic trigeminal pain that no other doctor could treat. After receiving acupuncture from Hua Tuo, he felt much better, and asked him to be his personal doctor. Hua Tuo made an excuse and left. Cao Cao sent his men to bring him back several times, but Hua Tuo refused. In anger, Cao Cao eventually had Hua Tuo captured and killed.

Dong Feng was an ancient doctor of a fame equal to that of Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo. He spent a good part of his life on Jiangxi’s Mount Lu dispensing medicine to the local people. He never accepted cash payments, instead asking that in return for curing a serious case the family plant five apricot trees on the mountain slope, and in ordinary cases just one. Within a few years more than 100,000 apricot trees had been planted on the mountain. Dong Feng bartered apricots for grain that he would often give to poor people and refugees fleeing famine. It is recorded that within one year Dong Feng saved and helped over 20,000 people. Apricot Forest later became the epithet for medical circles.