Sitting in O'Hare airport, en route to Washington DC, a million thoughts coursed through my mind. Prominently among them, space and place and the way things are arranged in the U.S. always seems so strange to me. Yet, noticing them and my own liminality merely reminds me that anthropology is almost as deeply ingrained within me as medicine, healing and the discourse therein.
Nevertheless, sitting by the window in the terminal, a man captured my attention almost inexplicably. Within a few moments after I began to focus on the path ahead, Chinese (Mandarin) filled the air. Then lost in the paperwork for the summit, without thinking, I immediately answered his question. Almost instantaneously, the conversation transfromed from introductions and turned to his family in Shanghai, to his upbringing and his deviation from what he once believed to be merely "cultural beliefs and practice." Inevitably, too, we conversed about western medicine, Chinese medicine, too, specifically its origins and additions over time. All the while, the web of culture, the intangible yet omnipresent extensions of philosophy, history, culture, epistemology and ontology, intricately interwoven revealed themselves in unpredictable yet correlative fashion.
He revealed how he had turned away from beliefs in Feng shui and Chinese medicine for a time within his life. All the while, he maintained the food practices, the balance of meals and times. With the passage of time, we discussed the roots of Huang Di Neijing, Sun Simiao and the other famous physicians. Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism also entered in. Time stood still as his narrative held me a willing captive.
He insisted that he cast so many beliefs aside because he deemed them superstitious or, at least they seemed that way to him, as he pursued his engineering degree in Boston. Over time, however, he realized the wisdom inherently contained within so many of those prescribed daily rituals of living. Through a chain of life experiences, like pearls threaded onto a strand, this became clear. The most prominent among them as he explained emanated from a friend of his, who bought a home he said no Chinese person would buy because of the way it was arranged. (In great detail and performance style artistry, he elaborated upon which features deterred Chinese. ) Whenever he visited his friend at home, he admittedly never felt comfortable. More importantly, however, his friend began to suffer from sleeplessness and other disharmonious maladies leading to difficulties in life and problems of concentration and health. In order to help his friend, he suggested Feng shui within the interior. After helping him rearrange his home and implementing the strategies of Feng Shui, his friend felt more comfortable and his life became remarkably more balanced. This merely reminded the young man I met that the little things matter. More importantly, it taught him the value inherently contained within cultural knowledge and practice.
For himself, the young man added that he didn't realize the value Feng Shui and other cultural rituals contained until he saw life within their absence. Moreover, he shared how he sought Chinese medicine, especially when western medicine didn't yield the results he sought. Then he further highlighted how this had changed. Alternately, he began seeking it initially. Yet, even he seemed a little confused when he contended that diagnoses differ from Chinese medicine physician to Chinese medicine physician within the Chinese medicine tradition. (Due to the ways in which Chinese medicine views the body, it sees it in real time. It analyzes the discrete through pulse and tongue diagnosis and inspection and questions. Inevitably, one's body changes throughout the day, from day to day, etc.)
He admired the way that Chinese medicine doctors could tell so much from the pulses and then adamantly stated that it was the best for chronic conditions, for persistent ones, and especially for prevention. We talked about the pharmacies in China, brewing herbs, the patent remedies, how and when western medicine is engaged within the cities and villages and how it differs. Even he agreed that the IV use of antibiotics ould inevitably lead to problems like those of resistance encountered within the U.S., if it remained constant. He just couldn't comprehend why IVs seemed to hold the answer within so many MDs' minds. Luckily, I had the answer.
As my Chinese brother, Dr. Qiu (邱医生）answered when I asked the same question, "People use it to get the evil out fast... It has power (有力）."
As soon as my Chinese brother explained, I instantly understood how and why this practice was harnessed and more importantly understood among the people. After all, the Chinese character for medicine inherently contains the hand taking the evil arrows out and the medicine bottle. The latter, of these, the medicine, is only engaged within the presence of disease, thereby making the physician one who either deters further illness or one that simply treats it. The best physician, according to Huang Di Neijing is the one that prevents the illness, the one who eliminates the "evil" before it becomes a syndrome, which leads to an illness.
Nevertheless, according to the foundations of Chinese medicine almost all of the illnesses arise from one of the six evils. In most cases, one must expel the evil, especially if the illness is within an early stage. Such signs of course would reflect fever, flu, or even a cold. All can and do produce lasting effects only now being first understood within the realms of western medicine. After all, each of the six evils, the pernicious external factors can and do lead to much more serious illnesses when they they enter more deeply into the body, either into the channels and/or the organs. More here and here.
When I shared my Chinese brother's answer, he smiled. Time had quickly passed and I almost missed my plane. How fortunate I was to meet this man, to partake in such an amazing conversation. I am truly honoured that he shared so much with me. His Chinese awakened me and prepared me for the next leg of the journey. Then again, the unexpected Chinese gem has often appeared throughout my path, led me along, a willing captive and compelled me to go farther. With extreme gratitude to my friend, my Chinese brother and all my friends and colleagues engaged in the practice throughout the world, and especially 缘分 (yuan fen), I will conclude. The next Healing gem had yet to enter in。。。 on the other side...... Namaste, 湘君
