The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume IX

By Ssu-ma Ch'ien

A remarkable document of ancient Chinese history: “[An] indispensable addition to modern sinology.” —China Review International

This volume of The Grand Scribe’s Records includes the second segment of Han-dynasty memoirs and deals primarily with men who lived and served under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 B.C.). The lead chapter presents a parallel biography of two ancient physicians, Pien Ch’üeh and Ts’ang Kung, providing a transition between the founding of the Han dynasty and its heyday under Wu. The account of Liu P’i is framed by the great rebellion he led in 154 B.C. and the remaining chapters trace the careers of court favorites, depict the tribulations of an ill-fated general, discuss the Han’s greatest enemy, the Hsiung-nu, and provide accounts of two great generals who fought them. The final memoir is structured around memorials by two strategists who attempted to lead Emperor Wu into negotiations with the Hsiung-nu, a policy that Ssu-ma Ch’ien himself supported.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780253048400

Book preview

Pien Ch’üeh and Ts’ang-kung, Memoir 45

¹

P'ien Ch’üeh

translated by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.

[105.2785] Pien Ch’üeh 扁鵲² was a native of Cheng 鄭 in Po-hai 勃海Commandery.³ His cognomen was Ch’in 秦⁴ and his praenomen was Yüeh-jen 越人 (The Native of Yüeh?).⁵ In his youth he became the head of a hostel.⁶ When the hostel guest, Mister Ch’ang-sang 長桑 (Long-lived Mulberry?),⁷ stopped by, Pien Ch’üeh alone found him remarkable and often treated him with respect. Mister Ch’ang-sang also recognized that Pien Ch’üeh was not an ordinary man. Only after coming and going for more than ten years did he [Mister Ch’ang-tsang] summon Pien Ch’üeh to sit with him in private and secretly⁸ said to him: I have a secret [medical] formula. I am growing old and would like to hand it on to you, Sir. You must not disclose it. Pien Ch’üeh said, I respectfully promise. Then he took out some medicinal herbs from the inside of his jacket and gave them to P’ien Ch’üeh. Drink these [herbs] with water from the surface of a pond⁹ and after thirty days you will be able to discern things [regarding illnesses]!¹⁰ Then he took all the documents of his secret formulae and gave them entirely to Pien Ch’üeh. Suddenly he disappeared–probably he was not a human being. After Pien Ch’üeh, as he had said, had drunk the herbs for thirty days, he could see a person on the other side of a low wall. Using this when examining patients, he could completely see the concretions and knots in the five viscera.¹¹ When he practiced medicine [however] he did so solely under the name of diagnosing pulses.¹² Solely by means of taking pulses he became famous. As a physician he was sometimes in Ch’i and sometimes in Chao. In Chao he was called Pien Ch’üeh.¹³

[2786] During the time of Duke Chao 昭 of Chin (r. 531-526),¹⁴ when the various grand masters [of the clans in Chin] were becoming powerful and the ducal clan was weakening,¹⁵ Viscount Chien 簡 of Chao¹⁶ became a Grand Master and took sole control of the affairs of the state. Viscount Chien became ill¹⁷ and for five days he could not recognize anyone.¹⁸ The grand masters¹⁹ were all afraid. At this point, they summoned Pien Ch’üeh. Pien Ch’üeh entered, examined the illness, and came out. Tung An-yü董安于²⁰ questioned Pien Ch’üeh. Pien Ch’üeh said, "The blood vessels are [well] regulated,²¹ so what do you feel is strange [about this]? Long ago Duke Mu 穆 of Ch’in (r. 659-621 B.C.) was once like this for seven days and then he awoke.²² On the day he awoke, he informed the Noble Scion Chih 支 and Tzu-yü 子輿,²³ saying: ‘I went to the residence of Ti 帝 (the High God); I was so pleased.²⁴ The reason I stayed for a long time [*2787*] is just then there was that which could be learned. Ti told me, The State of Chin is on the verge of great disorder. For five generations it will not be peaceful. Thereafter, it will become the Hegemon who will die before he becomes old. The son of the one who is Hegemon will cause²⁵ the men and women of your state not to be separated [as they should be]. Noble Scion Chih wrote this down and stored it and the Ch’in [divinatory] bamboo-slips originated from this.²⁶ The disorder of Duke Hsien 獻（[of Chin], r. 676-651 B.C.),²⁷ the hegemony of Duke Wen 文 (r. 636-628 B.C.), and Duke Hsiang’s 襄 (r. 627-621 B.C.) defeat of the Ch’in army at Yao 殽²⁸ and indulging himself in debauchery upon returning home²⁹: these are things you have heard about. Now the ailment of the His Lordship and Master is the same as that. Without going beyond three days he is certain to recover; when he [Viscount Chien] recovers, he will surely have something to say."

After two and one half days, Viscount Chien awoke, telling the various grand masters, "I went to the residence of Ti and was very pleased; with the hundred spirits I roamed through the molded heaven³⁰; the Vast Music³¹ was performed nine [or many] times to the Wan Dance.³² Unlike the music of the Three Eras,³³ its sounds stirred the heart. There was a black bear³⁴ who wanted to grab me. Ti ordered me to shoot it. I hit the black bear and the black bear died. A brown bear³⁵ came and I also shot at it, hit the brown bear, and the brown bear died.³⁶ Ti was very happy and bestowed two bamboo boxes on me, each with a set of ornaments [to wear in sacrificial rites].³⁷ I saw a boy at Ti’s side. Ti entrusted a dog of the Ti 翟 tribe³⁸ to me, saying, ‘When the boy is full grown, bestow it [the dog] on him.’³⁹ Ti told me, ‘The state of Chin will decline generation by generation; after seven generations it will perish.⁴⁰ Those of the Ying 赢 cognomen⁴¹ will crush the men of Chou⁴² west of Fan-k’uei 范魁 (Fan Hillock),⁴³ but still will not be able to possess it [Wey].’"⁴⁴ Tung An-yü accepted his explanation,⁴⁵ wrote it out, and stored it away. He formally reported Pien Ch’üeh’s explanation⁴⁶ to Viscount Chien and Viscount Chien bestowed forty thousand mu of fields on Pien Ch’üeh.

[2788] After this, when Pien Ch’üeh stopped by Kuo 轜,⁴⁷ the Heir of Kuo had [just] died.⁴⁸ Pien Ch’üeh arrived beneath the palace gate of Kuo⁴⁹ and asked the Household Headmaster,⁵⁰ a person fond of [medical] formulae, What illness did the Heir have? In the capital has the managing of the Jang 穰 exorcism taken precedence over all the [other] matters?⁵¹ The Household Headmaster said, "The Heir became ill, [his] blood and ch’i were irregular,⁵² in disorder not able to be discharged, and when they violently broke forth to the outside, then they caused injury to the center. When the essence and the spirit⁵³ can not stop the noxious ch’i, the noxious ch’i accumulates and cannnot be discharged. For this reason the yang was slowed and the yin was intensified. For this reason, he suddenly dropped down and died.⁵⁴ Pien Ch’üeh said, At what time did he die? [The Household Headmaster] said, From cockcrow until now. [Pien Ch’üeh] said, Has [the body] been encoffined? [The Household Headmaster] said, Not yet. His death cannot yet be half a day [ago]. Please report [to Your Lord] that his servant is Ch’in Yüeh-jen [originally] from Po-hai in Ch’i. My family is located in Cheng 鄭⁵⁵ and I have not yet been able gaze on the elegant face [of Your Lord] or stand before him in attendance. I have heard that the Heir has unfortunately died, but your servant is able to bring him to life. [The Household Headmaster] said, Venerable Sir, how could you boast about this? How can you say that the Heir can be brought back to life! I have heard that in highest antiquity among the physicians there was Yü Fu 俞跗.⁵⁶ He treated illnesses without using medicinal decoction or wines, stone needles, stretching and pulling,⁵⁷ massaging and vibrating,⁵⁸ or using drugs in compresses.⁵⁹ As soon as [the patient] removed [his clothes],⁶⁰ and he saw the [external] manifestation of the illness, in accordance with the acupoints of the five viscera,⁶¹ he scraped the skin⁶² and loosened the muscles [to remove the pathogenic],⁶³ cleaned out the vessels and joined the muscles [along the meridians],⁶⁴ put massaging pressure on the marrow and the brain, and taking hold of the space above the diaphragm and grasping with the whole hand the diaphragm,⁶⁵ he rinsed out the digestive tract, cleansed the five viscera, refining the essences⁶⁶ and changing the bodily form. Venerable Sir, if your formulae can be like this, then the Heir can be brought back to life. If they cannot be like this, though you desire to bring him back to life, you should not even announce this to a gurgling baby. After [what seemed like] a whole day, Pien Ch’üeh looked up at Heaven, sighed, and said, Master, as for what you take as your methods, they are like looking at Heaven through a tube or inspecting a pattern through a crack. I, Yüeh-jen, practice procedures [in which] I do not wait to palpate the pulse, to examine the visage, auscultate the [bodily] sounds,⁶⁷ or to investigate the form [i.e., bodily appearance],⁶⁸ [before] explaining where the illness is located. When I perceive the yang [status] of the illness, [then] I can analyze and attain the yin.⁶⁹ When I learn the yin, I can analyze and attain the yang. When the resonance of the illness appears on the greater surface [of the patient’s body], if I am not beyond one-thousand li [distant], those [illnesses] I can determine are extremely numerous and they cannot be fully detailed! If you consider my explanation is not true, try going in and examining the Heir. You should be able to hear a ringing in his ears and a stirring [of breath] in his nose; if you follow his two thighs to reach his private parts, they should still be warm."

[2790] Only when the Household Headmaster had heard Pien Ch’üeh’s explanation–his eyes with spots before them, being unable to blink, his tongue rolled up and not able to unroll–did he take Pien Ch’üeh’s explanation in [to the palace] to report them to the Lord of Kuo. When the Lord of Kuo heard it he was astounded. He came out [of the palace] to meet Pien Ch’üeh at the central gate-tower⁷⁰ and said, The day I [first] heard of your high righteousness was long ago. But I have not yet been able to pay my respects in person. Venerable Sir, you stopping by my little state and fortunately raising this matter, for me as the lonely minister of this remote state is fortunate in the extreme. With you, Venerable Sir, [here], [the Heir] will live. Without you, he would be abandoned to fill a ditch,⁷¹ forever dead and unable to return [to life]. His speech not yet finished, he then let his pent up feelings go in sobs, his soul and essence diffusing in all directions, tears flowing in long streams disconsolately catching in his eyelashes; he was so sorrowful he was unable to control himself, his face and bearing altered and changed.⁷² Pien Ch’üeh said, "An illness like the Heir’s is that which is called ‘Drop like a Corpse.’ When the yang enters into the yin, it churns the stomach,⁷³ entwining the central channels, linking vessels, and capillaries,’⁷⁴ [then] separates and descends into the triple energizer⁷⁵ and the bladder. For this reason the yang vessels drop down and the yin vessels struggle to rise up; the ch’i intersections are blocked and do not connect. The yin ascends and the yang moves inwardly; in the lower part [of the body] [*2791*] and the internal part, [the yang] though roused will not rise. In the upper [body parts] the external [yang] is cut off and cannot been dispatched. Above there are links of exhausted yang cut off, below there is a knot of broken yin. With yin broken and yang exhausted the face loses color and the pulses are disordered. Therefore, the bodily form is as still as if it were dead. The Heir has not yet died. As this is a case of the yang entering the yin it interrupts viscera,⁷⁶ [but] he continues to live. If it were a case of the yin entering the yang interrupting the viscera, he would have died. All of these several things occur suddenly when the five viscera become numb to their core. A good artisan selects this [relevant treatment],⁷⁷ the clumsy one remains doubtful.

[2792] Then Pien Ch’üeh had his disciple, Tzu Yang 子陽, sharpen needles and smooth stones in order to chose the five intersections⁷⁸ of the external three yang [vessels]. After some time had passed, the Heir revived. Only then did he [Pien Ch’üeh] have Tzu Pao 子豹⁷⁹ boil an iron [so the heat would penetrate] five inches with a dose of medicine eight times reduced⁸⁰ to alternately use as a hot compress beneath his two ribcages. The Heir sat up, again regulated yin and yang, after only taking a decoction for twenty days he was as good as ever. For this reason all the world thinks Pien Ch’üeh was able to bring a dead man alive. Pien Ch’üeh said, Yüeh-jen [i.e., I] is not able to revive a dead man. In this case, he was supposed to keep on living on his own and I was able to allow him to get up."

[2793] When Pien Ch’üeh stopped by in Ch’i, Marquis Huan 桓 of Ch’i (r. 374-357 B.C.) made him a retainer.⁸¹ He went into court for an audience and said, My Lord has a disease between the skin and the flesh; if it is not treated, it will go deeper. Marquis Huan said, I, the lonely one, have no disease. When Pien Ch’üeh had left [the court], Marquis Huan said to his attendants, When a physician is fond of profit, he wants to use someone who is not diseased to earn merit. Five days later, Pien Ch’üeh again had an audience and said, My Lord has a disease in the blood vessels; if it is not treated, I fear it will become go deeper. Marquis Huan said, I, the lonely one, have no disease. When Pien Ch’üeh had left, Marquis Huan was not pleased. Five days later, Pien Ch’üeh again had an audience and said, My Lord has a disease in the digestive tract; if it is not treated, it will become go deeper. Marquis Huan did not respond. When Pien Ch’üeh had left, Marquis Huan was not pleased. Five days later, Pien Ch’üeh again had an audience and, seeing Marquis Huan from afar, he withdrew [from court] and fled. Marquis Huan sent men to ask his reasons. Pien Ch’üeh said, When the disease resides in between the skin and the flesh, decoctions and a hot iron [to prepare medicinal compresses] are that which can reach it. When it lies in the blood vessels, stone needles are that which can reach it. When it lies in the digestive tract, medicinal wines are that which can reach it. When it lies within the bone marrow, even those who are in charge of fate are helpless. Now it lays within the bone marrow; for this reason this humble subject did not request [to treat it]. Five days later, Marquis Huan’s body became ill and he sent men to summon Pien Ch’üeh. Pien Ch’üeh had already fled away. Marquis Huan then