The alchemist's witch doctor

Huangdi initiated the medical era. He attached great importance to invention and creation, and gathered many famous doctors, such as Ji and Qi Bo, who tried to cure all diseases with a hundred herbs, Ma Shihuang, who was proficient in surgery and was good at veterinary medicine, and Lei Gong, the Returned Overseas Chinese Area, etc. all knew how to treat diseases. China's earliest and most systematic monograph on medical theory, Huangdi Neijing, was written in the name of Huangdi and discussed with Qi Bo, Lei Gong and others.

After entering the class society, witches' duties are still based on medical skills, and witchcraft is spread all over the people. During the ten years of Zuozhuan's success, a wizard named Sangtian predicted that Gong Jing would die soon, so he went to a consultation and thought that Gong Jing was terminally ill. The diagnosis of Sangtian and Icahn is consistent.

China got rid of the witch doctor era from the Zhou Dynasty. Medical skills gradually separated from witchcraft. Zhou Li listed Wu Zhu in "Uncle Chun Guan" and doctors in "Tianguan Notes". This record shows that doctors and witches are separated, and medical technology has entered an increasingly scientific era.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, witch doctors opposed each other. Bian Que proposed that there are six incurable diseases, and those who believe in witchcraft but not medicine are all incurable diseases. After the separation of witch doctors, those engaged in medical skills were called alchemists. Of course, alchemists also include other professions. There is a word in the history books called "alchemist". For example, On Su Wenzhizhen: "I gave an alchemist, but the alchemist didn't use it perfectly." Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor: "There are many scholars, and they want to make peace and prosperity, and they want to do wonders." Most alchemists are proficient in medicine. In the Han Dynasty, Ban Gu still called the famous doctor the alchemist in Han Art and the records in the literature: "Anyone who is good at prescriptions is born with tools, and Wang Guan is also. There were Qi Baishi and Dai Yu in ancient times, Bian Que and Qin in the Middle Ages ... Han Xing got Cang Gong. " Medical books are the most in alchemy literature. Ancient medical skills were differentiated from witchcraft and were mostly alchemists. So it is not surprising that medical skills are included in alchemy.

Huangdi Neijing is a foundational monograph of traditional medicine in China, and it is still an authoritative ancient book. This is recorded in Ji Fanglue of Hanshu Yiwenzhi.

There are seven medical books in Ji Fang category of Hanshu Yiwenzhi, with a total of 2 16 volumes. Eleven classics, 274 volumes. Ban Gu said: "Doctors, the blood vessels, meridians, bone marrow, yin and yang of primitive people, take the root of all diseases to distinguish life and death, and use ancient soup and fire to adjust the medicines in the right position."

There are classic prescriptions, such as the classic method of decoction and the taboo of Shennong Huangdi. Ban Gu said: "Classic prescriptions, ancient cold and warm drugs, shallow and deep diseases, and the taste of fake drugs are suitable because of qi, and five bitterness and six bitterness are distinguished, and the sum of water and fire is used to clear the knot, and vice versa."

Ancient alchemists and physicians were not absolutely separated. Bian Que, Hua Tuo, Ge Hong, Sun Simiao and others are all famous doctors and alchemists. Sun Simiao is the author of 30 volumes of Qian Jin Fang, 3 volumes of Fu Lu Lun, 1 volume of Shi Lu and 1 volume of Pillow Book.

Many medical books in Song Dynasty were written by folk alchemists. According to Biography of the History of Song Dynasty, Liu Hanyi presented 30 volumes of practical prescriptions, and Zhou Shizong appointed him as the medical officer of Hanlin. After entering the Song Dynasty, he participated in the revision of medical books. Chong 'an carefully studied the secretaries of Lingshu, Tai Su and Cargill and made an Addendum to Materia Medica.

The literature of Fang Shu is based on the theory of five elements, but the principle of five elements in medical books lacks strict science. According to Biography of the History of the Song Dynasty, Qian Yi, a famous doctor, was famous for his cranial prescription at first, and then he was awarded Hanlin medicine in Shi Jing for treating princess royal's female disease. When the prince is ill, it will be fine to drink the yellow land soup. Zong Shen asked about the symptoms of loess and said to him,' When the soil is better than the level, the wind will stop.' This explanation of "controlling water with soil" is absurd to modern people.

Until the Qing dynasty, there were still many doctors who preferred witchcraft. According to the Records of Arts and Literature in Qing Dynasty, Weide Wang, a native of Jiangsu Province, wrote Surgical Life, Yongning Shu Tong and Authentic Divination.

Medical books are the most useful in alchemy literature. In Qing Dynasty, more than 20 kinds of medical books were compiled from Yongle Dadian. For example, Zou Xuan's New Book on Longevity and Pension is a book that is beneficial to people's health. It records the methods of food handling, medicine and care. Guangdong Higher Education Press published an annotated edition in 1985. The bibliography includes tonic medicine method, planting, maintenance, taking medicine, storing medicine, receiving prescription, eating prescription and so on. The book pays attention to dietotherapy and introduces the efficacy of radish, lily and other items, which is simple and easy to do. These methods are actually the summary of working people's health care experience and need to be carefully summarized and popularized. In fact, alchemists, like ordinary people, can be classified, and there are also rich and poor.

The identity of the "alchemist class" is extremely complicated. From the perspective of employment, there are "full-time" and "part-time"; In style and taste, there are "elegance" and "vulgarity"; In terms of the nature of activities, some are "pedants" who are committed to numerology research, and some are "Jianghu factions" who sell skills to make money. Their status and family background are also very different, some from aristocratic families, and some from the lower classes of Balinese. If we classify the alchemists since the Western Han Dynasty, they can be roughly divided into pedants, hermits, monks and Taoists, diners, businessmen and charlatans. The alchemists of "Sangdao" are monks and Taoists. Some of them are proficient in astrology and numerology, but quite a few of them are only "half bottle" level. Their main purpose is only to hold classes for donors and draw lots to show the bodhisattva's heart. Master of Buddhism and Taoism, who is proficient in life science, had a group of monks in the Tang Dynasty. The famous da Yan Li is said to have been invented by him. From astronomical geography to personnel customs, it can be said that there is nothing he does not know. In the Song Dynasty, there were monks Zanning, Chenghua and Daohong. Many important people have seen their lives for them three times in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, "A Record of Dong Xuan" records that when Lv Huiqing took part in Xi Ning's political affairs for eight years, he was in power, but the monk Chenghua decided to "avoid and stay". When Cai Yuanchang and his brothers went to the province to try, they also came to seek fate. "When you ask for life, you can get ahead." "Zhai refueling record" also said that Wang Anshi begged for a strike in Yuanfeng, but he didn't approve it for two months and went to Chenghua again. Chenghua said, "Thirty years ago, I cared for Xianggong all my life, but now I am the Prime Minister. What else can I ask? "

Today, there are countless examples of prominent people going to temples to ask the master for fortune telling. For example, during the northern expedition to Nanchang, Chiang Kai-shek asked for a visa in a small temple near Niuhang Station. He went back to his hometown to learn to fight in the temple and asked Master Lang Qing to read eight characters, which played an important psychological role in his decision to re-enter the mountain. As for the common people, it is more common to go to the temple Taoist temple to ask for a sign, burn incense and start a fortune-telling class. In the eyes of these good men and women, the master of Buddhism and Taoism is far away from the world, and there is neither the intrigue of literati nor the copper smell of businessmen who are mercenary. It is the most objective and practical to judge by them. I'm afraid this is the main psychological factor for fortune tellers to integrate with Buddhist and Taoist monks from birth! The above ten points are the specific requirements for the quality of the other party. It can be said that it includes all aspects of how to be a man and how to be a qualified alchemist. Ordinary people will also be moved by his loyalty and kindness. However, after all, this is only the expectation for warlocks. It may not be easy to really do this, but it has a motto of self-motivation, so it should be fully affirmed. As for some of these views, such as asking politicians to be loyal to the monarch and persuading widows with children to "come through thick and thin, and be lonely and sober", it seems that their feudal consciousness is so strong that there is no need to talk about it.

Although fortune tellers are bound by the standard of "Top Ten Necessities for Star Families", their life experiences are different due to their different status. Some hermit alchemists are not short of successful people in their lives, but they are indifferent to power and money and always live a carefree life. As mentioned earlier, Fang Shiyu in Yuan Dynasty was such a free and easy gentleman. He was "drunk and lonely." Those who follow his mental arithmetic, drunk as a pen fairy, slightly aware, instantly said a thousand words. The past has been greatly tested, and everyone thinks it is different. " According to the Records of Jinhua Prefecture, there was also an alchemist named Rixin Liu at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. Before Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he was told to push his life. He calculated that Zhu Yuanzhang was "extremely rich" all his life, and several distribution schools around him were also the orders of the duke. Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed. Later, when he became emperor, he called Rixin Liu and asked him if he wanted to be an official. He said no and asked him how much he wanted. He also saidno. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was rich and expensive, so he asked him what he wanted. Rixin Liu said, I just want a symbol that can travel around the world. Zhu Yuanzhang wrote a poem according to the fan in his hand: "An old man in the south of the Yangtze River is full of stars; If I were king, I should be immortal. Not for officials, not for gold; Take this fan and travel around the world. " The name of the department, the knowledge of the royal treasure, Rixin Liu used this time to travel around the world, satisfied.

There are "retired" alchemists and "enterprising" stars. According to Shao Zhuan, in the Northern Song Dynasty, there was an alchemist named Liu, who lived in seclusion in the Leopard Forest Valley. When he went to see the warlock Chen Tuan, he said, "People come from Germany, but officials have nothing to do with it." Doesn't seem to care about promotion. However, because of his famous knowledge of the destiny of the stars, Zhenzong summoned him, but he still went, and he also became a doctor of advice and an assistant minister of the Ministry of Industry. This kind of coy "hermit" warlock, to some extent, masked the deep-seated pursuit of "enterprising" mentality, and those life scholars who lobbied between the emperor and the scholar-officials were obviously "impure" and deliberately did it. It's like some scholars humming the tune "Decline, Decline, Hu Bugui" in their mouths, putting on a posture of abandoning officials and retiring, disdaining official career, but always staring at their own jobs and thinking about how to take the "shortcut to the south" all day. The difference is that scholars focus on "literature" for progress and "technique" for development, which can be described as the same goal. The "literary talent" is obvious, and naturally some people appreciate it. The "technique" is refined and some people praise it. In contrast, alchemists have their convenience, because it is obviously easier to shuttle among powerful people like warlocks than other identities. What's more, people who study and live can rely on the wealth of their customers, that is, once they aim at some people who may break out, they can mysteriously assert that they are "expensive" and "cherish" or make a promise that they will be rich in the future.

There are really countless people who have opened the history books and embarked on the road of being an official through fate. Wei Sou, the warlock mentioned above, made a promise that "if he wins, he will be Sima" after the death of Emperor Wu of Song Wudi. After Emperor Wu proclaimed himself emperor, Wei Sou really came to the door and said, "If you become king, don't forget Sima's words. I dare not look at Sima today, and I am willing to lead the army. " The so-called "no kidding", Song Wudi where good deadbeat, had to keep his job. In the Northern Qi Dynasty, Wei Ning was also a "museum guest". There are countless examples of this.

Business-oriented alchemists don't have many opportunities to get on the official career, but they have been pursuing the word "rich" all their lives. Some alchemists are really "richer than the monarch". For example, Wang Anshi's "Argumentation" records: "A warlock who gives a taste of discrimination is good at attracting people with strangeness. He generally serves the palace and serves the people to eat and drink, and the monarch is not as good as the people." Another example is that there was a warlock named Fei Xiaoxian at that time, and Piling Collection said that he was "famous all over the world, and princes and adults walked Wan Li Road, all seeking wealth and shade, and filial piety made them rich." In Suoguo Temple in Kaifeng, fortune-telling is the most concentrated place in class. An alchemist publicly posted a list of "10,000 yuan" (Volume 7 of Old News). There is also a Sichuan alchemist who teaches here. "One life is worth a thousand, and life is discussed overnight." (In your ear's collection) Throughout the ages, many people made their fortune by attending classes and even became very rich.

Ordinary alchemists also pay special attention to their clothes, as if they could recognize them at a glance as "arithmetic". Most of what is said in history is "well-dressed", with elegant clothes, exquisite furnishings, decent manners and supercilious. Especially in novels, there are often descriptions of warlocks. For example, Wu Shenxian, a warlock, was described in the 29th chapter of Jin Ping Mei, saying, "That Wu Shenxian came from outside, dressed in green and talking about daojin, with a robe and sandals, a yellow silk sash around his waist and a turtle shell fan in his hand." Although "Ten Essentials of Star Family" emphasizes that "seeing, listening, speaking and doing are the foundation, and wearing is the last", after all, doing a line has to be like a line, especially at the beginning of fortune telling. The warlock's temperament and image may have a direct psychological impact on customers, so the general astrologer has to pay attention to his "clothes".

There are also some alchemists who have been down and out all their lives because of bad luck or poor skills, and even because of an unintentional remark, they have no good end. For example, in the Song Dynasty, a gentleman once came to ask two gentlemen to push the eight characters. He said that one gentleman can be the best official, and the other should be punished first. The latter was furious and killed Shi Ming with one knife, and he was indeed sentenced to death for it, so people often say that Shi Ming is better than others and blacker than himself. There was also a man in the Northern Song Dynasty who ended up in poverty. According to the third volume of Dongzhai Notes, this person set up a "Booth" class in front of Suoguo Temple in Kaifeng. One day, four young people raised their hands and asked him to tell a fortune. He calculated and exclaimed, "In one day, there are four prime ministers!" These four men really became prime ministers later, but at that time they thought that this man was flattering, "taking care of him and laughing at him" and being ridiculed. Since then, his reputation has been ruined, and no one has ever killed him again. By the time the four prime ministers remembered the celebrity and even tried to write a biography for him, it was too late. The celebrity had already died of poverty and hunger.

As alchemists, some are richer than the king, and some are starving to death, but the fate of the warlock himself is enough to make people sigh.