治未病
Preventive medicine is something that is relatively recent in the western medical world. One example is to quit smoking because smoking causes lung cancer. Another example is to wash our hands diligently because of the microbes we come into contact.
But the Chinese system of 养生 (loosely to mean "preserving life") has been a hallmark of Traditional Chinese Medicine for ages. The Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine (黄帝内经, written about 200 BC) was probably the first book that talks about preventive medicine. In its original words: "是故圣人不治已病治未病，不治已乱治未乱，此之谓也。夫病已成而后药之，乱已成而后治之，譬犹渴而穿井，斗而铸锥，不亦晚乎。《素问·四气调神大论》" In short, it means that one should not wait till one is sick to "treat" oneself - it is as if you dig a well only when you are thirsty. In fact, in the world of TCM, he who can treat a sickness even before it happens is the best physician (上工治未病，不治已病，此之谓也《灵枢·逆顺》).
An interesting story about the importance of preventive medicine is told in this story about the legendary physician by the name of Bian Que (扁鹊). The king of Wei Country (魏文王) once asked Bian Que this question: who among Bian Que and his brothers has the best medical skills?
Bian Que replied: "My eldest brother is best, my second brother is next, I am the worst."
King: "But you are the most famous among the three!"
Bian Que: "That is because my eldest brother could prevent sickness even before it happened based on tell tale signs, only people in the family know about this special ability. My second brother could stop a minor illness from becoming serious. He is famous in the village but people thought he could only cure small illnesses. As for me, I specialise in major illnesses and had to resort to extreme measures such as using medicines and surgery. Hence, my name became known in the whole country!"
For those who are keen, the story in ancient Chinese text is as follows:
魏文王问扁鹊曰：「子昆弟三人其孰最善为医？」扁鹊曰：「长兄最善，中兄次之，扁鹊最为下。」魏文侯曰：「可得闻邪？」扁鹊曰：「长兄於病视神，未有形而除之，故名不出於家。中兄治病，其在毫毛，故名不出於闾。若扁鹊者，鑱血脉，投毒药，副肌肤，闲而名出闻於诸侯。」
The moral of the story is that prevention is better than cure.
But the Chinese system of 养生 (loosely to mean "preserving life") has been a hallmark of Traditional Chinese Medicine for ages. The Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine (黄帝内经, written about 200 BC) was probably the first book that talks about preventive medicine. In its original words: "是故圣人不治已病治未病，不治已乱治未乱，此之谓也。夫病已成而后药之，乱已成而后治之，譬犹渴而穿井，斗而铸锥，不亦晚乎。《素问·四气调神大论》" In short, it means that one should not wait till one is sick to "treat" oneself - it is as if you dig a well only when you are thirsty. In fact, in the world of TCM, he who can treat a sickness even before it happens is the best physician (上工治未病，不治已病，此之谓也《灵枢·逆顺》).
An interesting story about the importance of preventive medicine is told in this story about the legendary physician by the name of Bian Que (扁鹊). The king of Wei Country (魏文王) once asked Bian Que this question: who among Bian Que and his brothers has the best medical skills?
Bian Que replied: "My eldest brother is best, my second brother is next, I am the worst."
King: "But you are the most famous among the three!"
Bian Que: "That is because my eldest brother could prevent sickness even before it happened based on tell tale signs, only people in the family know about this special ability. My second brother could stop a minor illness from becoming serious. He is famous in the village but people thought he could only cure small illnesses. As for me, I specialise in major illnesses and had to resort to extreme measures such as using medicines and surgery. Hence, my name became known in the whole country!"
For those who are keen, the story in ancient Chinese text is as follows:
魏文王问扁鹊曰：「子昆弟三人其孰最善为医？」扁鹊曰：「长兄最善，中兄次之，扁鹊最为下。」魏文侯曰：「可得闻邪？」扁鹊曰：「长兄於病视神，未有形而除之，故名不出於家。中兄治病，其在毫毛，故名不出於闾。若扁鹊者，鑱血脉，投毒药，副肌肤，闲而名出闻於诸侯。」
The moral of the story is that prevention is better than cure.