Li Yan's Anecdotes

Li Yan, with the nickname Zhongyi and the courtesy name Ruosi, was born in the third year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1877). He was gifted with intelligence, diligent and eager to learn, read extensively in poetry and literature, and had a rigorous academic approach. He was the last scholar of the Qing Dynasty and also a highly accomplished Confucian physician in Dai County during the Republican era. The new version of the "Dai County Annals" praised him for his "noble medical ethics and superb medical skills".
When he was young, he served as a private tutor in a Mongolian prince's mansion in the north. Li Yan has an introverted personality and is not good at speaking. At first, he lived and ate with servants and was treated coldly without saying a word. Teaching strictly as usual every day, treating students like children, patiently guiding and guiding them. Students make progress every day. At that time, the enlightenment textbooks were "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Surnames". One morning, when Li Yan was giving a lecture on the Three Character Classic, he explained the doubts and difficulties in the book in a clear and concise manner, citing classics and references. As soon as he finished class, the prince held a tea tray and offered fragrant tea, apologizing, "Mr. Li has been waiting for so long. I hope you can forgive me. It turns out that there is such profound knowledge in the Three Character Classic, which really opened my eyes. To be honest, I listened outside the door for a whole morning and only found out today that Mr. Li is very knowledgeable
From then on, the prince looked at Li Yan with new eyes and elevated his treatment from a servant to a distinguished guest.
On the street where the prince lives, a five lane temple has just been completed. On the day of ribbon cutting, the prince asked Li Yan to write two couplets for Wudao Temple. Li Yan recalled the reality of cows and sheep being attacked by tigers and wolves, and thieves constantly scratching the people. He drew up a couplet: Three Divine Generals Who Fight Tigers and Surrender Wolves, Five Gods Who Capture Demons and Monsters, and the horizontal banner reads: One side is safe. After the couplet was posted, the neighbors all praised it, and the prince looked at the simple and humorous couplet that was close to life; The vigorous and powerful writing skills are truly admirable. The other couplet on the front pillar of the gate reads: Duke Mu of Qin conferred the title of Five Paths, and King Zhao of Chu bestowed the title of General. Horizontal inscription: Temple of Five Generals. After the couplet was posted, no one understood its meaning, and then Li Yan told the villagers the story of Wu Daoye.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Five Taoist Priests, formerly named Shen Baoxu, was an official in the State of Chu. He was extremely intelligent, talented and learned. He was able to understand great justice, endure humiliation, and became a sworn brother with Wu Zixu.
Wu She was a general of the State of Chu. Due to Prime Minister Fei Wuji's plot to usurp the throne and plot against Wu She, the truth was not revealed to King Ping of Chu. He ordered the wrongful killing of Wu She's entire family, and only managed to escape Wu She's second son, Wu Liaoxu.
Wu Zixu went through hardships and eventually became a high-ranking official in the state of Wu. He was ordered by the King of Wu to attack the state of Chu. Shen Baoxu secretly found Wu Zixu and advised him not to attack his own country due to family feuds, causing suffering for the people of the whole country. Wu Zixu refused to listen to advice and insisted on sending troops. Shen Baoxu had no choice but to seek assistance from the state of Qin, but the Qin king was very indifferent to him and unwilling to send troops. For the benefit of the country and the people, Shen Baoxu knelt in front of the Qin king's court and begged him. He cried and lamented for seven days and nights, and finally shed blood in his eyes. The King of Qin was deeply moved and quickly sent troops to rescue Chu. A few days later, Wu was defeated and had to withdraw its troops. King Zhao of Chu was moved by Shen Baoxu's selfless act of saving the country, and issued an edict to appoint him as the General of Anguo.
Qin Mugong was very familiar with Shen Baoxu's extraordinary courage and talent, so he appointed him as the Five Dao Official. Although this official was less than the City God, he was greater than the Land God. Later generations built five temples in every village to commemorate this brave hero, Shen Baoxu.
From then on, the prince admired Li Yan even more. Gradually, they became friends who talked about everything. One day, the prince had someone invite him to do a business and seek Li Yan's opinion. When Li Yan asked Qing if he wanted to sell military weapons, he bluntly persuaded him: "As a prince, you enjoy royal rewards. Although the business is profitable, the risk is extremely high. If it is exposed, disaster will come from heaven. I hope your benefactor will think twice." So the prince refused this business. After a month, the arms dealer took a risk and seized the checkpoint, resulting in a loss of both wealth and personnel. From then on, the prince admired Li Yan's intelligence like a god and was even more impressed.
At the end of the year, Li Yan returned home dressed in luxury. The old mother touched the more than ten gold ingots that Li Yan had earned and exclaimed excitedly, "God has opened his eyes, giving my son a chance to shine. This white gold ingot is the first time I have seen it
Not long after Li Yan returned home, he fell ill and couldn't get up. At that time, there was a shortage of medical supplies in rural areas, and despite seeking treatment from various sources, it was of no help. Helplessly, he devoted himself to self-study, read extensively medical books, and began to save himself. After several months of learning and treatment at the same time, his condition improved. After recovering from his serious illness, the villagers knew that he understood medical principles, and many patients came to seek medical treatment. He doesn't refuse anyone, doesn't ask about wealth or poverty, and is always on call, no matter how hot or cold it is, without any complaints. The patients he treated all returned satisfied. At that time, there was already a pharmacy at home, but the medical expenses of the villagers were only symbolically collected. One day, a villager invited him to see a doctor. An old woman had been sleeping on the kang for several days, unable to eat and suffering from pain all over her body. After cutting her pulse, Li Yan was about to prescribe medicine. The daughter who served the patient said, "I have also been uncomfortable these days. Please take a look." After careful diagnosis, Li Yan felt that the problem was not small. He walked out the door and told his family that the woman's illness was not serious and could be cured with three to five doses of medicine. However, his daughter's illness was troublesome and could not be cured by medicine. At first, the family didn't think much of it and thought that Li Yan was playing tricks. Not long after, my daughter couldn't get up from the kang and her condition became increasingly severe. The family has contacted Li Yan again and wants him to receive treatment. Li Yan declined and said, 'I am truly powerless. If I can handle it, I will not refuse. It would be better to seek another expert as soon as possible.' The family repeatedly asked, 'How long can the patient last?'? Li Yan said, "I'm afraid Zongzi tastes bad." As Li Yan expected, her daughter died two months later before the Dragon Boat Festival. These messages spread like wildfire, and Li Yan's fame reached the county town. That year, the Jinshengxiang Pharmacy in the county hired Li Yan as the attending physician.
At this time, it was the strategic stalemate stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan. The county town and along the highway are still enemy occupied areas. One day, Li Yan received a special guest. I saw him dressed in plain clothes, with a foreign accent, speaking politely and with a sincere attitude, requesting Li Yan to visit the border area. He knew as soon as he heard the Border Region that it was a liberated area of the Communist Party. To reach the liberated areas, one must pass through enemy occupied areas. If the enemy learns of this news, they will be killed. Li Yan was well aware of the danger involved, but he still said, 'Saving people is important.' After accommodating with Manager Wang, he hurriedly took some necessary medication and set off on the road. It turned out that a top leader in the border area was seriously ill. After half a month of careful treatment by Li Yan, he returned to Jinshengxiang only after the leader turned the situation around.
On his way back from the border area, Li Yan had just walked into the county town of Kun when he saw a household courtyard with many people busy around a coffin. A man was crying loudly, and several women stood outside the gate. They wiped away their tears and said, "You're young, you were fine yesterday. How could you say you died just because you were dead?" Upon hearing this, Li Yan couldn't help but go forward and ask, "How did that person die?" The old woman sighed and said, "She was bleeding heavily after giving birth and died of blood intoxication." Li Yan then asked, "How long has she been dead?" The person next to her said, "She has been dead for half a day. Don't you see that they are embalming the dead. Li Yan thought about the possibility of" fake death "in medical books, and out of his professional instinct as a doctor, he walked into the courtyard and saw a white and yellowish face in the coffin, with a few drops of blood on the ground. He carefully examined the coffin, Seeing the blood red, it doesn't look like the blood of a dead person. Li Yan walked up to the man who was heartbroken and said, "Brother, is the blood on the ground your woman's?" The man asked in confusion, "Yes! What?" Li Yan replied, "Don't cry, I suspect your woman is faking death." The man wiped his tears and asked in surprise, "Are you saying my woman hasn't died? Who are you? How do you know?" A middle-aged man next to him said, "You're talking nonsense. She's been dead for two hours and her whole body is cold. She even said she hasn't died. I've been practicing medicine for more than ten years, and it's the first time I've heard of faking death." After a while, the middle-aged man changed his face and said, "Sir. If you're pretending to die, we're hoping for a fake death. Do you think this person can be saved?" Li Yan said, "If it's really a fake death, there's a way to save him, but I need to check his pulse." The middle-aged man said, "The pulse has long disappeared, but if you want to see it, go see it
Li Yan walked over to the coffin and bent down to capture the pulse. As the middle-aged man said, he had been capturing it for a long time but still couldn't see any pulse. He quickly took out a few golden needles and plunged them into the acupoints of the parturient, Baihui, and others. After a while, he went to catch the pulse again, catching and catching for a long time. The pulse floated weakly like a hairpin, and Li Yan couldn't help but smile and say, "There's help, the pulse has risen
Everyone present, look at me, I look at you, looking at each other in confusion. I don't believe it's true, "the middle-aged man said. Do you have this medicine?" Li Yan said, "I have been sitting in court in Jinshengxiang for many years, and I brought back a few pounds of this medicine from Mongolia. It is a special medicine for treating blood disorders
It wasn't until evening that the fast horse that went to Dai County to pick up the medicine rushed back.
Li Yan put the iron core grass into half a bowl of boiling water, gently stirred it, and after a while, the plain water turned blood red. Li Yan asked his family to pour the medicine into the woman's mouth. Everyone present held their breath, quietly waiting for the miracle to occur. After half a pot of smoking, I saw that the woman's wax yellow face had a slight blush and her eyes were slightly open. The people present exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god, I'm really alive." The male host knelt in front of Li Yan with a "plop" and said, "My great benefactor, you saved my woman and my whole family. How can I thank you?" After that, he knocked his head three times. Everyone looked at Li Yan with strange eyes and said he was a miracle doctor who saved the dead. Everyone was absolutely right.
The parturient looked at the people around her as if everything understood. He was about to speak when Li Yan stopped him and said, "You are very weak and need to rest quietly. Give me some millet soup and brown sugar water quickly." After another hour, the parturient's lips also turned red. After giving her another pulse, Li Yan wrote a prescription saying, "The woman is out of danger. If she takes two more doses of medicine, her body will be fine
Zhou Dai was from Dai County and was the artillery commander of Yan Xishan at that time. He had long heard of Li Yan's medical reputation, and Mrs. Zhou was a sickly child. Many famous doctors from various places had been hired, but the results were minimal. Helplessly, Zhou Dai invited Li Yan to his mansion to see his wife for medical treatment. It's strange to say that Li Yan's few herbal medicines helped Mrs. Zhou recover. Zhou Dai, relying on his own power, forced Li Yan to join the army and appointed him as a deputy military doctor.
During Li Yan's tenure, a shocking incident occurred. One day, Captain Wang and Captain Zhang were drinking. After several rounds of drinking, they were all in a daze. Captain Wang said to Captain Zhang, "We see that the Kuomintang is almost finished. Let's join the army and join the Eighth Route Army." Unexpectedly, Captain Zhang revealed the truth about this matter. Now, Captain Wang has encountered a major setback. As a major case to be dealt with, besides political attacks on the heart every day, it is also a major punishment attendant. Sitting on a tiger bench, using bamboo sticks, and scorching with a fire shovel, Captain Wang, despite being covered in bruises, refused to admit anything. He insisted that it was the other party who wanted to be promoted and deliberately framed him out of conscience. This has been going on for days without any results. In the end, we had to put Captain Wang back. The boss instructed Li Yan to heal his injuries again. After several days of contact, Li Yan felt that this person was very intelligent and had backbone, and had a good impression of him.
Not long after, Captain Wang had another incident. He was discovered by secret agents while meeting with revolutionaries on the street. Senior officials of the Kuomintang set a trap to capture Captain Wang. Li Yan, who had been dealing with high-ranking officials all day, immediately learned about this matter and felt that he should help Captain Wang. He disregarded his personal safety and blocked Captain Wang in a small alley on the street, immediately telling him about it. From then on, Captain Wang disappeared. Afterwards, it was learned that this Wang Yingchang was an underground party that the Eighth Route Army had invaded.
Zhou Dai's troops were under the jurisdiction of Fu Zuoyi, and after the peaceful liberation of Beijing, they were treated as rebels. Li Yan served in the Zhou Dai army until the eve of liberation when he passed away due to illness in Lutijian Village.