There was a tea merchant (whose name has been lost to history) operating in the capital city. He contracted malaria during summer. Despite consulting many doctors and taking various medications, he would still experience full-body chills and shivering every afternoon, lasting over two hours. After months of prolonged illness, he became emaciated to the point of needing assistance to eat and drink. Being over fifty years old with meager business profits and no heirs, he sighed constantly and had given up hope of survival.
That autumn, I (the physician in this account) happened to visit his tea shop. My friend Tian Shifu supported the weakened merchant as they came seeking (used in traditional contexts). The patient’s complexion resembled cold ashes, his breathing was so faint it seemed intermittent. Upon checking his pulse, I found all pulse points weak, slow, and barely detectable – particularly at the spleen-stomach area on the right wrist, where pulses registered fewer than 30 beats per minute. I explained: “This is indeed malaria, but malaria stems from external infection. If treated early with fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory methods, it should have been easily cured. Your previous medications must have contained harsh ingredients like caoguo (black cardamom) and changshan (Dichroa root). Your digestive system was already weak, and these aggressive treatments worsened it. Now your entire body is like frozen ground with collapsed digestive function – continuing malaria (used in traditional contexts) would be fatal.”
Tian Shifu urgently asked: “Can he still be saved?” I replied: “Though the pulse is weak, there’s no organ failure. Of course he can recover!” I prescribed Fuzi Lizhong Tang (warming and strengthening the digestive system). By the next day, the chills had stopped. Then I switched to Buzhong Yiqi Tang (tonifying vital energy), adding peony root, cardamom, and cinnamon to aid digestion and blood circulation. Within five days he regained normal appetite, and after half a month, fully recovered.
The esteemed medical text Zui Hua Chuang Medical (Original: Ming Dynasty Clinical Archives) has been translated by timtcm.com. We welcome your valuable comments and feedback in the section below.
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