Our hero today, Liu Jincheng, now chief physician at the Beijing Hospital of Chinese Medicine, was among the ten million students. However for Liu, misfortune turned out to be a rare opportunity. In the countryside where he was sent, Datong County, Shanxi province, there lived a very famous doctor of Chinese medicine. Following his teacher, Liu chose not only a career but also a balanced and healthy attitude towards life.

"Life can be interpreted by the theory of Chinese medicine, that is, the Yin and Yang theory. You lose in Yin, and gain in Yang. Nothing is lost as a whole," said Doctor Lu with a smile in his eyes. "One gains in yin, and loses in yang."

Liu Jincheng went to work in Datong County at the end of 1968, when he had just finished senior high school. If it had not been for the movement, he would have gone to college that year. It was exactly ten years later that he was enrolled in the Capital Medical University among the first lucky few after the Cultural Revolution. Ten years of youth were spent in a poor mountain county serving as a 'barefoot doctor', which meant treating the peasants for free. At first Liu learned western medicine, and because of his youth and passion, he soon mastered the basic skills, "For an appendix operation, I could stitch the incision in fifteen minutes at my fastest!" Liu recalled with some pride.

Then in 1969, Liu Jincheng began to study traditional Chinese medicine under the guidance of Li Kan, a very famous elderly doctor of Chinese medicine in the Datong area. Talking of his esteemed teacher, who initiated him into his career, Liu's voice was filled with respect. "He could diagnose when he was going to die," Liu said. Both his teacher and Liu could tell from his teacher's appearance that he had a problem with his liver, however due to lack of advanced medical equipment, he couldn't judge what type of hepatitis he was suffering from. He lived as if he didn't have the disease. Then one day he asked his wife to make new cloth for him, adding that he didn't have much time left.

"My teacher was very strict with me. He lent me his collection of classic Chinese medicine books, and I had to return to him in one week and recite very fluently all the important paragraphs. If you couldn't pass the oral examination, he wouldn't teach you anymore." Thanks to his teacher's strictness and his own diligence, Liu mastered the fundamentals, which are far more solid than the current college graduates. He can sill recite almost all the important theories and prescriptions in the classic books without pausing for breathe.

Learning western medicine and Chinese medicine, curing patients in a shabby clinic, going to patients' homes, taking up farming, working as the village accountant, for a long time Liu only slept four hours a day. Physical suffering was nothing for him, but he constantly felt dejected in spirit. "I felt very lucky that I could learn medicine; relieving the peasants from their illness made me very happy," said Liu.

Chinese Medicine Cures Human Beings, Not Only Disease

Having graduated from the Chinese medicine department of the Capital Medical University, by the end of 1982 Liu Jincheng was assigned to Beijing Hospital of Chinese Medicine. From resident physician to the chief physician, 19 years have passed. What makes Liu so proud is that he has students in all provinces nationwide including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan; except for one place, Tibet. Foreign students formally study under Liu's guidance, from one day to one year, mostly Japanese, then Koreans Americans, Germans, English, and French.

Do foreign students experience a gap in understanding with Chinese medicine? "Yes," confirmed Liu, "because of the cultural difference. But if their Chinese language skills are advanced, things might be easier." Even Chinese students are unable to understand perfectly the subtle theories in the classic books, let alone foreigners. In that case, to study Chinese medicine well, one has to have a good understanding of traditional Chinese culture first. It needs self-cultivation by piecemeal accumulation. Liu said, "This is very important. Chinese medicine cures human beings, not only disease. As a Chinese medicine doctor, one needs to have a healthy concept about life."

The doctor should use his own experience as an example to influence the patient. For western medicine, the reputation of the hospital is recognized, meanwhile for Chinese medicine, the reputation of the doctor himself is of great importance. Since the focus of Chinese medicine is to prevent rather than cure disease, helping the individual to establish a correct concept about health and master effective methods to preserve health, the role of the Chinese medicine doctor is like combining the roles of the western doctor and psychiatrist in one.

"Sometimes I wish I looked older, or even better I had white hair, or a long white beard," without a single white hair plus a pair of sharp eyes, well-preserved Liu looks much younger than his real age of 56. Sometimes it happens: once a nurse sent a patient to consulting room No.20, telling the patient there was an experienced, mature doctor. The patient pushed the door open, saw Liu sitting behind the desk surrounded by several students. He closed the door immediately and went to complain to the nurse, "There is no mature doctor, only students."

Liu laughed, "I wish I could look older, then what I say may be more persuasive at first sight."

However, what Liu says is persuasive enough for those who get the chance to work with him. Liu's student, Xiao Chen from Taiwan said her teacher seems to be very strict, scolding them seriously when they become absent-minded, make mistakes or don't work hard, but he is an excellent teacher, he teaches us by heart."

Green Medicine

According to Chinese medicine theory, the occurrence of disease results from the imbalance of Yin and Yang. Balance is relative, while imbalance is absolute. That's why people are usually in a sub-healthy state. The function of herbal medicine is to balance Yin and Yang. That explains why many old Chinese medicine doctors still have glowing cheeks and enjoy excellent health: they can hear and see well into their 70s or 80s.

Liu Jincheng said that Chinese medicine has been proved effective for the past 2,000 years, and that what it lacks now is more utilization of modern technology.

Having practiced western medicine in the countryside for more than seven years, Liu certainly does not repel western medicine. But he thinks that in some way Chinese medicine is superior to western medicine.

Only having four years to serve at the hospital, Liu has already worked out his plan for after retirement. That is to advocate Chinese medicine, the 'green medicine' concept. First of all, Liu said, he intends to let the world know that herbal medicine is not something that originated in Korean, or Japan, but in China. China only occupies a current global Chinese medicine market share of five percent, only several hundred million yuan each year, while US medicine exported to China reaches two billion US dollars. It's still very hard for Chinese medicines to obtain certification from the Food and Drug Administration of the US, we have many good medicines, such as medicines made by Tong Ren Tang which are not recognized by the market. "There is lots of work to do," said Liu.

Asked where he got the concept of 'green medicine', Liu said that he was inspired by the Green Peace Orgazation. The goal of the organization is to protect the environment, nature, while the goal of Chinese medicine is to protect the life of human beings.

Nature is green, human beings live with nature, when we die we go back to nature. Liu's green medicine concept is to tell people to return to nature while we are alive. The pattern of our diet, our knowledge about health, even when we have to take medicine, should follow the green concept. For example, in our diet, we should eat more green vegetables; taking medicine, more herbal medicines than white pills; and most importantly, the Chinese medicine theory places great emphasis on preserving health. To have a healthy body, mind, and life style, adjust diet according to the change of seasons and location, adapt oneself to nature, and live harmoniously with nature, all the above are covered in the green medicine concept.

Apart from novel health concepts, during the interview Liu talked about WTO, intellectual property rights, the Anti-Tactical Ballistic Missile Treaty, and even the new year hit film Big Shot's Funeral, whatever influences the world.

"I have to know about what is happening outside my window," said Liu, "because that's where my patients come from."

(Beijing Today March 29, 2002)