But Chen Yinque, a master of Chinese studies in the Republic of China, was early.

1930

In 2000, he wrote a paper entitled Hua Tuo's Biography and Cao Chong's Buddhist Story. After textual research, Chen Yinque believes that Hua Tuo did not actually exist in history, but only originated from Indian myths and legends. Master Chen Yinque's point of view is that the strange name Hua Tuo was actually transformed from the name' Hua' of Agatha, the Indian medicine god.

Is Master Chen Yinque's viewpoint a historical truth? It may be a bit far-fetched to say that Hua Tuo is a fictional character just at this point. History books such as the History of the Later Han Dynasty, Compendium of Materia Medica, Classic of Materia Medica and History of the Three Kingdoms all recorded Hua Tuo's deeds. The Classic of Materia Medica and the Classic of Materia Medica talk about Hua Tuo's medical knowledge, while The History of the Later Han Dynasty and The History of the Three Kingdoms are biographical.

"The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records: "The recipes are practical, and people's lives are at stake, so it is advisable to increase the total loss."

The History of the Three Kingdoms commented: "Hua Tuo's medical diagnosis, Du Kui's vocal music, Zhu Jianping's physiognomy, Zhou Xuanzhi's dream and Guan Ju's technique are all mysterious and ingenious and very unique. The past history has been handed down from Bian Que, Cang Gong and Japan, so it is widely known and miracles continue. So Yuner was recorded. " These are all comments on Hua Tuo's superb medical skills.

According to these documents, there should be Hua Tuo in history. Moreover, the surname "Hua" is not uncommon in the Han Dynasty. For example, Hua Xin, a celebrity of the Three Kingdoms, has a precedent for the word "Tuo", such as Zhao Tuo, the emperor of South Vietnam in the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, it is not enough to rely solely on homophones of ancient characters. There really was Hua Tuo in ancient times, so was Hua Tuo's medical skill really so superb that he invented Mafengsan?

Huatuo hemp powder picture

Chen, a master of Chinese studies, said that Hua Tuo's magical medical skill was actually copied from other stories by later generations, which was similar to the magical medical skill of the imperial doctor Yaoyu translated by An Shigao in the later Han Dynasty. Even if there is no textual research by the master of Chinese studies to refute the magical medical skills and hemp boiling powder, we can know that it is impossible to have the technical conditions and sterile environment of ancient internal medicine surgery with modern medical knowledge. Therefore, the operation of Hua Tuo Ma Fei San should be exaggerated by later generations.

Hua tuo should really exist in history, and he also has brilliant medical skills. His medical deeds in Shandong and other places are enough to illustrate this point. However, it is not enough to believe that Hua Tuo operated on patients with Mafeisan. We should treat China's cultural heritage realistically and don't exaggerate or belittle it.