Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-08-30
MEDICINE IN CHINA.
The Difference Between American al
Chinese Physicians.

MEDlCiNa lI} S1lNAi
The Difference Between American and
Chinese Physicians.
Yen-Tszee Hing, whose title in Chi
nese corresponds to our M. d., but
which is a trife broader, including
dentist, apotheeary and chemist, is the
leading Chinese physician in this coun-
try. He is a slender, bright-eyed,
pleasant gentleman, rather UNDER
sized according to American notions,
and about forty-fve years Of age, and
his principal practice is in New York.
He has not adopted the American cos
tune, but wears the flowing robes of
his own country, of the richest texture
and the brightest colors.
al have very little to do with Ameri-
can DOCTORS" he said the other day,
land have never had much intercourse
with them, for to one who has been
brought up as | was, many of their
theories so far as medicine is concerned
seem the rankest nonsense. In surgery
and chemistry | am willing to, and
cheerfully do acknowledge their superb
GRITTY over us. The American surgeon,
when he is well educated and takes
pains to keep himself we'll up in his
profession, knows more, believe, than
any other doctor in the world"
He was asked his opinion of the re-
cent operation in which the cornea of
a rabbits eye was transplanted sue
cessfully SO thatthe patients sight was
restored.
DR.. Yen-Tszee Hing was amazed.
at was a most wonderful thing to
do" he said, land one that would
never be dreamed of by our faculty.
Our system of medicine, however, "
he continued, " is the result of the ex-
perience of our race for many thou
sand years. For example, four thou
sand years ago shrewd observer in the
| North of China noticed that some oil
the domestic animals when troubled
with certain stomach disorders ate
eagerly of peppermint He thereupon
experimental with it and learned its
value. Being a thrifty man, and see.
ing the value of the discovery, he con.
verified his estate into a peppermint
farm, and he and his children after
him devoted themselves to the culture
preparation and sale of the plant
They furnished it in all ways-fresh
dried and pressed, in aqueous extracts
alcoholic extracts, oil and the solidi
fled oil which you call menthol. i
has been used ever since in cases o
kidney troubles and some liver dis
orders. Externally it is used for neu
ralgia, rheumatism, toothache, etc.
and also for an antiseptic in dressing
wounds.
"We have about the same theorie
and practice that you have about sup
plying the system with lime, iron
strychnine, quinine, beef, iron ant
wine, and the like, but there is this diff
ference in our methods that we go t.
nature directly for our standard RENE
dies while you supply them from scien
titic preparations. This difference /
due perhaps to our ignorance of chem
istry, though we prefer to think that
is because we would rather go direc
to nature for our medicines than to OF
tain them from artificial sources.
american wits in their attempts {
be funny at the expense of the Chimes
have described a dyspeptic going to
Chinese doctor, who, after learnin
the symptoms, writes number of HE
roglyphics on piece of paper, ant
after gravely burning the paper, make
the patient eat the ashes. The obviou
inference is that the physician is ell
ploying a charm and pretending t
heal by magic. AS matter of fax
in these cases of dyspepsia or heart
burn in which charcoal is the acknow
edged remedy, we take large shes
of cotton paper made for the purpos,
and after rolling it up we burn it in
closed compartment in order save {
) much as possible of the resultant cha
,, coal, and give it to the patient to TAX
in prescribed doses.
Most American physicians" /
continued, "are paid to keep their pi
tients sick. In China we are paid
keep our patients we'll. The gener
! rule among us is for the patient to pa
a regular stipend to his physicia
while he is in health, and for this pa
ment to cease entirely for the who
time the patient is sick. A large nur
Der of my patients pay me in this wa
; for we regard it as sort of breach
u contract for the physician to allow Il
. patient to get sick. The system is
good one in some respects, and in 9th
4 respects it is bad. On the one hand,
!, Chinese doctor very seldom gets rio
but on the other hand, he never gre
y poor, as the American doctors too oft,
+ do. IN Y. Cor. Philadelphia Press.