Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-09-15
CHINESE SCIENCE.
An Empire Wherein Quack
cry rules supreme.
SURGERY ALMOST UNKNOWN
Drugs Used in Quantities, but More
Reliance Placed in Charms,
Amulets and Philters.

hellHucc flaceQ III CUhPuS,
Amulets and Philters.
1t is surely little singular that a
nation like the Chinese, with civiliza-
ton dating back to antiquity, and who
have forestalled us in several Of the
most remarkable inventions that have
ever been made, should have continusd
to the present day in ignorance Of the
elementary principles of science which
has done 30 much to alleviate human
suffering in western lands, namely,
surgery. And this is all the more
curious when we consider that native
traditions spe, * Of extraordinary opera
tions perfol med by mythical surgeons in
ancient times; traditions go tenaciously
sclung to that if desirous Of showing their
s,ation of the skill Of a foreign prac-
titioner AZ the present day, the Chinese
know of no higher compliment than to
call him living Watch.
1t is strange and important fact that
before the advent of medical practition-
ers from Europe, in the early part of the
y
are assured on high authority, who
cosysaafdpuncture an abscess or remove the
simplet tumor; while in cases of dislo-
cation or broken bones, native doctors
were Utterly helpless. The sole psnacea
for everything in China is plaster, and
so greet is the national prediction for
this method of treatment that the Chi
nese hive not inaptly been described as
a plasttr and blister-loving people. In
stances innumerable might be quoted
in proc OF this statement, but one illus-
tratioi must suffice, and that is the case
of a man who presented himself at the
Missionary Hospital at Ningpo, wearing
plaster which he had carried for two
years over fractured limb, which had
been united without being properly set.
The fact is, the native doctors of China
are, to a great extent, self-constituted.
Any person in want of livelihood, and
who carl read and write sufficiently we'll
to be able to copy out prescriptions from
a medical book, can set up a practice.
We need not, therefore, be surprised to
hear that the knowledge Of anatomy and
physiology is entirely wanting, and that
ile widest theories are put forward in
place of true knowledge. DR.. Gauld, a
practitioner of long experience in China,
tells US that the position of the native
physician is depicted, in Chinese pic
torial primers, between the hoathen
priest and the fortune. teller, from which
it may be inferred that his profess
sion is regarded as combination of
superstition and legerdelnain. All sorts
OF childish theories are propounded by
native quacks to explain the processes of
nature, OF the real origin of which they
irpuA Thn s,1Q &c kIo
planets is sometimes gravely asserted,
as we'll as that of the five elements into
which Chinese physicists divide matter,
i. e., fire, air, earth, water and wood.
While others go so far as to attribute
complaints to the disturbance of
the equilibrium between the male
and female powers of nature. There
is a deeply seated belief among the
Chinese that nearly all bodily and mental
diseases spring from either air or spirits.
That under these conditions the practice
of medicine is controlled and perverted
by host Of euperstitious notions and
practices, we can we'll believe. Disease
ia regarded by the vast majority of the
people in the light of visitation of evil
spirits, and as marking the displeasure
Of the gods; and to expel the one and
to pacify the others, charms, amulets
and other devices are freely had recourse
to, and in almost all cases of sickness
idols, 'astrologers and fortune-tellers are
gravely consulted.
A curious illustration of the effect of
this belief on the native mind is supplied
by Archdeacon Grey. He writes: "On
q visit to monastery in the White Cloud
mountains, found monk who was sut-
fering much from a loathsome disease.
He applied to me for medical aid, and
urged him to return with me to Canton,
where he could be placed under the care
of DR.. Kerr, of the Medical Missionary
hospital. On hearing of my intentions,
the Abbot took me aside and begged of
me not to show any kindness to man
who had doubtless been guilty in
. former state of existence of
some very heinous crime, for which the
gods were then making him pay the
well-merited penalty" Arguments such
as these may excite smile among culti-
waited Europeans. but readers of DR..
Simpsons life will remember that reas-
oning of somewhat analogous kind was
brought forward by well-educated and
otherwise humane people against the use
of chloroform as a means of relieving
suffering in childbirth. The most con-
vincing argument adduced in favor of
painless surgery was that of the first re-
corded operation, when a rib was ex-
tracted during deep sleep.
Chinese methods of treatment in cases
of sickness or disease are fantastic and
barbarous, and however much evil
spirits may be frightened by the clang-
ing of gongs and the detonations OF fire.
crackers, such noises must necessarily
be highly injurious to patients whose
nervous systems are rendered sensitive
by fever or weakened by disease. The
eick-room is almost invariably stuck
round with charms, written by the
stupid impostors who are called
in to assist, while the ashes Of
others which have been burnt are
mixed with water and given to the pa
tient to drink. The various methods en-
ployed by the exorcists to drive away
evil spirits in cases of illness are too
numerous to mention here. Suffice it to
say, that the fears and superstitions Of
the patients and their friends are worked
on to the fullest extent by the crafty i'm
posters who undertake these duties, and
who regulate their programme in accord
ance with the length of the purse of their
employers.