The San Francisco call., 1913-08-31
EASTE ER|V NE EDIC|NE:
CURES CHINESE
Prescription Orders Metal
Needles Stuck Into
Human Body
Pulverized Dead Things
Are Good Among the
Ignorant Believers

The Introduction into China of west
ern knowledge is destined to work a
complete revolution in medical and
surgical practice in the F'owery King
dom. One OF the things that is going
and now nearly gone is what is
called ''acapuncture, or pricking
with needles. This mode of treating
disease consists in sticking of long
needles OF. silver or gold into the
body or members of the sufferer and
then pulling them out. as housewives
sometimes test their cakes with a
broom straw to see If they are done,
says the Kansas City Star.
Reliable authorities, according to
the Pathfinder, tell of many cases in
which this heroic system has brought
about cures. Perhaps the patient was
scared into being cured and decided
to get well rather than be stuck any
more. Il Is declared that the Chinese
doctors are able actually to penetrate
the heart and other vital organs with
their needles without causing death,
and that the process does not cause
any considerable amount OF pain.
A large amount of hocus pocus and
superstition Is mixed up with Chinese
medicine. Some OF the Chinese rem
edies are undoubtedly Of value, but
in most cases they are employed with
out much reference TO their actual
medical effect. For example, ginseng
is widely used, but the roots that are
most highly priced and that are sup
posed to be the most efficacious are
those that happen to grow with two
prongs to the roots so as to resemble
more or less the human form. The
meat of black dogs Is supposed to be
good for consump tives, and even In
Canton the traveller often sees black
dog carcasses still for sale. Orange
peel Is believed to be a very fine
medicine; the peels have such a
market value. in fact. that oranges
are commonly sold with the peel
taken off.
The Mongolian physician, after feel
ing one pulse, then the other, per-
haps both together, possibly may de-
eide that a little dried grasshopper
is the proper medicine to be used. On
the other hand, If the Celestial of the
native school supposes, by the action
OF the pulse. that the disease condi-
tion requires some other form Of
treatment, the Chinese drug store
near at hand possesses almost every
thing under the sun as a prescrip-
ton
Oftentimes the debilitated patient
is said to need particularly rare and
unusual medicine, as, for example,
some preparation consisting OF the
pulverized dry bones of tiger;
treatment is considered very com
monplace when the native physician
prescribes only such ordinary things
as dried leaves, roots. stems, dried
flowers. the bark of trees, etc.
The Chinese doctor possesses many
ideas peculiarly his own. There Is
much mystery and inlpressiveness In
his manner of treatment. According
to MongoIian medicine. the Chinese
believes that the human heart Is more
likely to become infamed at noon
during the summer season than at
any other time. Likewise they re-
gard the human ear as suggesting
the condition of the kidneys, while
the mouth and lips indicate the condi-
tion of the spleen and the stomach.
Doctor john Chinaman has
evolved a wonderful system of dag
nosis that depends on "a varieties of
pulse, but entirely aside from these
there are 81 other special and minor
varieties that prognosticate death
One fundamental reason why the
Chinese of today is utterly ignorant
In knowledge of human anatomy Is
because Of the ancient custom of the
yellow man neither to dissect nor to
study the muscles and internal or
gans of the human body The basis
Of this reluctance to investigate the
human body Is in the ancestor wor-
ship which exists
The Chinese revere the dead to
such an extent that when the demise
Of a Chinese occurs he is buried for
three years. At the end of this time
the body is dug UP and the bones
placed in a vase The vase and it's
contents are then Inferred for all fu-
ture time.