Liu the Imperial Physician on Health Preservation - Three Parts Treatment, Seven Parts Nurturing

Author: Liu Hongzhang / Liu Hu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The imperial physicians in China's feudal society, especially those after the Ming Dynasty, were a special class in the medical field. They adopted methods such as dietary regulation, food therapy, and cautious medication to ensure the health of the nobility. At the same time, they avoided penalties such as dismissal, beating, exile, execution, or the annihilation of three generations due to ineffective prevention. Although many Chinese emperors died young despite the advice of imperial physicians, many nobles lived healthy lives, particularly many concubines who lived to a ripe old age, and even many eunuchs, maids, and guards died without illness. This has sparked great interest among many modern people. Now, as humanity begins to focus on quality of life and natural lifespan, much of the modern research may be mere theoretical speculation or based on assumptions. Therefore, it is worthwhile to revisit the historical experience of imperial physicians, as historical experience is worth noting. The Liu family is a descendant of the Jin Dynasty medical scholar Liu Wansu and also a descendant of the Ming Dynasty Yongle Emperor's imperial physician Liu Chun. It is one of the few historically long-standing traditional Chinese medicine families in China. Liu Chun's theory of health preservation and the "seven parts of nourishment and three parts of treatment" has become a common saying among all Chinese people worldwide and remains a theory for preventing diseases and treating chronic conditions in traditional Chinese medicine. The Liu family has been practicing the "seven parts of nourishment and three parts of treatment" method since 1457 to treat various diseases and has gained fame for its treatment of cancer, being the only specialized family in tumor medicine in China.