bubble_chart Description

Lou Ying (1332–1401), given name Gongshuang, courtesy name Quanshan, and pseudonym Quanzhai, was a native of Louta, Xiaoshan. He was a descendant of King Qian Liu of Wuyue's general Lou Jin, specifically the 15th-generation descendant of Lou Yanfu, the founding ancestor of Xianyan. From a young age, he was intelligent and studious, recognizing characters at 4, reading the *Neijing* at 7, learning to write at 11, and discussing the *Four Books* at 12. Lou Ying was not only bright and diligent but also a filial son. At 17, when his mother fell ill, he attended to her meticulously, personally tasting her medicine and never leaving her bedside. His filial piety became renowned in the village.

When his mother was ill, his father invited Dai Yuanli, a renowned physician from Pujiang and a disciple of Zhu Danxi, one of the "Jinyuan Sidajia," to treat her three times in Louta. The medicine worked wonders, and she recovered fully. Lou Ying was deeply impressed by Dai's medical skills and developed a desire to practice medicine to help others. He frequently consulted Dai on medical techniques and theories, becoming increasingly engrossed. Lou Ying's father, Lou Yong, who had served as a Confucian instructor in Fuyang, hoped his son would study the *Four Books* and *Five Classics* to pursue a scholarly career and bring honor to the family. However, during the turbulent late Yuan and early Ming periods, Lou Ying rejected his father's wish for him to "excel in studies and become an official." He argued, "Practicing medicine to benefit the people is surely better than being an official," and vowed, "If I cannot be a good minister, I will be a good physician." He ultimately pursued his calling to heal and save lives. From the age of 20, he balanced studying medicine with traveling to villages to practice, personally gathering and preparing herbs. His practice extended to Suzhou, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Hubei. A local legend tells of a pregnant woman in Louta who died during a difficult delivery. As her coffin was being carried out, Lou Ying returned home, noticed fresh blood seeping from the coffin, and urgently halted the procession. Upon opening the coffin, he used a single acupuncture needle to revive the baby, saving both mother and child. Such miraculous cases spread his fame far and wide, even reaching the imperial court. In 1377, during the 10th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, while ill, summoned renowned physicians. At 46, Lou Ying was recommended by Meng Ke, the county magistrate of Linhuai (modern Fengyang, Anhui), to treat the emperor in the capital (Nanjing). After curing the emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang was so impressed by his skills that he appointed him to serve in the Taiyiyuan (Imperial Medical Bureau). However, Lou Ying, unwilling to engage in official duties, excused himself due to old age and poor health, submitting a resignation. In August of that year, the emperor granted his request to return home. Lou Ying continued his medical practice and writing after returning to civilian life.

Lou Ying has 30 years of rich medical experience. In the 29th year of Hongwu (1396), he completed the 40-volume Yixue Gangmu. Using the simple classical Chinese philosophy, he applied the principles of "yin-yang and the five phases, generation and transformation of all things" to compile 10 sections on zang-fu organ diseases, cold-damage disease, women, children, and luck. Each section records different diseases, treatments, and prescriptions, drawing on the strengths of various schools, fully reflecting the characteristics of treating the same disease with different methods. He proposed the diagnostic principle of "first distinguishing blood and qi, exterior and interior, upper and lower, and the divisions of zang-fu organs to know the location of the disease, then observing the deficiency, excess, cold, and heat of the disease to treat it." This book, with its comprehensive structure, is an unprecedented masterpiece in the history of Chinese medicine. More than two hundred years later, the famous Ming dynasty medical scholar Li Shi-zhen listed Yixue Gangmu as a major reference when compiling Bencao Gangmu, demonstrating the importance and authority of this book in medical research. Therefore, Lou Ying is regarded as a prodigy from eastern Zhejiang, known for "not hearing what should not be heard, but acting upon what is heard; not learning what should not be learned, but mastering what is learned."

Lou Ying personally went up the mountain to collect herbs, plant herbs, and make medicine in a streamlined process. He promoted the spirit of saving lives and aiding the injured, practicing humanitarian medical treatment, and charged no fees to impoverished patients. He treated everyone equally, from the imperial relatives of the court to the common people. Truly a giant in the medical field, with upright morals and the essence of a sage, he was a model of his generation. At that time, people respectfully called Lou Ying the "Divine Immortal Grandfather." According to relevant records, from Lou Ying to Lou Bangyuan, Lou Wangdao, Lou Qiting, and Lou Quan, there were five members of the Lou family who practiced medicine. Spanning the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, their long tenure, high medical skills, and broad medical knowledge were unprecedented. Lou family doctors were highly skilled, compiling a wealth of precious medical knowledge from pre-Ming literature, making significant contributions to humanity. Beneath the "Overturned Medicine Bottle" slope in Louyi Village, Louta Town, lies the resting place of the divine doctor Lou Ying and his wife Zhang Anren. His hometown has a Quanshan Memorial Hall, with couplets inside that read: "Know astronomy, adept in yin-yang, master the essence of Huangdi and Qibo; understand geography, regulate the calendar, grasp the essence of the Zhouyi." Another couplet reads: "With Huai's discerning eye, recommended the prodigy of Xiaoshan; with Xianyan's herbs, rose to the capital of Hongwu."

Lou Ying is not only the ancestor of the Lou family in Xiaoshan but also a pioneer of Chinese medicine, with achievements that will be remembered for eternity.

Lou Ying's epitaph

Lou Ying, also known as Gongshuang, styled Quanshan, and known as Quanzhai, was the fifteenth-generation descendant of the Xianyan ancestor Yanfu. Born on March 15, 1332, and died on November 19, 1401.

He came from a family of Confucian doctors with a profound scholarly background. Exceptionally intelligent, he eschewed officialdom to delve into medical texts. At twenty, he began diagnosing, and his prescriptions were always effective, with patients flocking to his door, saving many from peril; his reputation soared, spreading throughout the court and the common people. During the Hongwu era, he was summoned to cure Emperor Taizu's illness and was offered the position of imperial physician, but he declined, preferring a simple life, and was granted permission to return to his hometown.

At thirty-one, he established a school to teach students, extensively collecting and studying the classics, delving deeply into the "Yi Jing," examining hundreds of medical texts, and inheriting the secret teachings of Danxi; he synthesized various strengths, forging a unique path, categorizing diseases and methods based on yin-yang and zang-fu organ theory, and diligently wrote for thirty-five years, completing the "Yixue Gangmu" in 1397, a monumental work in ten parts and forty volumes, an unprecedented compendium. It was widely copied, and in 1565, it was printed, later Li Shizhen's "Bencao Gangmu" frequently cited it. Lou and Li, the medical and pharmacological compendiums, like twin stars, illuminated the medical field, benefiting future generations, and erected a monument to Chinese medicine.

Lou was a giant in the medical field, a distinguished scholar, with exemplary character and morals, a model of his generation, the essence of a sage, remembered for eternity. Later generations revered him as the "Divine Immortal Grandfather," and in 1721, his tombstone was re-erected, and in 1918, his portrait was unveiled in the lower ancestral hall. In 1986, the Lou Ying Memorial Hall was established, and in 1989, the people of Xianyan restored his tomb and built a pavilion. Over six hundred years, his memory has been continuously honored.

In this prosperous era, to protect the people's health, promote medical skills, and uphold medical ethics, on the 665th anniversary of his birth, a monument was erected to commemorate him.

Lou Ying's descendant Yue Zhong wrote this in March 1997.

Source: http://www.xswh.gov.cn/Subject/Article/2007-01-29/2007012911263718.shtml