African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 490 - 168 Li Ji’s Sense of Responsibility
First Town City, National Advanced Medical School.
Ernst inspected the new school, as the school leaders introduced the situation of the new school, accompanied by personnel from the Ministry of Health.
"Your Highness! Why is there no involvement from us in this so-called medical school? I think our technology is not inferior, is it?"
"Hmm, who are you?" Ernst looked somewhat puzzled at the person suddenly questioning him.
"This is Mr. Li Ji, a former member of the Far East medical team, now serving as a consultant in the East African Department of Health," said Belgrade, the Minister of Health.
"No wonder! Mr. Li Ji, you can raise any questions you have, and if they can be solved, I will naturally help you solve them."
Li Ge said, "The contributions of Far Eastern medicine to East Africa in recent years have been well recognized. Although we cannot say we surpass Western medicine, our achievements are certainly not lacking. But why hasn’t this school incorporated any of our Far Eastern medicine?"
So that’s the issue? Ernst smiled and reassured, "Mr. Li Ji, do you understand medicine?"
Li Ji: "Of course, this is my line of work."
Ernst: "Then can you explain the principles of Far Eastern medicine scientifically?"
Li Ji: "This... Your Highness, this is putting me in a difficult position. The roots of our Far Eastern medicine are completely different from Western medicine, and naturally don’t align with so-called science."
Having stayed in East Africa for a long time, Li Ji also understood what science was. It was an entire system of theories, but he couldn’t forcibly match the yin-yang and five elements with the Western so-called science.
Ernst shook his head and said, "You’ve got the concept wrong. In fact, neither Western nor Eastern medicine initially had a scientific concept. They were experiential studies derived from primitive witch doctors. And in terms of state, traditional Western medicine even retained more religious elements, like the concept of ’humor,’ crow masks, and evil spirits, etc. But now a new medical system has emerged in the West."
The concept of "humor" was not something Ernst was making up; it was the theoretical basis of the bloodletting therapy. Europe continued to use the medical theories of the ancient Greek physician Galen. Galen’s theory stated that life originated from "humor," so on this basis, Galen thought blood was discharged from the heart to all parts of the body, not circulating. Because of this, Galen didn’t deem the blood volume of the human body limited, thus inventing bloodletting therapy, which led to many deaths due to this fallacy.
"This new medical system began with Harvey. Harvey not only experimentally proved the theory of blood circulation but also pioneered modern physiology and research methods in medicine. Of course, what I’m saying is controversial. European doctors might not agree, as they might consider ancient Greek Hippocrates as the origin, which essentially confuses concepts, forcibly binding modern medicine with traditional Western medicine. If you try to explain blood circulation to them, they might consider it a fantasy."
This was also an old Western pattern, always able to find omnipotent masters from ancient Greece. Indeed, it was a method of reform through ancient precedents in facing traditional powers, or perhaps to add historical color and enrich historical depth. But East Africa didn’t follow this. Ernst said Harvey is the father of modern medicine; henceforth, Harvey would be the father of modern medicine in East Africa, even if he was British, just like how East Africa could not deny Newton, neither would they deny Harvey.
Ernst’s words left Li Ji feeling muddled. What was the theory of blood circulation? What was Hippocrates...
Seeing the bewildered expressions of Li Ji and others, Ernst could only explain it this way: "In short, now a new emerging force has risen in medicine, burying all traditional medicine worldwide, which faces this crisis unless you can scientifically explain parts of traditional medicine, which obviously, at present, you cannot."
"So how to understand this science?"
"Observe, hypothesize, experiment, verify, apply, summarize," Ernst said.
"..." Li Ji expected the crown prince to have some grand discourse, only to find it was just this? So he said, "But Your Highness, this doesn’t seem to conflict with traditional Eastern medicine. We also observe and hypothesize, and as for experiments, we do have them. That’s a clinical matter, finally verify, apply and summarize."
Ernst pondered, seeming like traditional Chinese medicine was indeed derived this way. No wonder it was so enduring, and continued to be popular, making problem-solving even easier.
He said to Li Ji, "You see, since the core of traditional Eastern medicine is the same as that of modern medicine, as practitioners of Eastern medicine, you should combine Eastern medicine with modern medicine to form a new Eastern medical system."
Ernst continued, "I know in the East, some self-titled medical masters are quite outrageous, possibly without any skill, only to deceive. However, as long as you question them, they use metaphysical concepts to explain issues. The essence of medicine requires convincing evidence, just like modern medical masters, who prove their theories through experiments. Of course, their experiments might be wrong due to scientific and technological constraints, but at this stage, that is the truth. If you can reconstruct the theoretical foundation of Chinese medicine based on evidence and experiments, then I will establish a dedicated school of Chinese medicine."
This requirement from Ernst was significantly challenging for Li Ji. Currently, Li Ji was essentially the representative figure of Chinese medicine in East Africa’s official domain, but to maintain the status of Chinese medicine, there must be a break from tradition, using so-called experiments and evidence to prove the importance of Chinese medicine.
But these Chinese medicine practitioners in East Africa would only be of second-rate level in the Far East; engaging in theoretical research was challenging, let alone science, something they had never contacted before. In this respect, the Far East Empire was considerate enough not to send mere frauds to East Africa.
Li Ji: "Does Your Highness mean that Chinese medicine must reform?"
Ernst: "That depends on your choices. I can only say that East Africa recognizes only science. If in the future you can prove Chinese medicine to be scientific, we will naturally promote its development. Otherwise, it will face the same fate as traditional Western medicine, being eliminated by modern medicine."
Ernst’s words made Li Ji feel a deep sense of crisis, not just for the status of Chinese medicine in East Africa, but for its status worldwide. After all, East Africa was a foreign land. Would the Far East, the homeland of Chinese medicine, also be replaced by so-called modern medicine? If such a situation occurs, then his disciples and descendants of Chinese medicine would truly be disappointing!
No, Chinese medicine must have new breakthroughs in this new era. It cannot perish in my hands. Li Ji suddenly realized he was under endless pressure and responsibility. Simultaneously, he felt excited as he might not be a top-notch practitioner, but if Chinese medicine could revive under his lead during the challenges of a new era, what a glorious honor that would be?
"Your Highness, we know what to do now!" Li Ji said solemnly.
From this moment, Chinese medicine in East Africa embarked on a different path, to integrate Chinese medicine with science, though it was the most difficult path. Chinese medicine scholars led by Li Ji, even in the Far East, would be considered of second-rate level. So they needed to continue learning traditional Chinese medicine and the so-called science.
So it was destined that Li Ji’s generation couldn’t complete the construction of a new scientific system for Chinese medicine. It would take multiple generations’ joint efforts to catch up, forming a new modern medical system with Chinese medicine characteristics. In essence, it was the same thing as modern medicine but with Eastern cultural hues, becoming part of the East African medical system.
