Chapter 91 Talent vs. Ordinary
Apart from Mr. and Mrs. Li, no one else in the Li family knew about the old couple's struggles last night.
This morning, Li San Niang received a note from Doctor Gao, informing her that the second lecture of the Alliance would be held in five days, at the Jun You Lai Restaurant, but on the third floor. Li San Niang guessed that it was probably because the third floor was larger and more people could participate.
Li San Niang was quite happy, which proved that her previous explanation had been very useful. This had attracted the attention of the alliance, otherwise they wouldn't have opened the third floor for Li San Niang to give lectures.
Therefore, Li San Niang had to prepare for this second lecture even more carefully, aiming to improve her reputation within the alliance and also to spread knowledge and medical skills.
Li San Niang looked at the nearly ten items she had just written down on the paper, including various suturing techniques, episiotomy during childbirth (cesarean section if necessary), alcohol purification for disinfection, auxiliary instruments used by surgeons, stethoscopes, epidemic prevention methods, smallpox prevention using cowpox, traditional penicillin preparation, and traditional watermelon frost preparation.
"I wonder if the watermelons have arrived yet? If so, they probably aren't cheap."
Looking at these projects that she could think of for the time being, which were suitable for doing at this time, Li San Niang realized that the later projects always needed to be put into practice and have finished products before they could be spread. Moreover, even if she really wanted to do them, she would have to find allies with certain backgrounds to do them together, or directly submit the methods to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Therefore, the only thing we can talk about in the second lecture is the sewing technique.
Li San Niang was unsure whether it would be inappropriate for her to tell the male doctors about the woman's childbirth.
While it's not surprising that there are male obstetricians and gynecologists or female urologists in modern times, it seems somewhat hard to accept given the all-encompassing nature of the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago.
Judging from our last interaction, the academic atmosphere within the alliance is fairly good. Although factional disputes are inevitable, they haven't reached the point of life or death. Furthermore, during Li San Niang's explanation last time, many physicians were very interested, actively asked questions, and even invited Li San Niang to join their own alliance. They still care a lot about improving their medical skills.
Moreover, the birth of a woman is a matter of great importance to the population development of the entire Tang Dynasty, and it is also a matter of great concern to every family.
What Li San Niang wants to do is set an example by herself and then spread the medical knowledge and skills in her mind to more people so that more people can have effective medical care.
This is Li Sanniang's ultimate goal—to heal the sick and bring peace to the world!
If she were to cherish her own possessions, how many people could Li San Niang possibly help by herself?
In addition, traditional Chinese medicine at this time really tested a person's talent, and the threshold was very high. For example, if you wanted to treat someone, you first had to understand medicine, and then take a pulse and prescribe medicine. That was entirely a matter of talent.
Not to mention the gold needle technique that Li San Niang had always wanted to learn. Wasn't Fang Chengxian's previous attending physician the former head physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Liang, who was skilled in gold needles?
Knowing the correct acupoints is fundamental, but the most crucial thing is the feel of the hand, which is somewhat like the concept of "opening up the Ren and Du meridians" in martial arts novels.
A person without talent cannot fully master this kind of touch, and naturally cannot use needles to treat people.
Although there was some recognition of literacy at this time, which was related to Emperor Wu's concern for the education of the people, it was still limited to a small area. Even poor families had to have dozens of acres of land to afford to send a child to the academy.
Take the Li family for example. If it weren't for the need to support their four children's education at the academy, why would they need to be so frugal in their daily lives?
Productivity is the key issue, but it's not something Li San Niang can change by herself.
Therefore, the threshold for practicing medicine at this time was really not low.
For example, Li San Niang's talent is far superior to that of Li Er Xiong. In fact, Li Er Xiong is not bad either; he could be a doctor who independently supports his family outside. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pass the examination and join the Chang'an Medical Alliance.
But people can't be compared!
Li's father once said that he was slightly more talented than the average person, but he still worked hard and persevered for decades to achieve his current success. However, Li's father's master, Poison Yama, was a true genius, but he just didn't take the right path.
There was also Dr. Sun Chenyang, whom Li Sanniang had met when he gave a lecture at Junyoulai Restaurant last time, but he had already entered the Imperial Medical Academy at the age of twenty.
To give a recent example, Li Lingxiao, the eldest grandson of Li's uncle's branch, was also a young physician who entered the Imperial Medical Academy at a young age, and he was a person with enough talent.
Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine really relies heavily on natural talent.
Of the millions of people in the world, how many can become doctors?
Most of them are just itinerant doctors, or medicine sellers who know a little about the properties of medicines and have a few prescriptions.
What Li San Niang wanted was a doctor who could be produced on a large scale and in batches to treat common ailments, but this was unlikely to be successful.
The complex web of interests involved is something that a mere young woman like Li San Niang could not possibly influence or change. Even Emperor Wu would find it difficult to do so unless he resorted to force, which would be putting the cart before the horse.
Therefore, Li Sanniang thought of two approaches: first, to provide special medical care for women, focusing on childbirth and infant care; and second, to disseminate modern medical surgical knowledge and skills free of charge, which was then known as the subject of ulcer medicine.
To cultivate midwives to focus on childbirth and infant care, and to train female doctors to treat gynecological diseases in women, the most important thing to achieve these goals is to gain the attention and support of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
We must elevate the issues of treating women, childbirth, and infant care to a broader level, linking them to the overall population development of the Tang Dynasty, the life expectancy of each social class, and the quality of life. Only in this way can we attract the attention we deserve, receive the support we should, and realize the possibility of sustainable development.
Li San Niang's first step was to spread practical and useful surgical knowledge and techniques to the Department of Ulcer Medicine of the Imperial Medical Academy, teaching them for free, one-to-many, until they mastered the skills. She was sure that she would gain the support of the ulcer doctors in this way.
It should be noted that at this time, most areas of the Tang Dynasty were peaceful and free from war.
However, on the border, whether it is the original Turks, the Khitans, or Annam in the south, they will not always be so obedient. Small-scale frictions are inevitable, and the foundation of a regime is still the army!
Therefore, improving the survival rate of soldiers and ensuring the survival of experienced soldiers who have been on the battlefield is crucial for any regime.
Therefore, who wouldn't value the ulcer doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau? And since Li San Niang can improve the ulcer doctors' skills, who wouldn't give Li San Niang some face?
Furthermore, instead of taking a share of their existing pie, Li San Niang wanted to create a new female doctor who had never been considered before, specializing in treating women. Why would anyone make things difficult for Li San Niang?
Li San Niang is not even twenty years old yet, and she can live for at least thirty more years. She spends thirty years creating a model and training a group of female doctors. How can we say that she is not a spark that can ignite a prairie fire in the future?
However, there is a safety hazard, which will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people and may even pose a threat or harm to Li San Niang and the Li family.
Furthermore, there's also the existence of Emperor Wu, who can be basically determined to be a time traveler, though it's unclear whether he's a bomb.
But should we stop moving forward just because we're afraid?
There are always some people who, when faced with a raging torrent, are able to leap forward without hesitation.
They might be swallowed by the flood, or they might hold each other's hands and block it—who knows?
You'll never know if you don't try.
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