Chapter 777 Etiquette vs. Human Life
When Li San Niang heard Ning Yizheng say that this Physician Huang had dug up someone's corpse and was unlucky enough to run into his descendants who were visiting the grave at midnight, he was arrested and taken to the Jingzhao Prefecture. This exposed the fact that the surgeons of the Imperial Medical Bureau had used corpses to learn anatomy and improve their medical skills under her guidance. She was not surprised at all.
After all, when she did this, she had already foreseen the possible consequences.
Medicine, whether it is traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, is an empirical discipline.
Apart from a very few exceptionally gifted individuals, most ordinary people need to accumulate a vast amount of experience to acquire advanced skills.
Just like the oil seller in the textbook said: "There's nothing special about it, it's just a matter of practice."
Even in modern society, many people in many regions still cannot accept autopsies and cremation, let alone in the feudal society of the Tang Dynasty, where the saying "one's body and hair are given to one's parents, and one dares not damage them" was highly valued.
In modern society, the cadavers used by clinical medical students in Western hospitals and colleges were originally purchased from families, but later most of them were donated.
In the Tang Dynasty at that time, using the corpses of the dead to study anatomy and understand the joints, muscles, blood vessels, bones, and so on of the human body was far more serious than Li San Niang's previous incident of pressing on a person's chest and blowing air into their mouth to save them. It could even be said to be challenging the bottom line of society at that time.
"Is it Dr. Huang Donggang?"
Li San Niang remained calm and instead asked Ning Yizheng the name of the doctor who had committed the offense. Her behavior surprised Ning Yizheng. Logically speaking, if Li San Niang knew about this matter, she should have been terrified and not dared to say a word.
As a result, not only is Li San Niang no longer afraid, but she even has the leisure to ask Ning Yizheng about the name of the doctor who committed the crime.
However, Physician Ning still replied to Li San Niang in a polite tone: "It is indeed him. Does Physician Li know this person?"
Li San Niang nodded, "Of course we know each other."
When I was lecturing to a surgeon, this person was the most attentive listener and even asked me some insightful questions after class.
As we've discussed, Dr. Wong had previously dissected pigs and dogs in private to understand the structure of human muscles, bones, and blood vessels.
Li San Niang's words startled Ning Yizheng. Ning Yizheng was a proper traditional Chinese medicine doctor who had never thought of dissecting mammals. He was not in the Department of Ulcer Medicine in the Imperial Medical Bureau. He didn't even know acupuncture. However, he had a unique approach to prescriptions, which is why he worked his way up to the position of Yizheng through his seniority.
"I wonder how Dr. Huang is doing now?"
What crime is it to exhume someone's body?
Before Physician Ning could recover from the ordeal of dissecting the corpses of his own kind, it was Physician Sun, who was sitting to the side, who answered Li San Niang's question: "Physician Huang suffered some hardship, but he is, after all, a rank official in the Imperial Medical Bureau, so the people in the Jingzhao Prefecture did not dare to go too far. He is currently imprisoned in the Jingzhao Prefecture's jail."
As for the verdict, it's hard to say. It all depends on what the prefect decides. If it's lenient, it'll just mean some physical pain and some compensation.
If the punishment is severe, this... could potentially lead to death.
"Medical Supervisor Sun, Physician Li, this is no time to care about Physician Huang's life or death!"
The important question now is what should our Imperial Medical Academy do?
What should we do? How can we resolve this issue without incurring public outrage?
Preserving our Imperial Medical Academy is the most important thing!
Ning Yizheng's loud shout interrupted Li San Niang and Sun Yijian's conversation about Huang Yishi's fate, and then he brought up the real reason why Ning Yizheng had called Li San Niang to solve the problem.
Li San Niang lowered her head and began to ponder. Sun Yijian did not reply, but frowned as if thinking about something. This made Ning Yizheng anxious, and the only sound in the entire hall was Ning Yizheng muttering softly, "What should I do? How can I handle this?"
After a few breaths, Li San Niang finally raised her head and looked at Physician Sun, "Physician Li, what do you think? Do you have any ideas?"
Li San Niang turned to look at Ning Yizheng, who had asked the question. Instead of answering the question directly, she asked, "When I was teaching the surgeons at the Imperial Medical Academy to study human anatomy, I asked Sun Yijian about the use of unclaimed corpses."
I wonder if Medical Supervisor Sun reported this matter to Chief Physician Wang at the time?
Sun, the medical supervisor, nodded, and Li Sanniang continued, "Then I wonder if Director Wang ever submitted a secret memorial to the Emperor?"
Did the sage know of this matter?
Both Physician Ning and Physician Sun were stunned for a moment. Physician Ning hurriedly looked at Physician Sun and said, "If Physician Wang has informed the Emperor, then with the Emperor's permission, the Imperial Medical Bureau will have a backer. No matter what those old scholars say, they can't do anything to the Imperial Medical Bureau."
As Ning Yizheng was thinking this, he saw Sun Yijian shake his head: "This... I did talk to the Director about this at the time. Although the Director disagreed at the time, he still agreed after hearing that this method could improve medical skills and save more soldiers on the battlefield."
Whether the official in charge later reported it to the Emperor, I did not inquire and truly do not know.
Li San Niang nodded to indicate that she understood, and then asked the two of them, "Has the Imperial Medical Bureau done any comparisons in advance in preparation for next month's commendation ceremony?"
I heard from Physician Ning earlier that the news brought back by the returning army clearly stated that, thanks to the medical expertise of the Imperial Medical Academy's surgeons, the number of soldiers killed or wounded in this battle was significantly reduced. Is that correct?
"I know that, I'm in charge of that area."
I've done the math. Thanks to the medical skills Third Sister taught us—disinfection, hemostasis, bandaging, and suturing—the number of battle casualties and deaths dropped by at least 60%. If we're only talking about survival, nearly 70% of those who would have died in the past have survived this time.
"Gentlemen, what is it that makes our Great Tang Dynasty so revered as the Celestial Empire by the surrounding nations?"
Who protected the borders and people of our Great Tang Dynasty in this victory over the Turks?
Who guarded the gates of my Great Tang Dynasty?
In this world, which is more important, the living or the dead?
What enabled the Imperial Medical Academy to secure a place among the Three Departments and Six Ministries?
If etiquette and morality are of paramount importance, then is the life of the living unimportant among all things?
Which is more important, traditional etiquette or human life?
Li San Niang's series of questions were truly resounding, leaving at least the attending physicians Ning, Sun, and Qiu Xiang, as well as the two officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau standing to the side, somewhat overwhelmed.
"Imperial Physician Ning, you don't think that just by exposing the fact that the physicians in the Department of Surgery at the Imperial Medical Academy used corpses to learn medical skills, you can hand me over and nail Physician Huang to the ground and keep the Imperial Medical Academy safe, do you?"
Ning Yizheng looked as if his inner thoughts had been exposed, which made Li Sanniang want to laugh.
"Ning Yizheng, don't be naive. The essence of the problem is not this at all. The key to solving the problem is to seize the right to speak and unite interests."
The military officers with vested interests in the Imperial Medical Bureau, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are actually going to the battlefield, and the hundreds of thousands or even millions of their families behind them are what we should be fighting for.
"The words of civil officials and old scholars can kill with their pens; are we just supposed to obediently surrender?"
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