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BORN IN THE LAND OF CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINES

Very long ago in China, Chinese prescriptions were used to cure various diseases. The mysterious power of medicinal herbs used in Chinese prescriptions could restore health to the body in its entirety, rather than partially, against diseases that chemotherapeutic treatment could not cure. This is the tradition of Chinese prescriptions.

Since that fateful day in October 1972, I had been considering the possibility of using Chinese prescriptions against cancer. I had been thinking in this manner because, ever since my youth, I was more familiar with Chinese prescriptions than anyone else in our town. I was born in a small village known as Gong Yi in a dale in the suburbs of Tong Hua City in Jilin Province, which is in the northeastern part of China. Not only was I required to take responsibility for the subsistence of our family, but I also had to earn money for my tuition fees since I was in primary school. For a young child, there was no easy job by which I could earn money. Fortunately my village was in the hilly ranges near Changbaishan, known as the homeland of Chinese prescriptions, and enjoyed an abundance of good quality herbs.

In my childhood I found myself mingling among adults, picking Chinese medicinal herbs to sell in the streets and hoping for a good sale. It was not long before I could identify a hundred different herbs just as expertly as the adults I worked with could. The praise my parents gave me became the only meaning of survival in my livelihood. However, even at this young age, I sometimes experienced a curious feeling of conflict. Indeed, the herbs that I picked could be sold at good prices, fulfilling our not only financial needs but also earning praise from my parents. In addition to this I began thinking that, at the end of the day, I might use the herbs that I picked to cure the diseases that my fellow villagers suffered from. Then I could become a doctor to save the people of my village.

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