Ancient Perspectives on Immunity and the Cause of Sickness

I. Zhang Tingyu from the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 A.D.) once said, "Everything in the world is the result of destiny. No one can escape his destiny. Each man has a predetermined lifespan and medicine cannot alter anyone's lifespan." Why did Zhang Tingyu make such a comment? Here's the story:

A man named Gu Yongshan once developed a severe abscess on his back that gave him a lot of pain. He sought out many famous medical doctors and spent a lot of money on medical expenses before he was finally cured. While he was suffering from the abscess, a destitute neighbour was suffering from the exact same problem. However, his neighbour could not afford any medical treatment. He only had thin rice porridge every day, but his abscess disappeared on its own. [Chinese people usually have rice porridge as a bland diet instead of steamed rice when they become ill.]

When Zhang Tingyu heard their stories, he began to acknowledge Heaven's will. He said, "It proves that everyone will meet his destiny with or without medicine."

II. Once upon a time in China, there was a man called Yu Yan. He had three older brothers. A plague broke out in his hometown. Two of his older brothers died from the plague, and the third one also contracted the plague and was in critical condition. His parents and younger brothers decided to flee from the area until the plague was over. Yu Yan decided to stay behind to look after his ill brother. His mother tried hard to persuade him to leave, and his father ordered him to obey him, but Yu Yan replied, "I have a strong constitution, so I should stay behind and look after my brother. You may leave if you wish." Thus he stayed behind and looked after his older brother around the clock.

Yu Yan's family returned to the village after a few months when the plague had receded. They were very shocked to see that Yu Yan's older brother had improved a lot and Yu Yan was in perfect health, completely immune to the plague.

When the elderly folks learnt the story, they were very impressed with Yu Yan's moral character. They said, "This child's morality goes above and beyond that of most people. It is true indeed that the most difficult situations reveal a man's true nature. He is truly admirable."

III. During the five decades from 541 and 591 A.D., the Roman Empire was attacked by four great plagues that killed a very large proportion of the population. The medical doctors at the time were unable to identify or treat the plagues, but historians recorded symptoms of the plagues. According the historic records, in some patients the symptoms started with their heads. Their eyes turned red, and their faces became swollen. Next they felt pain in their throats. Then they died. Some patients' groins were infected and discharged pus. The infection caused high fever and these people would die within days. Corpses piled up in the streets. No one buried them. Rome became a haunted city.

In Constantinople, numerous people died of the plague. Corpses piled up in the streets with no one to collect them. The entire city was enveloped with a horrible stench.

Some people, however, seemed to be immune to the four great plagues of ancient Rome. According to the historians' records, people contracted the plague from different sources. Some people lived among the patients and were in physical contact with the patients, but they were completely immune to the plague. Some who had lost all of their family members embraced the dead bodies of their loved ones hoping to contract the plague. However, it was as though the plague intentionally did not want to make their wishes come true. They were immune to the plague. These records indicate that there was not always an obvious cause and effect relationship in getting sick.

These three stories share something in common: Getting sick does not always have to do with one's health condition, and one's immunity to illness or one's ability to recover from illness does not always have to do with medical treatment. Perhaps Zhang Tingyu was right when he said, "Medicine cannot alter anyone's lifespan."

Modern people are very keen on maintaining healthy diets, working out at the gym and seeking medical treatment from well-known physicians. Perhaps these stories will inspire them to look at the issue of health and illness from a new perspective.