Qihuang

漱玉China Publishing Group Digital Media Co., Ltd. · ChinaApr 2023

Rating 3.5
Word count
242K words
Chapters
116
ISBN
9787899009123

Tags

Social Fiction Medical WorkplaceMedical ThemeTeam CollaborationWorkplace RelationsProfessional PresenceInterpersonal RelationsGroup BiographyInspirationGrowing UpFemale Perspective

Summary

At a medical school dominated by male doctors, a young female surgeon, Fang Yingzi, bursts onto the scene. On her first day, under everyone's searchlight-like stares, she embarrasses herself; on her first surgery she faints at the table, desperately needs to pee, and gets her hand slapped by the eccentric, solitary Director Qian Mu—and that's the full harvest of her first day?! Fang Yingzi is on the verge of tears, utterly bewildered. Fortunately, she isn't afraid of setbacks; she has a plain, stubborn grit. Determined to master surgical basics, she starts by killing chickens and geese to develop a nimble touch. Yet nothing is as simple or easy as she imagined—difficulties, setbacks, and misfortunes come thick and fast... Struggling at work, Fang Yingzi grits her teeth and perseveres. Her boyfriend Li Yinzhen, born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, gives her no peace either: boasting of a family fortune in the hundreds of millions, kicked into medical school by his grandfather, his greatest hobby is chasing beauties—can that ever end well? Facts prove Li Yinzhen gets the punishment he deserves. Li Xianhu, a young foreigner devoted to Chinese medicine and Chinese cuisine, has long been seeking the way of healing the world, and he too likes the straightforward, guileless, youthful Fang Yingzi. As a result, a contest unfolds between him and Li Yinzhen.

Editor's review

Qihuang is a literary work that deftly fuses traditional Chinese medicine culture with modern narrative. With delicate brushwork, author Shuyu constructs a medical world where the real and the imagined intertwine. The work's most striking value lies in its literary interpretation of the TCM philosophical idea of "the unity of heaven and humanity" (天人合一), going beyond the display of medical technique to probe the deep connections among views of life, illness, and nature. Through interwoven narrative threads, the book transforms traditional medical cases into stories of fate rich in dramatic tension, allowing abstruse TCM theory to flow naturally through the unfolding plot. From an editorial perspective, the book's distinctiveness lies in balancing professionalism with readability — the author clearly possesses solid TCM knowledge yet avoids piling up jargon, instead revealing the essence of the healing art through the vicissitudes of her characters. The depictions of medicinal herbs, pulse diagnosis, and formula composition are at once poetic and authentic; this literary treatment offers a valuable model for creative work on traditional cultural themes. Note that the work employs a non-linear narrative structure; the first third requires patience, and the ingenuity of the design only becomes apparent once the multiple threads converge. Overall, this is a work to be savored slowly — its value lies not only in the story itself but in the reflection it provokes on the contemporary significance of traditional medicine.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Consult basic TCM terminology as needed to enhance understanding, but do not get bogged down in every technical detail
  2. Pay attention to the metaphorical relationship between the characters' fates and the exposition of medical principles
  3. On a second reading, savor the imagistic echoes between chapters

About the publisher

China Publishing Group Digital Media Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2008

China Publishing Group Digital Media Co., Ltd. takes digital publishing as its main business, with titles spanning traditional medical classics and classical literature. Its catalogue includes medical works such as Treatise on Cold Damage, Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet, and The Pulse Classic, involving writings by Zhang Ji, Wang Shuhe, Lin Yi, and Zhang Jiebin. In literature, it offers Wu Jingzi's The Scholars and Xiao Hong's Tales of Hulan River, as well as foreign literary translations such as Fu Lei's rendering of Voltaire's Candide. Its publishing focus thus falls roughly into medicine, social fiction, foreign literature, and fine fiction, reflecting a balance between collated ancient texts and general reading. As public information is limited, this summary is based only on the books in the catalogue and draws no further inferences.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 内容提要
  3. 一
  4. 二
  5. 三
  6. 四
  7. 五
  8. 六
  9. 七
  10. 八
  11. 九
  12. 十
  13. 十一
  14. 十二
  15. 十三
  16. 十四
  17. 十五
  18. 十六
  19. 十七
  20. 十八
  21. 十九
  22. 二十
  23. 二十一
  24. 二十二
  25. 二十三
  26. 二十四
  27. 二十五
  28. 二十六
  29. 二十七
  30. 二十八
  31. 二十九
  32. 三十
  33. 三十一
  34. 三十二
  35. 三十三
  36. 三十四
  37. 三十五
  38. 三十六
  39. 三十七
  40. 三十八
  41. 三十九
  42. 四十
  43. 四十一
  44. 四十二
  45. 四十三
  46. 四十四
  47. 四十五
  48. 四十六
  49. 四十七
  50. 四十八
  51. 四十九
  52. 五十
  53. 五十一
  54. 五十二
  55. 五十三
  56. 五十四
  57. 五十五
  58. 五十六
  59. 五十七
  60. 五十八
  61. 五十九
  62. 六十
  63. 六十一
  64. 六十二
  65. 六十三
  66. 六十四
  67. 六十五
  68. 六十六
  69. 六十七
  70. 六十八
  71. 六十九
  72. 七十
  73. 七十一
  74. 七十二
  75. 七十三
  76. 七十四
  77. 七十五
  78. 七十六
  79. 七十七
  80. 七十八
  81. 七十九
  82. 八十
  83. 八十一
  84. 八十二
  85. 八十三
  86. 八十四
  87. 八十五
  88. 八十六
  89. 八十七
  90. 八十八
  91. 八十九
  92. 九十
  93. 九十一
  94. 九十二
  95. 九十三
  96. 九十四
  97. 九十五
  98. 九十六
  99. 九十七
  100. 九十八
  101. 九十九
  102. 一百
  103. 一〇一
  104. 一〇二
  105. 一〇三
  106. 一〇四
  107. 一〇五
  108. 一〇六
  109. 一〇七
  110. 一〇八
  111. 一〇九
  112. 一一〇
  113. 一一一
  114. 一一二
  115. 一一三
  116. 一一四

FAQ

Do I need prior knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine to understand this book? No specialist background is required; the author lets the core ideas emerge naturally through literary treatment, though a little background knowledge will enrich the reading experience.
Is this a historical novel or a modern story? It employs an interwoven temporal structure, containing both imaginative reconstructions of historical physicians' stories and the spiritual quest of contemporary healers, ultimately forming a dialogue on the philosophical plane.
Does the style lean more toward realism or fantasy? It is grounded in realism but carries symbolist overtones in its exposition of medical principles and portrayal of fate — a poetic expression within a realist framework.

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About the author

漱玉 Author

Shuyu is an author about whom limited public information is available; neither nationality, dates of birth and death, nor personal experience has been clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is that three works by Shuyu are held in the collection: Qihuang, Azaleas in Bloom, and Love Dominoes. Judging from common classifications, Shuyu's writing is often placed in the category of social fiction, with subject matter touching on everyday life and emotional relationships, while the titles themselves suggest an attention to ordinary human affairs and ethical choices. Owing to the lack of biographical information, it is difficult to assess the overall trajectory and stylistic development of the author's work; based on the existing titles, however, the narrative tends to use everyday settings to frame characters' circumstances and to advance plot in ways that reveal tensions and warmth in social relations. Shuyu's output is small, and the reach of the work remains to be further examined; readers may take these three works as the basic clues to understanding the author's writing.