🌿 Folk Prescriptions

My daughter was nine months old when she suffered diarrhea for a whole week, passing loose stools multiple times daily, like water. We rushed her to hospital, but the line was long. After registration, diagnosis, prescription, and lab tests, we spent over two hours and more than 200 yuan, yet saw no improvement—the child’s face visibly grew thinner. My wife and I had already taken three days off work. At the time, I was a teacher, repeatedly asking colleagues to substitute for me, growing frantic. I decided to book an expert appointment, tried medication and intravenous therapy, but still no improvement. A neighbor recommended an elderly woman who used to work as a kindergarten nurse and was particularly skilled at treating children’s illnesses.
I remember it was evening, and after wandering in darkness for quite some time, I finally found her home. She took the crying child, gently stroked her belly, and immediately the baby calmed down, happily waving her tiny arms and kicking her legs. The old lady first applied a cupping jar to the child’s navel. As she worked, she explained, “This is called Shénquè (the Divine Gateway). You see it’s purple, indicating the child has caught cold. Cupping helps expel the cold.”
Then she had the child lie face down, and with both hands gently pressed and pushed from the neck down along the spine’s sides. “The sides of the spine are full of acupoints. Most common childhood illnesses can be treated through tuina massage. From the occipital bone down, about one and a half inches lateral, roughly equivalent to two fingers side by side.” Seeing my eagerness to memorize, she kindly slowed down: “You don’t need to remember everything. Children mostly suffer from fever, cough, or diarrhea. Just remember a few key points for dispelling wind, calming asthma, and stopping diarrhea.”
Initially, I thought tuina was too slow compared to antibiotics. But seeing my daughter remain calm, not crying or having diarrhea for such a long time, I realized there might be something to it. That night passed peacefully. In the morning, I woke up to see her smiling face—she clearly felt better. When she passed stool, it made a “plop” sound—it was solid! “It really works!” I was amazed by the magic of Chinese tuina. “I must learn this.”
I quickly signed up for a tuina class found in a newspaper ad. The instructor was a doctor from a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, over fifty years old. Classes were held at a middle school near Nanhedian, lasting an entire summer. The teacher taught basic TCM theories: yin-yang, wuxing (five elements), zang-fu organs, meridians, balancing yin-yang, harmonizing qi and blood, dispelling wind and dampness, warming meridians to remove cold, activating blood circulation. He also taught over ten techniques including push, roll, rub, wipe, squeeze, smear, and twist. We practiced on each other, and I bought many books to study during free time.
A classmate called and asked, “What medicine should I give my child for cough?” I picked up the phone and asked my husband, “What did our daughter take when she was little?” He thought for a moment, “She never took medicine—wasn’t it you who always fixed her with tuina?” I recalled those nights when she couldn’t sleep due to fever and cough, quietly coming to lie beside me. I’d gently use my index and middle fingers to trace along the spine, pressing, rubbing, and pushing back and forth several times, hitting the lung, spleen, and kidney main points. Then I’d rub the midpoint between the highest points of the shoulder blades for one minute—that’s Fei Shū (Lung Point), crucial for calming asthma and stopping cough. Repeating this, gradually her coughing eased, she calmed down, and fell asleep.
My apartment elevator driver had suffered chronic headaches for a long time. I tried massaging her daily, and most times the symptoms eased. On the bus, whenever anyone had a cold or headache, others would suggest, “Sit next to Qiu’er—let her loosen you up.” After one hour of treatment, by the time they got off, symptoms had noticeably improved.
Who would have thought my daughter’s illness sparked my hobby—something I’ve kept doing to this day.