Dr. Xu: A Chinese Medicine Novel

Professor He has found his student, and he has plenty to say.

The others were astonished too.

Professor He had come all this way to see patients at their county hospital of Chinese medicine just to wait for Evan? Good heavens. He must think the world of this student!

Evan was deeply ashamed. He knew Professor He had been looking for him; Ethan Yang had told him last time. He simply hadn’t expected to find the professor at their county hospital.

Professor He was his teacher. Evan had taken his classes throughout his undergraduate years. The professor had always thought highly of him, which was why Evan had later applied to study under him as a graduate student.

All told, Evan had studied Chinese medicine under Professor He for eight years. He was Evan’s first teacher, the man who had introduced him to medicine and laid his solid theoretical foundation.

Evan hadn’t learned nearly as much about treating patients. That was normal enough. How many students could treat patients the moment they graduated? Even so, he had been one of the strongest in his year. He simply wasn’t a mature clinician yet.

After he was fired, his confidence had suffered a blow unlike anything he had known. He hadn’t been very good at treating patients to begin with; now he was even more afraid to try. That was how he had become the King of Siwu Tang.[1]

Later, during his first mentorship inside the system, he had studied under Dr. Qian. In a single year, he had reached the level of a county specialist. It wasn’t because he had learned some secret technique. His foundations had been strong enough to support that progress.

Rapid progress could only come after years of preparation.

Professor He deserved some of the credit too.

The professor had always said that only a firm grounding in theory would let a doctor make steady, rapid progress in clinical practice. Without it, even if someone taught you how to treat a patient, you would know what to do without understanding why. You would go on treating people in a fog, with results that came and went.

Evan’s foundations were so solid that he was still benefiting from them.

Professor He shook his head in disappointment and sighed. He pounded the table. “Evan, you’re the student I’ve always had the highest hopes for. You’ve really let me down!

“Look at you! What were you thinking, being so headstrong? Look where you’ve ended up, hiding away here! What sort of place is this?”

Evan kept his head down and said nothing.

Clara cautiously peeked over the counter and glanced around her clinic. What was wrong with it? That old man!

She rolled her eyes twice and ducked back down.

Professor He sighed. “You’ve wasted more than half a year, haven’t you? Keep this up, and you might not even be as good as Ethan Yang.”

Evan didn’t dare answer.

Dr. Zhong and Alex were startled. Dr. Zhong whispered, “Leo, do you know who this Ethan Yang is? He’s even better than Dr. Xu? Is he one of the country’s top physicians?”

Leo looked positively constipated. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

“Well, never mind,” Professor He went on. “There’s still time. Here’s what we’ll do. Quit your job here and come back to the provincial capital with me. I’ll speak to the hospital. You can work at the provincial hospital of Chinese medicine, under my guidance from now on.”

Clara could hardly stay hidden under the counter. Now this old man was trying to take Evan away from her?

But Evan shook his head. “Thank you, Professor. I appreciate it, but I don’t want to leave here right now.”

Clara breathed a sigh of relief.

Professor He’s eyes widened. He was angry again. He felt he had lost his temper more today than in the previous ten years combined.

“What exactly are you trying to do? At a time like this, you’re still worried about your precious pride? I’m your teacher! What’s wrong with letting me use my connections?”

“That’s not it. I don’t want to go back to a hospital, or stay in the public-sector system. I want to work outside it. There are too many restrictions in hospitals. A clinic gives me more freedom.”[2]

Professor He was so angry he almost laughed. “Why are you being such a stubborn mule now? Freedom outside the system! What can you learn here? Well? Is there anyone here who can teach you? Oh, that reminds me. Where did you copy that prescription for intestinal obstruction from?”

The others froze.

NovelPhoenix is the author’s publication site for this chapter; this page took the text without permission, and the source supports the writer.

Alex was bewildered too. Hadn’t the professor just praised that prescription to the skies? Now he was saying Evan had copied it?

“Um… Professor He,” Leo hurried to explain, “Dr. Xu wrote that prescription himself.”

Professor He didn’t believe a word of it. “Nonsense. Do you think I don’t know what sort of prescription he can write?”

Leo and the others looked at one another. They had watched Evan write it with their own eyes. How could that be wrong?

Evan tried to explain too. “Professor, I really did write it myself.”

Professor He looked him up and down. “I haven’t seen you for six months, Evan. When did you start boasting?”

Evan was embarrassed.

So were the others. They had come in such a hurry that they hadn’t had time to tell the professor about Comrade Xu’s accomplishments.[3]

Evan scratched his head, unsure what to say.

Professor He looked at him. “You still won’t admit it, will you? You’ve wasted more than half a year. This is about treating patients now, not studying at school! If you don’t know how to put theory into practice, all that learning is wasted.

“Here’s what we’ll do. Come with me. I have a few more patients to see this afternoon. If you can make some sense of their cases, I’ll let you stay here. Otherwise, you’re coming back to the provincial hospital with me. Stop pretending you can handle this!”

“All right.” There was nothing else Evan could say. He really didn’t dare stand up to Professor He.

The professor let out another heavy breath. “Have you taken a master yet?”[4]

Evan hesitated. It wasn’t that he had no masters. He simply couldn’t tell anyone about those extraordinary experiences. All he could do was lower his head and remain silent.

Professor He shook his head. “You don’t even have a master. Who’s going to guide you in clinical practice? How are you going to improve? Do you want to throw away all that talent and all those years of work?”

Evan still didn’t answer. He stayed silent.

The professor’s anger flared again. “Just look at you. Come on, we’re going to the hospital. I want to see how much you’ve learned since you left, to make you think you can manage on your own.”

“All right.” Evan had no choice but to agree. He packed away his lunch box, then called toward the counter, “Clara, I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

“Oh!” came a muffled reply from behind it.

Professor He glanced at the counter, puzzled. There seemed to be a girl crouching there, but he couldn’t see her. He didn’t bother with it and went out.

The group headed back to the hospital of Chinese medicine.

In the car, neither Evan nor Professor He spoke. Both sat in silence, each occupied with his own thoughts.

Only when the car turned a corner did Professor He suddenly ask, “It’s been over half a year… how have things been for you?”

The others in the car looked over cautiously.

For a moment, Evan was close to tears. He smiled. “I’ve been fine!”

“Mm,” Professor He murmured. He said no more, only gazed out the car window, his concern for Evan showing in his eyes.

They arrived at the hospital and entered the consulting room.

The young doctors of Chinese medicine were already waiting there with their notebooks.

When they saw Professor He come in with Evan, they began whispering among themselves.

Professor He took in the room, then turned to look at Evan. He was worried Evan might be intimidated or feel out of place.

But when he looked, Evan was even calmer than he was.

Professor He sat at the desk. “Find yourself a stool.”

Before Evan could move, Alex hurried to bring him his own.

The professor turned to look.

Dr. Zhong and Leo came in too, eager to see what would happen.

Professor He clicked the button on the computer to call the next patient.

Then he let out a small breath and spoke quietly to Evan beside him. “There are so many people here. I won’t embarrass you in front of them. It takes a lot to train a doctor of Chinese medicine. Don’t waste your talent and your foundations. Stop being headstrong. Come back with me.”

Evan was moved. He turned toward him. “It’s been a long time, Professor. I think it’s time I handed in some overdue homework.”

Professor He stared, taken aback.

Reader Notes

Reader Notes

↩︎ The King of Siwu Tang. Siwu Tang, or Four Substances Decoction, is a traditional blood-tonifying formula. The nickname recalls Evan’s earlier habit of relying on this one prescription; it is not a professional rank or a claim that the formula treats every illness. Source: Hong Kong Baptist University — Si Wu Tang, name, classification, and actions.↩︎ Working “inside the system.” Tizhi refers here to employment within the organized public sector, including public institutions such as the hospital Evan is being urged to join. Such institutions have formal systems for posts, recruitment, and employment contracts. Evan contrasts that institutional setting with work in an independent clinic. The passage does not establish the precise employment status he would receive, and Professor He’s offer to speak to the hospital is not a completed appointment. Source: China Ministry of Justice — Regulations on Personnel Management in Public Institutions, chapters II–IV (in Chinese).↩︎ Comrade Xu. Tongzhi is a form of address associated with public and official life. The narration uses it lightly here. It does not identify Evan’s political affiliation. Source: Laishan District government — Etiquette and customs, forms of address (in Chinese).↩︎ Taking a master. A shifu is a teacher acknowledged in a master–disciple relationship. In Chinese medicine, this can involve sustained clinical learning under an experienced physician, alongside theoretical study. It is distinct from simply having attended a professor’s university classes. Professor He’s question concerns Evan’s continuing clinical guidance; Evan’s silence does not establish that he has no masters. No acceptance ceremony occurs in this scene. Sources: Taiwan Ministry of Education — shifu, first definition (in Chinese); National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine — Rules on mentorship education, articles 3, 6, and 15–16 (in Chinese).