Renowned physician Dong Feng, as described in "The Biography of Immortals" by Ge Hong (283-343 AD)

Introduction

Dong Feng was a famous physician during the Three Kingdoms period, recognized as one of the three great physicians of Jian'an (the other two being Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo). The term "Apricot Forest" to refer to the medical world specifically comes from Dong Feng. In Ge Hong's "Baopuzi - Inner Chapters - Immortal Medicines," the following is mentioned: "Mr. Dong once gave a blind person jade elixir, and in about ten days, his eyes were healed." There are many popular legends about Dong Feng, but historical writings about him are rather scarce. Regarding his healing of Governor Shi Xie, the "Records of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wu - Biography of Shi Xie" cited by Pei Songzhi mentions the content of "The Biography of Immortals." As for the local version of his departure from Shi Xie, it differs somewhat from this account, suggesting that Shi Xie was plotting a rebellion against the imperial court, fearing that Dong Feng might disclose his secrets, so he wanted to harm Dong Feng. Dong Feng then faked his death and fled. According to local records, Dong Feng is said to have passed away in the fourth year of Wu Tianji's reign (280 AD). Due to his exceptional mastery of the medical art and high morality, future generations have paid tribute to Dong Feng. Today, a Dong Feng museum has been built on Mount Lushan; in the city of Changle, Fujian province, a mountain is called Mount Dong Feng; in the village of Hushang, Chating Street, Fuzhou, a rescue hall from the Ming Dynasty has been built in memory of Dong Feng. The village of Longtian in Guhuai, Changle, Fujian, on the border with Yantang village, is considered the birthplace of Dong Feng, where a temple in his memory has been erected.

Traduction

Dong Feng, commonly known as Junyi, was a native of Houguan in the Fujian province. During the reign of Sun Quan over the Wu kingdom, a young man became the magistrate of Houguan County. When he saw Dong Feng, who was around forty years old, he did not yet know that he was a skilled practitioner in mystical arts. Years later, after leaving his position as magistrate in Houguan and holding other official posts for over fifty years, he passed through Houguan again. He noticed that his former colleagues had all aged, but Dong Feng's appearance remained the same. He asked him, "Have you achieved immortality? When I last saw you, my hair had already turned white, but you seem to be getting younger. Why is that?" Dong Feng replied, "It's just an accidental phenomenon."

When Shi Xie was the governor of Jiaozhou province, he fell ill and died from poisoning. Three days after his death, Dong Feng was in Jiaozhou. He went to Shi Xie, placed three pills in his mouth, and made him swallow them with water. He asked someone to hold Shi Xie's head and shake it continuously to facilitate the digestion of the medicines. After a while, Shi Xie's hands and feet seemed to move slightly, and his complexion began to return. After some time, Shi Xie was able to get up, and four days later, he could speak. He recounted that after his death, he felt like he was dreaming. He had seen a dozen people dressed in black come to take him, transport him in a carriage, then enter through a large red gate to take him directly to prison. The prison consisted of separate rooms, each room capable of holding only one person. He was locked in one of these rooms, and someone sealed the door from the outside with earth, depriving him of external light. Suddenly, he heard someone outside saying, "The envoys of the celestial god Taiyi have come to retrieve Shi Xie." Then he heard the sound of the earth in front of the door being removed. After some time, he was taken out, and he saw a red carriage with three people sitting inside. One of them held a scepter and shouted for Shi Xie to get into the carriage. He was then brought back to life and woke up near the door of his house.

Shi Xie rose to thank Dong Feng, saying, "Thanks to your benevolence that saved my life, how can I repay you?" He then had a tower built in the courtyard as a gesture of gratitude towards Dong Feng.

Dong Feng consumed nothing but candied jujubes and drank a little alcohol. Shi Xie sent him food three times a day. Whenever Dong Feng came to eat, he would arrive like a bird flying from the sky, land, eat, and then fly away again. Others often did not notice his arrival. After a little over a year of this life, he asked Du Xie for permission to leave. Upon hearing this, Shi Xie wept and tried to hold him back several times, but in vain. Shi Xie asked, "Where do you want to go? Shall we prepare a large boat for you?" Dong Feng replied, "No need for a boat, just a coffin." Du Xie prepared it accordingly.

The next day at noon, Dong Feng suddenly passed away. Shi Xie buried him with the prepared coffin. Seven days later, someone came from Rongchang. Dong Feng bid farewell through this person, asking to thank Shi Xie and telling him to take good care of himself. Shi Xie, upon hearing this, opened Dong Feng's coffin and found only a silk painting inside. One side depicted a face, the other was drawn with a red pen.

Dong Feng later settled at the foot of Mount Lushan, in the Yuzhang district of Yuzhang prefecture. A man afflicted with leprosy and near death was brought by his family to see him. The family begged Dong Feng to help and save him. Dong Feng had the patient sit in a room, covered him with five layers of fabric, and asked him not to move. The patient recounted, "At first, I heard something licking my body, causing so much pain that I couldn't bear it. It licked my whole body with a tongue a foot wide and emitted a breath like a bull; I don't know what it was." After some time, this entity left. Dong Feng went to a pond, took water to give him a bath, and then let him go, saying, "In a moment, your illness will heal. Be careful not to catch a cold." After about fifteen days, the patient's body turned red, the skin peeled off, causing great pain. However, as soon as he was washed with water, the pain disappeared. After twenty days, the skin began to regenerate, the disease healed, and the skin of the body became smooth and shiny like solidified fat.

Later, during a significant local drought, the local magistrate, Ding Shiyi, discussed with the residents and said, "It is said that Dong Feng possesses mystical skills. He should be able to make it rain in the country." He prepared wine and meat, went to see Dong Feng, and explained the drought situation, expressing his request for rain. Dong Feng replied, "Making it rain is easy." Then, he looked around and said, "The Taoist's dwelling is in ruins, and you can see the sky from the house. I'm afraid that if the rain comes, how could the house withstand it?" The magistrate understood his intention and said, "Master, you just need to make it rain. I will immediately build you a good house." The next day, Ding Shiyi, accompanied by over a hundred county office employees, brought bamboo and wood to build a house, which was completed in no time. They were about to gather soil and mud to fetch water from a distant place. Dong Feng said, "That's not necessary. It will rain heavily tonight." So they did not go. Indeed, late in the day, a torrential rain began to fall, flooding the ground, and the local population was extremely happy.

Dong Feng lived in the mountains but did not cultivate fields. Every day, he consulted patients without asking for payment. For those who recovered from serious illnesses, he asked them to plant five apricot trees, while those who healed from minor ailments had to plant one apricot tree. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of trees had grown, forming a dense forest. Birds and wild animals from the mountains came to stroll and rest, and the grass did not grow, as if someone had constantly weeded it.

When the apricots were ripe, Dong Feng would build a simple warehouse using grass in the forest. He would tell people, "If you want to buy apricots, there's no need to tell me. Just bring a container filled with rice grains, put it in the warehouse, and you can pick a container of apricots yourself." It often happened that people deposited little rice but took away many apricots. At that moment, a group of tigers would appear in the forest, roaring and chasing the person. Terrified, the person would run holding the apricots, scattering them along the way. Upon returning home, they would find that the number of apricots exactly matched the amount of rice deposited.

Sometimes, apricot thieves were chased by tigers to their homes, and they were killed by the tigers. When the family learned that the person had stolen apricots, they would return the apricots to Dong Feng, apologize by bowing, and Dong Feng would resurrect the person. Every year, Dong Feng would exchange apricots for rice, then use the rice to help the poor or assist those who did not have enough provisions due to distant travels, distributing up to a maximum of twenty thousand bushels of rice in a year.

The magistrate had a daughter who was tormented and attacked by demons. Despite the efforts of doctors, no treatment seemed effective. Eventually, the magistrate turned to Dong Feng for treatment. He said, "If my daughter's illness can be cured, I will give her in marriage so she can serve you." Dong Feng accepted the offer. He then summoned a white crocodile several meters long, which climbed from the earth to prostrate itself in front of the sick girl's house. Dong Feng ordered a servant to kill it, and the magistrate's daughter's illness was cured. Dong Feng then married the young girl, but despite several years of marriage, they had no children. During his travels, Dong Feng left his wife alone at home, making her very lonely. They then adopted a daughter. When this daughter reached the age of seventeen, Dong Feng suddenly ascended into the clouds one day.

He remained in the earthly realm for more than three hundred years before leaving. When he left this world, his appearance was that of a man about thirty years old.