Fiery art of traditional healing

By Ho Manli (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-27 14:07

Dr Bai Yulan treats 47-year-old Shi Zhenyou with a fire needle after a stroke affected his speaking ability. Photos by Huo Yan

When Sun Bicai's sons wheeled him into Dr Bai Yulan's clinic one recent morning, he could barely move. The 75-year-old farmer from Shanxi province had been operated on for a malignant gastrointestinal tumor. He was bloated and had not moved his bowels for 10 days.

After a detailed examination, Dr Bai had a student scrape Sun's back and then treated him with acupuncture needles. The old man lay prone without uttering a sound. That afternoon, he had two bowel movements. The bloating was relieved and he was able to eat a small bowl of noodles.

The next day, he reappeared and, with the aid of his sons, walked into the doctor's office.

At 66, Bai Yulan is one of Beijing's most renowned practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. Formerly chief of the acupuncture department at Beijing's Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital, she is a formidable woman with a black bobb and a no-nonsense air. She specializes in treating complicated musculoskeletal, neurological, digestive and respiratory conditions including kidney stones, asthma, aphasia, chronic insomnia, Parkinson's disease and facial paralysis.

A native of Penglai in Shandong province, Bai first learned traditional Chinese medicine at the feet of her maternal grandfather. Her 40-year-old daughter Li Hong, who is currently assigned to the Special Services Section for the Olympics at the Sino-Japanese Hospital, is carrying on the family tradition.

"Our family has developed special treatments that are all our own," Bai said. She has also invented her own methods, such as "fire needle with push therapy", which is especially effective for musculoskeletal problems, including curvature of the spine and bone spurs.

"My grandfather could get rid of bone spurs (with the fire needles), but couldn't solve disc problems or curvature of the spine," Bai said. She has learned to do so.

The treatment is painful, however. Liu Yongchun, a 52-year-old retired carpet worker from Beijing, suffered with a herniated disc for a year before she finally came to Bai.

Standing behind Liu, Bai heated a thick needle until it was red hot and then inserted it into Liu's lower back. With a latex-covered forefinger, she pushed rhythmically against the spinal area where she has just inserted the needle. Liu exhaled with a loud "Hunh!" with each push.

"I was afraid of the pain from the needles, so I didn't dare come until I couldn't stand, sit or walk without pain in my hips and buttocks," the tall, matronly Liu said. "The treatment has really been worth it. I can endure the momentary discomfort for the relief that I'm getting."

When 12-year-old Zhang Yujie began treatment for curvature of the spine, she had been wearing a brace that enclosed her entire torso for 20 hours a day.

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