Hua Tuo: A Celebrated Physician in Ancient China 华佗：中国古代名医

华佗从小就喜欢读书，年轻时游学于徐州一带，通晓各种经书和养生的学问。沛国相陈珪和太尉黄琬曾先后举荐或征召他出来当官，都被他拒绝了。他立志以医济世，为民众解除病苦。华佗行医遍及今安徽、江苏、山东、河南的一些地区，深受群众的爱戴和推崇。汉丞相曹操患头风头痛，久治不见效，召华佗治疗。华佗施以针刺，头痛立刻就停止了。曹操要留华佗在身边做侍医，华佗不愿意只为他一人服务，托辞回家不返。曹操一怒之下，将华佗杀害了。
Huo Tuo love reading since his childhood. When he was young, he studied around Xuzhou region and he was well versed in various sutras and knowledge of keeping health. Prime Minister of Chen Gui and Commander Huang Wan of Pei Kingdom recommended him to be government official, but he refused. He decided to help the people out of diseases with his medical knowledge. Hua Tuo went to some places in today's Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan to help people, winning their respect and applause. When Cao Cao, Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, suffered from a headache and could not be recovered after long-time treatment. He turned to Hua Tuo for help. Hua Tuo acupunctured Cao Cao's head and cured the disease. Cao Cao hope Hua Tuo could be his private doctor. But Hua Tuo did not want to serve only one people. He got an excuse and went home and refused to go back. Cao Cao was very angry and he killed Hua Tuo.
华佗不仅精于针灸，在妇产科、小儿科、内科杂病和寄生虫病等方面都有很高的造诣。他最大的成就，是在外科方面。他发时了麻沸散，并成功地使病人在全身麻醉下施行腹部外科手术。据史书记载，华佗已能做肿瘤摘除、胃肠缝合一类的手术。他对那些发于体内，针灸服药都不能治好的病，就采用手术治疗。他先让病人用酒服麻沸散，待病人如同酒醉失去知觉时，切开腹壁，若是肿瘤就割除;若病在肠胃，就将胃肠截断，除去疾秽的部分，经过洗涤后再很好地加以缝合，在伤口上敷以一种药膏。四五天后伤口愈合，病人一个月左右就可恢复健康。麻沸散是一种用于全身麻醉的中药麻醉剂。华佗在公元二三世纪发明全身麻醉术，比西方医学家使用乙醚或笑气进行全麻手，要早一千六百多年。因此。华佗不仅是中国第一位，而且是世界上第一位使用麻醉术进行腹腔手术的人。
Hua Tuo not only was versed in acupuncture, but also made great achievements in areas such as gynaecology and obstetrics, pediatrics, diseases of internal medicines and verminosis. His greatest achievement was made in surgery. He invented Mafei San (Chinese ancient narcotic drug) and conducted an operation on the abdomen of a patient after being narcotized. According to history books, Hua Tuo could conduct operation of removing tumors and suturing stomach and intestines. For the diseases that were inside the body and could not be cured through acupuncture, Hua Tuo treated them with operation. He first asked the patient to drink Mafei San with liquor; when the patient lost the consciousness, he would cut open the abdomen. If he found tumors, he would remove them; if the diseases were in the stomach or intestines, he would cut them apart and remove the part with the disease. After washing the remaining parts, he would suture them. A kind of ointment was used on the wound. Four or five days later, the wound would, and the patient would be recovered in around a month's time. Mafei San is a kind of traditional Chinese drug of general anesthesia. Hua Tuo invented the technology of general anesthesia in 2-3 Century, more than 1,600 years earlier than the ether and nitrous oxide used by western physicians for general anesthesia. Hua Tuo was the first people to use anesthesia for operation in the abdomen not only in China, but also in the world.
华佗还很多重视体育锻炼。他认为适当的运动可以帮助消化、畅通气血，不但能预防疾病，还可延长寿命。据此，他模仿虎、鹿、熊、猿、鸟的动作，创造了"五禽戏"。他的弟子吴普照这个方法坚持锻炼，活到九十多岁，仍耳聪目明，牙齿坚固。
Hua Tuo attached great importance to physical exercises. He believed that appropriate exercises could improve digestion, help energy and blood circulation, prevent diseases and help prolong life. He invented Five-Animal Exercises according to the movement of tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. His apprentice Wu Pu practiced the exercises and was still very healthy with good eyesight and hearing and strong teeth.
华佗一生有很多医著，可惜都没有流传下来，这是中国医学的一个重大损失。现在看到的《中藏经》、《华柁神医秘传》等，都是后人托名而作，并非出自华佗之手。
Hua Tuo wrote a lot of books on medicines in his life but none of them is available now. It is a great loss for Chinese medicines. The books available today such as Zhongzang Sutra and Secret Skills of Doctor Hua Tuo were actually written by someone else under the name of Hua Tuo.