Chinese Medicine

Saturday night, I started to feel sick. But with nothing more than a minor sore throat and an impending low feverish feeling, I chalked it up to a long day of yelling in the hot sun at Mutianyu. By Sunday morning things had only worsened. Back home, I normally wouldn't have gone to the doctor for symptoms like these, but being in a foreign country so far away from home, I thought it best to get myself checked out early. To the yiyuan I went. Turns out I have strep throat -- the (Western trained, probably American) doctor prescribed me some antibiotics and sent me on my way. But that's not what this story is about.

To get to the hospital, we had to take a cab. I sat in the back while the HBA secretary sat up front and dealt with the driver, a feat I was in no state of mind to attempt. Although I did not understand the entire conversation that followed as we made our way through the crowded streets of Beijing, I was able to pick out a few simple -- and shocking -- sentences.

'You should take him to a place where they practice traditional Chinese medicine...'

'This isn't what you've called a normal fever. It's a different type of sickness...'

'There's a certain type of tea that will make this go right away...'

As the ride continued, the driver began probing deeper into my chauffeur's personal life...

'Are you married yet? You're getting old, you should get married soon...'

As disturbing as it is to receive such advice from a taxi driver, the situation represented a fantastic and rare opportunity to explore the views of an ordinary Chinese citizen. On the relatively international BLCU campus, chance encounters like these are few and far between. Listening to this man in from the back seat in feverish lethargy, I could not help but think back on everything I'd heard and read before coming here...

Beijing is at once an ancient and a fledgling city. Rapid modernization has brought together sparkling new infrastructure and traditional Eastern ideas in a way that is uniquely Chinese. At the confluence of these two are people like my friend in the cab, driving a modern car to make a buck while clinging tightly to antiquated notions of Eastern medicine.

For now, I'll stick to Azithromycin, which after two days has already ameliorated the swelling considerably. What an intriguing adventure getting sick in China has turned out to be.

再见

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