TCM Story: The Four Diagnoses of Bian Que
- Easy Health TCM
- Mar 29
- 2 min read
Long ago, during the Warring States period, there lived a healer named Bian Que, whose real name was Qin Yueren. He was known throughout the land for his extraordinary ability to diagnose illness just by observing a patient. People said he could see through skin and bones and into the very spirit of the disease.
One day, Bian Que arrived at the court of the Crown Prince of Guo, who had suddenly collapsed and was presumed dead. The royal physicians had already declared that the prince’s spirit had departed, and preparations for burial had begun.
But Bian Que, upon hearing the news, insisted on seeing the body.
He stood silently over the prince, then touched his wrist. “The pulse is faint, but it is there,” he said.
The ministers scoffed. “You insult our court! All our best doctors say he is gone.”
Bian Que did not argue. He simply asked for hot water, acupuncture needles, and a room filled with quiet and warmth.
With great care, he inserted needles at key meridian points, used moxibustion to warm the blood, and prepared an herbal decoction to strengthen the prince’s Yang. Within hours, the prince stirred, then gasped — and returned to life.
The court was astonished. The king, humbled, asked, “Master Bian Que, how did you know he was not dead?”
Bian Que replied, “A dead man has no pulse, no color in his face, no warmth in the chest. The prince’s spirit had merely been obstructed — a disease of collapse, not of death.”
From that day on, Bian Que was treated as a divine healer. Yet he remained humble.
He once told a student:
“My eldest brother treats illness before it arises. His patients rarely fall ill, so he is not known.
My second brother treats early signs, and people think he’s just lucky.
I, the youngest, treat illness when it has taken root — and so people think I am great.
But truly, the greatest doctor sees what is not yet visible.”
