Lü Bingkui: Guardian of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Founder of New China's TCM Cause
Lü Bingkui, appointed by Chairman Mao as the "TCM Commander," dedicated his life to advocating for the preservation of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He founded what was considered the strongest TCM university in the world, whose textbooks were praised by Li Ke and Hao Wanshan as the best and most authentic TCM teaching materials. However, due to policy changes, this university had to be shut down. Lü Bingkui can be regarded as the founder of New China's Traditional Chinese Medicine cause.
Lü Bingkui spent his entire life in struggle. In his youth, he battled illness. As a child, he unfortunately contracted kala-azar but was cured by a traveling herbalist with a few medicinal herbs, which eradicated the root of the disease. This experience sparked his grand aspiration to study Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduating from junior high school, he embarked on a four-year journey of apprenticeship in medicine. By the age of 19, he was able to practice independently and quickly gained fame far and wide despite his young age.
In his youth, he fought against enemies. In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out in full scale, Lü Bingkui resolutely abandoned his pen to join the military, risking his life and fighting bloody battles in the era of gunfire and bullets. The character Xiao Laoda Liang Hong in the movie "51st Military Station" was modeled after Lü Bingkui.
It was not until after the founding of New China that he returned to the medical field. In middle age, he battled against the "TCM black gang." In 1956, Chairman Mao appointed Lü Bingkui as the Director of the TCM Department of the Ministry of Health. Despite being the highest-ranking leader in the TCM field at the time, he faced a bleak situation. Due to directives from some high-ranking members of the "TCM black gang," TCM practitioners' licenses were revoked across the country, and TCM doctors were forced to study Western medicine. However, no matter how difficult it was, Lü Bingkui shouldered the responsibility of promoting TCM development.
After taking office, the first challenge he faced was establishing the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in the capital.
Despite being in the capital, he could not secure decent campus facilities, let alone recruit teachers and compile textbooks.
At that time, limited resources were prioritized for Western medicine hospitals. Lü Bingkui was forced to consider relocating the school to Nanjing. Ultimately, with the support of Premier Zhou, the Ministry of Health allocated 4 million yuan in funding. Six months later, the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine was back on track.