#sun simiao

Tusu wine !

The Tusu wine is made by immersing Chinese herbal medicines like rhubarb and the rhizome of large-headed atractylodes in wine. It can benefit the vital essence and warm yang, disperse cold, and expel epidemic diseases. 

It is said that every year in the last lunar month, Sun Simiao, a noted physician of the Tang Dynasty, would distribute a pack of medicine to his fellow villagers, and tell them to soak the medicine in wine and drink the wine on New Year’s Eve to prevent plagues. 

Sun Simiao also named his house “Tusu House”. After generations, it has become a custom to drink the Tusu wine during the Spring Festival.

In ancient times, the way to drink the Tusu wine was quite special. Generally, the elder shall drink first. But when it comes to the Tusu wine, the order is just the opposite. 

At a family reunion, the youngest drank the Tusu wine first, and the eldest came last. In the past, this unique drinking order always made people sigh with emotions and impressed them deeply. 

Story of Sun Simiao: Medicine, Cultivation Practice, and Virtue (Part 3)

As a practitioner of cultivation, Sun Simiao not only possessed miraculous medical skills, he also had high moral values. He treated not only people, he also applied his skills to help non-humans, such as dragons and tigers.

Providing a Cure for a Dragon

Someone knocked at the door of Sun’s hut in the mountains one night. Sun opened the door and saw a scholar dressed in white. It was raining hard…

Chinese myths—Sun Simiao Learning Taoism

  Sun Simiao was a native of Huayuan. At the age of seven he could recite many lines daily. When Dugu Xin met him, he signed: “What a child prodigy! It’s a pity that he has too big an ambition to be put in an important post.” When he grew up, he was fond of books written by Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. It was an eventful period when Emperor Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty was in power. Sun Simao separated himelf in TaibaiMountain, learning Taoism and seeking the way of immortality.

  He was proficient in astronomy, astrology and medicine. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty invited him to be the grand master of the state, but he declined it. Once he told others in private: “A holy man will be in power in fifty years and I’ll go out of the mountain to succor the world and help the people.” He didn’t go the capital until Emperor Taizhong of the Tang Dynasty sent an order. Emperor Taizhong was very surprised to find that he still looked young, saying: “I’ve heard before that Taoist practitioners should be respected. It’ true that celestial beings will never age!”

  In the third year of Yonghui, he had already been over one hundred years old. One day, having taken a bath and put on clean clothes, he said to his descendants: “Today I’ll travel to an unknown place.” After it, he passed away. A month had passed but his dead face was unchanged. Only his clothes were found when he was to put into coffin.

Sun Simiao

Sun Simiao (simplified Chinese: 孙思邈; traditional Chinese: 孫思邈; pinyin: Sūn Sīmiǎo; Wade–Giles: Sun Szumiao, ? –682) was a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor of the Sui and Tang dynasty. He was titled as China's King of Medicine (药王, Yaowang) for his significant contributions to Chinese medicine and tremendous care to his patients.