Tutorial

"Who wrote the first textbook on gynecology in Chinese medicine ?" Came the first question of my previous mentor for his dinner tutorial.

(I must say I could not be more happy. Everything seems going back to the good old days.)

I shake my head, playing my part as a humble student.

The answer was, as it turned out, illuminating on its own.

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The first textbook on gynecology in China was 《女科》, written by Fu Qingzhu (傅青主).

Fu was no ordinary gynecologist. He was an outstanding scholar at the turn between Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties, and an expert in medicine, philosophy, literature, calligraphy, as well as martial arts.

For that very last aspect, he appeared in the classic fiction The Seven Swords of Mount Heaven (七劍下天山) by Liang Yusheng (梁羽生) - Fu was one of the Swords.

The same character also appeared in the movie Seven Swords (七劍), directed by Tsui Hark (徐克), who casted Liu Jialiang (劉家良) as our legendary gynecologist.