Qibo () was a mythological Chinese doctor, employed by the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
(Huangdi) as his minister. It is said that he was enlightened with the knowledge of
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
by an
ethereal being from the heavens.
He was a doctor in ''
shanggu shidai'' () in
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
. He lived in
Beidi
The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese (''Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and hunting ...
(, now
Qingyang
Qingyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China.
Geography and climate
Qingyang is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as "Longdong" (). It forms an administrative penins ...
).
It is said that he had learned medicine from some celestial being like
Guangchengzi
Guang Chengzi ({{zh, s=广成子, t=廣成子, p=Guǎngchéngzǐ, w=Kuang ch'eng-tzu) (Literarily "Person Who Knows All" ) is a Taoist deity and a character in the classic Chinese novel ''Fengshen Yanyi''.
Taoist mythology
From the idea of T ...
,
Chisongzi
Yu Shi () is a Chinese spirit or god of rain, also known as or conflated with Red Pine (Chisong, 赤松, or Chisongzi – Master Red Pine), among other names. Translations of ''Yu Shi'' into English include "Lord of Rain" and "Leader of Rain".
As ...
(), or
Zhongnanzi (). He recognized
medicinal herb
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...
s in daylight, learned the
Tao
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...
of
health maintenance and mastered
jingluo medicine. Zhongnanzi recommended Qibo to the Yellow Emperor, while the Yellow Emperor asked Tao to Guangchengzi in the
Kongtong Mountains
Kongtong Mountains () is one of the sacred mountains of Taoism. It is located in Pingliang City, Gansu Province, People's Republic of China. It is the mythical meeting site between the Yellow Emperor (also known as ''Huangdi'' or by his given name ...
. Qibo became the chancellor of the Yellow Emperor. He sampled medicinal herbs by the order of the Yellow Emperor. ''
Huangdi Neijing
''Huangdi Neijing'' (), literally the ''Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor'' or ''Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor'', is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chines ...
'' is a book comprising the dialogues regarding medicinal problems between Yellow Emperor and Qibo.
Ancient Chinese physicians
Characters in Chinese mythology
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