"Harmony" is a hot word now. What is the true harmony? Many people think that, if the officials say so, the common people do so, and there is harmony between officials and the common people, so the society is harmonious. Is it a true harmony? Let us listen to the words of our great ancestors who lived more than 2500 years.

       Liangqiu Ju was a minister of the Qi State. He always tried to ingratiate himself with Qi Jing-Gong, the monarch of the Qi State. Jing-Gong said approvingly, "Is only Ju harmonious with me?” Yan Ying, the prime misiter of the Qi State, said, “Ju is just the same as you. Why do you think he is harmonious with you?” Jing-Gong asked, “Are harmony and sameness different?” Yan Ying said, “They are different. Harmony is as a thick soup. A chef cooks it with various seasonings and via different methods, adds lacks and removes superfluities. A gentleman eats it for moderating his mind. A monarch and his ministers are as so. If a monarch thinks a thing will be successful but it also is possible to be unfavorable, ministers should tell him the unfavorable situation in order to facilitate his success. If a monarch thinks a thing won’t be successful but it also possible to be successful, ministers should tell him the successful possibility in order to dispel the monarch’s doubt. Then the political affairs can be treated moderately, and people have no disputes. Former kings degusted five flavors and appreciate five tunes for moderating their mind and accomplishing their political ideals. A gentleman listens to different harmonious tunes, so his mind can be moderated. The mind is moderated, and he will have harmonious virtue. But now Ju is not as so. Monarch says ok, so he also says ok. Monarch says no, so he also says no. If water is added into water, then who can eat it? If all tunes are the same, who can listen to it? So the harm of the abuse of sameness can be known by us.”

        How wise and wonderful the words of Yan Ying are! Harmony, Not Sameness. Reading later articles, you will find more interesting things between the common people and officials before 221 B.C..

       Advertising is omnipresent nowadays. Many companies employ famous persons to advertise their products or be the advertising spokespersons for their brands. Yao Ming（姚明）, a famed basketball player of NBA, is the advertising spokesperson of the athletic products of Reebok. Liu Xiang（劉翔）, the first male Olympic track gold medalist of China, is the advertising spokesperson of Shengda（昇達） Flooring. Even Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the former USSR, advertised the leather bags for Louis Vuitton, a French fashion design company. An excellent advertisement can really bring large profit to a company. Do you know the celebrity effect for advertising in ancient China? Do you know who the first advertising spokesperson of China was?

       In the Warring-States（戰國） Period of China, there was a man named Bole（伯樂）. Bole was adept in judging the worth of horses. At that warrior time, large quantities of good horses were required, so Bole was very famous in all states, and many monarchs employed him with a large reward to search good horses and improve the breed of horses. A man was a horse dealer. He sold horses in a market. Though his horses were of fine breed, but no one bought his horses. He had waited in the market for three mornings, but still no one showed any interest. He suddenly remembered Bole, “If the man is willing to help me…” Then the dealer went to visit Bole. Bole smiled and said, “What can I do for you?” The dealer said, “I have good horses and want to sell them. I have stood in the market for three mornings, but still no one buy a horse. Will you please go to the market tomorrow and view my horses? You don’t need to say anything. Before you leave the market, please return to view my horses once again, and then leave with a lingering look. Will you please? I will present the earning of tomorrow morning to you.” The next morning, Bole did as the horse dealer said, and then the price of the dealer’s horses was increased tenfold in one morning! Bole, of course, was the first advertising spokesperson of China, though he said nothing.

       The top state of advertising is that the spokesperson says nothing but sales will be increased rapidly. Many years ago, Gong Li（鞏俐）, a famous Chinese film star, only offered a smile for the advertisement of the air-conditioners of Midea（美的）. Last year, Tang Wei（湯唯）, the starring actress of the movie “Lust and Caution”（色•戒）, got the reward of six million HongKong dollars for her smile in the advertisement of Pond's.

        Advertising is omnipresent, and celebrity effect is omnipresent, too.

  The Traditional Chinese Medical Science, also called Chinese Medicine for short, is the traditional medical science of the Han（漢） nation which is the main people of China. So, in Korea and Japan, Chinese Medicine is known as “Han Medicine”（漢醫）.

  Chinese Medicine had a long history of several thousand years. Legend has it that the origin of Chinese Medicine was related to Yan-Di（炎帝） and Huang-Di（黃帝）, two great tribal leaders of the Huaxia nation (“Huaxia”[華夏] is the original name of the Han nation). In myths, Yan-Di, also called Shennong（神農）, tasted large numbers of plants by himself for distinguishing herbs, while Huang-Di and his ministers discussed physiological, pathological and therapeutic theories. Of course, the myths are not reliable. In fact, Chinese Medicine originated from the accumulation of generations’ experience against diseases. In the Western Han（西漢） Dynasty (from 206 B.C. to A.D. 8), many doctors gathered together the experience of their predecessors and organized theories. Many works on medical theories appeared at that time. But in the later days, almost all of them were lost in wars.

  Two works, “Su Wen”（素問） and “Ling Shu”（靈樞）, were said to be the two parts of “the Orthodox Classic of Huang-Di”（黃帝内經）, a book written in the Western Han Dynasty. The two works systematically elaborate the basic philosophy and clinical theories of Chinese Medicine. About therapeutics, they summarize the principles of treatment, and attaches importance to acupuncture. After the Western Han Dynasty, since other works on medical theories had been lost and the two books were deemed to be the only surviving ones, they were held in very high esteem by later doctors. The two books, or customarily called “the Orthodox Classic of Huang-Di”, determined the developing way of Chinese Medicine. The later development of Chinese Medicine had never been beyond the rules of the two works.

  In the Eastern Han（東漢） Dynasty (from A.D. 25 to 220), a famous pharmacological book named “the Herbal Classic of Shennong”（神農本草經） appeared. It collects 365 medicinal materials and elaborates their effects. Moreover, the book summarizes the principles for the combined usage of different medicinal materials. With the development of medical science, more and more medicinal materials were found and used clinically. The top achievement of traditional Chinese pharmacology is the great work “the Compendium of Materia Medica”（本草綱目） written by Li Shizhen（李時珍） in the Ming（明） Dynasty (from 1368 to 1662). The illustrious book collects 1892 medicinal materials and their references. But in fact, only hundreds of medicinal materials are often used clinically.

  Since “the Orthodox Classic of Huang-Di” and “the Herbal Classic of Shennong” weren’t written by Huang-Di and Shennong, why do the two works have such names? It was because many authors in the Han Dynasty often owed their achievements to ancient famous men for raising the value of their works and attracting readers. They were more willing to see that their works become well-known instead of their names. For example, another famous medical work, “Eighty-One Problems”（八十一難） or called “the Classic of Problems”（難經）, was said to be written by Qin Yueren（秦越人）, a famous doctor in the Warring-States（戰國） Period (from the fifth century B.C. to 221 B.C.), who was also called “Bianque” (扁鵲, a mythological bird which could cure diseases). But in fact the problems in this book were designed for explaining many contents of “Su Wen” and “Ling Shu”, so the book was written obviously later than “Su Wen” and “Ling Shu”, and the author was not Qin Yueren.

  In the beginning of the third century A.D., a doctor named Zhang Zhongjing（張仲景） wrote a great clinical work, “the Treatise on Cold-Induced Diseases and Other Diseases”（傷寒雜病論）. Zhang Zhongjing had rich experience in the treatment of diseases. His book records the symptoms of many diseases, and discusses their pathological mechanism and how to treat the diseases. The extant parts of the book collect 269 medical prescriptions which are very effective clinically. The book incarnates complete principles of diagnosis, analysis and treatment on diseases, so it greatly promoted the development of the clinical medicine of ancient China. Accordingly, Zhang Zhongjing was acclaimed as “the Medical Sage”（醫聖） by later people. But in the later years of social unrest, his book was broken asunder. Later doctors collected the remaining texts of the book and reorganized them into two books. The two books are known as “the Treatise on Cold-Induced Diseases”（傷寒論） and “the Prescriptions Kept in A Golden Box”（金匱要略）. The former is the part about cold-induced diseases, while the latter is the part about other diseases. The prescriptions in the two books are reputed as “Classic Prescriptions”（經方）. The Han Medicine in modern Japan is mainly based on these prescriptions. Japanese doctors think that the prescribed dosage of every medicinal material in the two books can’t be changed, and they have gained many achievements for the modern research and commercialization of the “Classic Prescriptions”.

  The books “Su Wen”, “Ling Shu”, “Eighty-One Problems”, “the Herbal Classic of Shennong”, “the Treatise on Cold-Induced Diseases” and “the Prescriptions Kept in A Golden Box” are the most important classical works of Chinese Medicine. These works form a unique medical system combined with perfect basic theories and clinical principles. Though they were written between the second century B.C. and the third century A.D., they still enlighten and direct the clinical practice of Chinese Medicine in modern times. Age-old medical theories and principles are still effective to treat modern diseases. It is really a great miracle.

       The ceremonies of Guan（冠） and Ji（笄） were the grown-up ceremonies of young men and women in ancient times. Guan was a kind of ancient Chinese cap for a man. Ji was a hairpin for fastening the hair for a woman.

       The chapter "Meaning of Guan"（冠義） in the book "Records of Proprieties"（禮記） said, “A person can be called a person because of the proprieties and principle of this person. A person follows proprieties and principle with proper behaviors, dignified expression and courteous words. Proprieties and principle can make a monarch and his ministers proper, a father and his son intimate, seniors and juniors harmonious. If a man experiences a Guan Ceremony, he will have complete garments. Complete garments can make a man have proper behaviors, dignified expression and courteous words. So we can say, ‘Guan is the beginning of proprieties.’”

      There was a Guan Ceremony when a man was 20 years old. The chapter "Qu Proprieties"（曲禮） of the book "Records of Proprieties" said, “Being 20 years old is called youth, and there is a Guan Ceremony.” In order to hold a Guan Ceremony, the family of the man must choose an auspicious day and an important guest who will bestow a Guan upon the grown-up man. This showed they respected the Guan Ceremony. Respecting the Guan Ceremony was respecting proprieties. Respecting proprieties was the foundation of a country.

       The Guan Ceremony was held in the ancestral temple of his family, in order to respect ancestors and let the young man know he must be a respectful descendant. A venerable senior of the clan, which this family belonged to, bestowed a Guan upon the grown-up man, and bestowed a Zi (字, another name which showed a special meaning) on the man.

       A woman was grown-up at the age of 15. The chapter "Nei Principles"（内則） of the book "Records of Proprieties" said, “There is a Ji Ceremony at the age of 15, and the woman can get married at the age of 20.” The chapter "Shi’s Matrimonial Rituals"（士昏禮） of the book "Rites and Proprieties"（儀禮） said, “When a woman is at marriage age, a Ji will be bestowed upon the woman, and she will drink sweet wine and be given a Zi.” The chapter "Qu Proprieties" of the book "Records of Proprieties" also said, “When a woman is at marriage age, a Ji and a Zi will be bestowed on the woman.” And it said, “The grown-up ages of a man and a woman are different.” Accordingly, if a woman was 15 years old, she was at grown-up age and could get married, and no matter she wasn’t 20 years old.

      When a woman was grown-up, she would be a virtuous and intelligent wife. But when a man was grown-up, he would shoulder the heavy responsibilities of his family, his clan and even his country.