Upon hearing this, Song Hao was slightly surprised, realizing that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.
After saying goodbye to Wang Yu and his wife, Song Zihe and Song Hao got into the back seat of the truck, and the driver drove out of Yantai city and headed towards Penglai.
Sitting in the car, Song Zihe and Song Hao were both deep in thought. Although they didn't know what was inside the wooden box, they were very clear that they had been drawn into trouble and didn't know what the consequences would be. Of course, they also had a strong sense of curiosity. What kind of treasure was the sacred object in medicine that Dou Haiqin had mentioned? This question was extremely tempting to anyone with a curious mind.
While the driver was refueling his truck at a gas station, Song Hao noticed a small truck with a modified enclosed cargo box inside the station. An idea suddenly struck him, and he quickly said to Song Zihe, "Grandpa, could we switch vehicles and transfer our cargo? That would be safer, and it would be less likely for people to know where we are going, just in case."
Song Zihe nodded and said, "Okay, go and ask. If it works out, we'll change cars."
Song Hao got out of the car and walked over to the driver who was refueling his truck. He asked the driver, and it turned out that the truck was empty and heading back to Penglai. It was about an hour's drive from here to Penglai, and they agreed on a price of 100 yuan for both the passengers and the cargo.
When Song Hao returned and told the driver from before, the driver exclaimed in surprise, "We arrived in just one hour! Are you going to change vehicles again?"
Song Hao laughed and said, "We've changed our minds and are going to transfer the goods to Jinan instead. Don't worry, you don't need to get a refund for the shipping fee you've already received. Just go back to Yantai."
The driver listened without objection, helped transfer the wooden crate to another truck, and then went home.
It was nearly evening when the truck arrived in Penglai City. Relying on his previous memory, Song Zihe led the truck to the gate of a mansion, which should be the Song family's old residence. The door was locked, and the simple, ancient door panels showed its age. This was an undeveloped old town area, which had preserved this century-old house.
Song Zihe got out of the car, touched the door panel and sighed inwardly, then said, "Song Hao, wait here for a moment. I'll go find your uncles to get the keys to the door. I called before I came back, and you said you would clean up the old house before we arrived so that we could move in."
Not long after Song Zihe left, he returned with five or six people, chatting and laughing. Upon seeing them, Song Hao knew they were all relatives from his hometown and hurriedly went to greet them.
The members of the Song clan all took a liking to Song Hao, assuming he was the orphaned son of Song Zihe's deceased son, Song Qiang. Song Zihe didn't bother to reveal this, and instead introduced him to them one by one.
There was an old man named Song Ziping, whom Song Hao should call his third grandfather; another was his eldest uncle, Song Gang; his second uncle, Song Li; another person of Song Hao's generation named Song Ming; and the last one was Zhang He, the husband of an aunt.
Song Li, who was also a doctor at a hospital in the city, smiled at Song Hao and said, "Our Song family's ancestral medical skills have only been passed down to your branch. I originally studied traditional Chinese medicine, but later switched to Western medicine, haha!"
Song Li opened the gate to the old house, and everyone unloaded the wooden box and several pieces of luggage from the car and carried them into the yard. Song Li and the others didn't ask any questions about the wooden box, assuming it contained some household items.
When Song Hao tried to settle the bill with the driver, Song Li had already paid first and sent the driver away. Song Hao smiled gratefully, thinking, "People from my hometown are the best!"
The courtyard showed obvious signs of recent renovation. The courtyard was not large, but there were two rows of old-fashioned houses in front and behind. They had been occupied by a distant relative of Song Zihe as a warehouse. No one had lived there for many years, so it looked somewhat desolate and lifeless.
The house was tidy and clean, with clean doors and windows. The furniture and appliances were all new. The clan members showed their sincerity in welcoming Song Zi and his grandson back to settle down.
"Zihe, we've only made a rough arrangement. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll have someone bring it over," Song Ziping said.
"Third Brother, I'm already very satisfied!" Song Zihe said gratefully.
"Fourth Uncle, please come to my house and have a seat. The food is ready to welcome you and Song Hao," Song Gang said from the side. Song Zihe was the fourth child in the clan.
"Yes! You should rest well after dinner, as more people will come to visit you tomorrow," Song Liaoping said.
Song Hao glanced at the wooden box, wanting to stay and guard it. Seeing Song Hao's hesitation, Song Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, the security here is very good, you won't lose anything."
At Song Gang's home, Song Zihe and Song Hao received a warm welcome. During the meal, Song Zihe expressed his desire to open a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Penglai, but since he did not have a medical license, he did not reveal the reason for the closure of Ping'an Hall in Baihe Town, not wanting to cause any unpleasantness.
Upon hearing this, Song Li said, "No problem, I'll take care of it. My Song family's medical skills were renowned locally before Liberation, but I never really explored that area, almost extinguishing the lineage of traditional Chinese medicine. Now that my fourth uncle is back, he'll revive our family's medical skills, and I'll be learning from him. As for the doctor's certificate and medical license, they're not a big problem; money can solve them. Besides, with my fourth uncle's abilities, the health bureau can process them immediately with just a word. The local elders also know the reputation of the Song family's medical skills."
Upon hearing this, Song Zihe felt somewhat relieved.
"Don't worry, Zihe, those things will be handled by them. We have people from our clan in every department, so everything will be easy. You need to rest for a while, there's no rush," Song Ziping said.
Chapter Fourteen: Song Tiansheng's Acupuncture Bronze Figure (3)
The Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian originates at the pubic hairline of the big toe, ascends along the medial aspect of the dorsum of the foot, one inch above the medial malleolus, eight inches above the malleolus, crosses behind the Taiyin Meridian, ascends along the medial aspect of the knee, follows the pubic area of the thigh into the pubic hair, passes the genitals, reaches the lower abdomen, flanks the stomach, connects with the liver and gallbladder, ascends through the diaphragm, distributes to the hypochondrium, follows the posterior aspect of the throat, ascends into the nasolabial fold, connects with the eye system, ascends to the forehead, and meets the Du Meridian at the vertex; one branch descends from the eye system to the cheek, encircles the inner lip; another branch separates from the liver, penetrates the diaphragm, and ascends to the lungs. —Selected from *Ling Shu Jing*, Chapter Ten: Meridians
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Song Hao, preoccupied with the wooden box, quickly finished his meal and sat down to wait for his grandfather. Song Zihe knew what he was thinking; he too wanted to see what was inside the box as soon as possible. After finishing his meal, he chatted with Song Ziping, Song Gang, and others for a while before getting up to say goodbye and returning to the old house with Song Hao.
Back home, Song Hao quickly bolted the door and then rushed to the wooden box.
Upon seeing this, Song Zihe laughed and said, "Don't rush. This box is nailed securely. We need to find a tool to open it first."
Song Hao searched around and finally found an iron bar in the yard. Returning to the house, he first pried open the lid of the wooden box. Inside was a thick layer of cotton thread, protecting a long object. Removing the thread revealed a human-shaped object wrapped in a large piece of red cloth.
Upon seeing this, Song Zihe was filled with excitement and hurriedly said, "Lift it up! Could it be an acupuncture bronze figure?"
"The acupuncture bronze figure!?" Song Hao exclaimed in surprise.
Ancient acupuncturists cast many bronze acupuncture figures, but few have survived to the present day.
Suppressing his excitement, Song Hao and his grandfather lifted the object out of the box. Although it was wrapped in red cloth, its heavy weight suggested it was a metal object. They placed it upright on the ground, and Song Hao carefully removed the layers of red cloth.
As the screen revealed its contents, a moment of dizziness washed over them. Before them stood a life-sized, ancient, and solemn bronze acupuncture figure, approximately 170 centimeters tall. The bronze figure resembled a young man with a handsome face and a robust physique. It wore a hair crown and was covered with acupuncture points and their names, arranged in lines that subtly resembled meridians. The figure radiated a magical brilliance and divine charm, leaving the two men utterly dumbfounded.
"It really is an acupuncture bronze figure!" Song Zihe exclaimed. Then his expression changed, as if he remembered something. He quickly stepped closer to examine it closely for a moment, and then exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Song Hao, this...this is the Song Tiansheng acupuncture bronze figure cast by Wang Wei!"
"The Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man!" Upon hearing this, Song Hao was greatly shocked and overjoyed, for this "Song Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man" had a remarkable background and a legendary myth. Almost everyone who practiced acupuncture knew of it.
During the Tiansheng era of the Song Dynasty, acupuncture was flourishing, but the methods of acupuncture used were mostly based on the ancient text *Huangdi Mingtang Jing*, which often contained errors. Therefore, in the fourth year of Tiansheng (1023 AD), Emperor Renzong of Song ordered the Imperial Medical Academy, the highest national medical institution, to compile the *Newly Cast Bronze Figure Acupuncture and Moxibustion Illustrated Manual*. This task was entrusted to Wang Weiyi, a renowned physician of the time and a physician within the Imperial Medical Academy. After three years, the new national standard for acupuncture and moxibustion points, *Newly Cast Bronze Figure Acupuncture and Moxibustion Illustrated Manual*, was completed. To facilitate preservation, its contents were engraved on five stone tablets.
"Transmitting the mind is not as good as seeing, and writing words is not as good as observing the form." To facilitate the study of acupuncture, Emperor Renzong of Song once again ordered the casting of acupuncture bronze figures based on the "Newly Cast Bronze Figure Acupuncture Points Illustrated Manual." Wang Wei then summoned skilled craftsmen from all over the country by imperial decree, and he was responsible for the main design and supervised the casting. In 1027, two acupuncture bronze figures with identical appearances were cast, which are the famous "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figures".
The bronze figure is depicted as a standing young man with outstretched arms and palms facing forward. It was cast in two parts, front and back, and could be disassembled and reassembled using a special connector, reflecting the high level of human aesthetics and casting technology of the time.
The bronze figure is marked with the names of 354 acupoints, all of which are pierced with small holes. Inside the body cavity are wooden carvings of the internal organs and bones, which can be used not only for acupuncture but also for anatomy.
In acupuncture teaching, bronze figures have a unique practical use. Every year during the acupuncture medical examination held by the Imperial Medical Academy, mercury is injected into the bronze figure, and the surface is coated with beeswax to cover the meridians and acupoints. Only those who accurately identify the acupoints can "insert the needle and the mercury will come out." This is the earliest cast acupuncture bronze figure in China and the world, pioneering the use of bronze figures as human models for acupuncture teaching, a unique Eastern tradition that can be described as distinctive.
Two bronze figures were cast; one was placed in the Imperial Medical Academy for medical students to observe and practice, while the other was placed in the Renji Hall of the Xiangguo Temple in the capital for the public to visit. "Zisheng Xunfeng" became one of the eight famous scenic spots in Bianjing (Kaifeng).
Such a rare treasure also began its legendary and arduous fate.
In 1126 AD, the Jin army invaded the south, advancing to the gates of Bianjing (Kaifeng). The Song Dynasty sent envoys to sue for peace. The Jin demanded an item as a condition for peace: the Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure. A national treasure of the Song Dynasty, known throughout the land, the Jin coveted it and resorted to military force to demand its return. The Song court, already weakened, had no choice but to hand over the bronze figure, and only then did the Jin army retreat. This single bronze figure, ironically, ensured the Song court's temporary peace.