There were many famous doctors in the Three Kingdoms period, among which Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing were the most famous. Hua tuo was even more famous at that time. He also saved a prince Guo who died for three days by stimulating the soles of his feet. But Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing are people of the same era, and they are more famous. Why aren't they honored as "medical saints"?
Hua tuo's works did not spread to later generations.
In ancient times, it was important to leave a name in the long river of history. Only by writing down your own work can later generations know what you have done. Moreover, Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing have made great contributions to Chinese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile Diseases is still in clinical application!
Of course, Hua Tuo's medical skill is absolutely not inferior, otherwise he would not be taken fancy to by Cao Cao, but Hua Tuo's only regret is that he didn't end well. The average doctor will not write a book about what he has learned all his life until his later years and pass it on to future generations. Did Hua Tuo write a book? There is a record in the reflection that when he died, he wrote a book to the jailer, saying, "This can be a living person." Officials are afraid of the law, not strong, so please fire.
Hua Tuo wrote a book and gave it to the jailer. But the jailer refused to accept Hua Tuo's book because he was afraid of Cao Cao's laws and brought trouble to himself. In the end, Hua tuo burned all the books in a rage. It is precisely because of this incident that a precious Chinese medicine document was reduced to ashes.
How good is Hua Tuo's medical skill? He even offered to open Cao Cao's skull, and he has already made leprosy powder. Guan Yu is full of heroism, but there is only one Guan Yu. There's still anesthetic during the operation. Huatuo was developed more than 2000 years ago. Therefore, Hua Tuo is not respected as a doctor, and his fame is not as great as that of Zhang Zhongjing, just because there are no handed down books.
Hua tuo died young and didn't become an official. Zhang Zhongjing is a satrap.
Although Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing have superb medical skills, they have different ways of thinking. Because Hua Tuo never became an official, and Zhang Zhongjing was a satrap. If Hua Tuo had the experience of being a satrap, how could he be imprisoned by Cao Cao?
Taishou is equivalent to the current mayor, and his official position is not small, so Zhang Zhongjing is not only a person who can study medicine, but also a doctor who can control the current situation, which can be said to be all-rounder. If Zhang Zhongjing has been on the official career, he may have achieved the top level in the satrap, which is far less famous than now.
However, ancient literati actually paid great attention to writing books and making statements, leaving a name to make a biography, which can be seen in Treatise on Febrile Diseases. Hua tuo is a standard technical talent, obsessed with technology, but imprisoned by Cao Cao because he doesn't know how to plan and grasp the current situation. Cao Cao killed Hua Tuo, not only because of a craniotomy, but because Hua Tuo was so famous.
At that time, Hua Tuo was divided into alchemists, and the Yellow Scarf Army at the end of the Han Dynasty was actually the strength assembled by alchemists. Cao Cao once personally participated in the extermination of the Yellow Scarf Army, so after he came to power, opponents attached great importance to it. It is said that these people's abilities are amazing, so they have a large number of followers, which makes Cao Cao feel afraid.
In fact, at that time, Cao Cao killed not only Hua Tuo, but also many alchemists, not only Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, because they had great influence. Zhang Zhongjing, a former satrap, knows these things very well. He knows how to protect himself and hide. Although his Treatise on Febrile Diseases is very advanced, neither the History of the Three Kingdoms nor the Book of the Later Han Dynasty listed him as a famous doctor, so he can pass on what he has learned and let future generations know.
To sum up, although Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing were in the same era, and Hua Tuo was more famous, why wasn't Hua Tuo honored as a "medical sage"? Because, first of all, he didn't set up a book, and no book was handed down to future generations. Even if it has great influence in the contemporary era, his medical skills will not be passed down, and his influence on later generations is not as great as that of Zhang Zhongjing.
Second, he has never been an official, and Zhang Zhongjing was the mayor of the Three Kingdoms period. He knows how to protect himself and how to spread himself to future generations. For this reason, Hua Tuo's reputation as a medical sage is not respected!