Who was born a novice monk in a temple, later passed high exams and became a famous doctor?

This person was later honored as the "forerunner" of the Southern medicine industry.

He is the great physician, Zen master Tue Tinh.

Tue Tinh's real name is Nguyen Ba Tinh, from Nghia Phu village, Cam Vu commune, Cam Giang district, Hai Duong province. Orphaned at the age of 6, the boy Nguyen Ba Tinh was raised and educated by monks at Hai Trieu and Giao Thuy pagodas ( Nam Dinh ).

Here, he was given the Buddhist name Tieu Hue, nickname Hue Tinh, and began to focus on studying and learning medicine to help treat the poor in the area.

Being an intelligent and studious person, at the age of 22, under the reign of King Tran Du Tong, Thieu Phong 11 (1351), he excelled in passing the exam and became a Thai Hoc Sinh. However, instead of entering the path of an official, Nguyen Ba Tinh chose to practice at Nghiem Quang Pagoda, taking the Buddhist name Tue Tinh.

While becoming a monk, Tue Tinh also focused on studying medicine and curing and saving people. With boundless passion, he devoted himself to researching medicine, growing medicinal plants, collecting folk remedies, and training monks in medicine.

Great physician, Zen master Tue Tinh. (Illustration photo)

In just a short period of time, Tue Tinh had compiled traditional medicine in the book “Nam Duoc Than Hieu” divided into 10 sections. After that, he continued to complete 2 volumes of the book “Hong Nghia Giac Tu Y Thu” compiled in the national language, presenting the manuscripts of 500 Vietnamese medicinal herbs written in Nom Tang poetry; a poem on Vietnamese medicinal herbs presenting the names of 630 medicinal herbs in Nom script.

These are invaluable documents, paving the way for our country's medical field in the future. Tue Tinh's works are not only valuable in medicine, but also important in the history of literature.

According to some documents, during his 30 years of working in his hometown, Tue Tinh built 24 pagodas, turning them into medical clinics. He collected many medical records with 182 diseases cured by 3,873 prescriptions.

His great contribution to the country's medicine and his scientific and progressive views led him to the highest position in Vietnamese traditional medicine at that time. Tue Tinh was honored by posterity as the "sage of traditional Vietnamese medicine", the founder of the pharmaceutical industry, the founder of Vietnamese traditional medicine.

In the year of Giap Ty (1384), the Tran king sent Tue Tinh as an envoy to the Ming dynasty. At that time, the Ming queen was suffering from postpartum illness, and all the doctors were unable to cure her. Tue Tinh used traditional medicine to cure her illness. Admiring his talent, the Ming king appointed Tue Tinh as Great Physician Zen Master and kept him in Kim Lang.

In a foreign land, Tue Tinh always yearned to return to her homeland, but that dream never came true until she passed away in Jiangnan (China). Pitying her own fate, before she died, Tue Tinh asked someone to engrave on her tombstone the words: "Whoever returns to the South, please let me return with them."

More than 200 years later, Doctor Nguyen Danh Nho of the Later Le Dynasty, who was from the same village as Tue Tinh and was on a mission to China, visited his grave. Reading the inscription on the stele and being moved by the heartfelt message of the famous physician, Nguyen Danh Nho copied the tombstone and carved a stone stele to bring back to his hometown.

When arriving at Cam Giang district, the boat carrying the stele sank. People thought that this was a prime location so they erected a stele at the place where the stele sank, now the Bia Temple, Cam Van commune, Cam Giang district ( Hai Duong ).

Kim Nha

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ai-xuat-than-tu-chu-tieu-o-chua-sau-do-dat-cao-tro-thanh-dai-danh-y-ar907005.html