“Not knowing medicine as a child is unfilial; not knowing medicine as a parent is unkind.” This saying has been our family motto—my brother Shuisheng and his friend Xuanxuan both used it as their signature, especially Shuisheng, for a very long time. I completely agree with it.
When people grow old, they suffer all kinds of chronic ailments. We often think that giving our parents money and sending them to the hospital is the ultimate expression of filial piety. With enough money, the doctors will take care of everything—yet doctors are not omnipotent, and many chronic conditions simply cannot be cured by medicine alone.
My mother is a case in point. About eight years ago she developed a severe skin disease. We took her from clinic to clinic, but nothing worked: the itching was unbearable, she couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat, and must have felt like she was sitting on pins and needles all day long. She kept it to herself at first, but my father finally couldn’t stand it and told me, “Your mother’s skin is getting worse by the week—she’s miserable, irritable, snapping at everyone.” When I went home and saw her, her skin was dark red, peeling, flaring up every time the seasons changed. She told me it had started back when she gave birth to my older brother, but it was so mild then that nobody paid attention. Over the years it spread until it covered large areas.
I was worried sick. At that time I hadn’t yet studied meridian therapy, but I scoured online articles about causes, symptoms, treatments for chronic skin problems. I followed them for a year or two. Six years ago, when I began studying TCM meridian health and learned cupping, I decided to try it on Mom. I bought a set of vacuum cups and taught her how to use them. The first few sessions left blisters and sometimes dark purple spots of blood—but afterwards she said the relief was incredible. Since it worked, we kept at it. Whenever she felt discomfort, she cupped, and bit by bit the rash retreated.
Earlier she had also seen a fringe healer who prescribed topical steroids and even bloodletting—cutting the skin at the worst spots to let out stifled blood. That too brought relief. Cupping is, in effect, another way to discharge stagnation. Between the two methods, her flare-ups came under control. Mom and Dad both told me, “That cupping set you bought has been a godsend—otherwise she’d still be miserable. Now she knows how to handle it herself.” They cupped every week or two.
By then I had also learned how to do minor bloodletting. On my last visit, Mom complained that her legs ached so badly she could hardly walk; I pricked and cupped at the knee, and the cup drew out many dark clots. We did the same at her lower back, where she’d long felt pain, and she shook her head in amazement at the clots we pulled out. “That’s really bad blood,” she said. She felt a little weak afterward, but her back and legs were far more comfortable. Dad and Mom laughed that I could set up a stall to sell cupping sets—so many people they know have these problems. I even brought back a blood-pricking pen and taught them to use it.
Dad’s case was even more dramatic. He’d suffered from digestive issues, prostatitis, and decades of hypertension—his blood-pressure pills had climbed from one a day to three. After months of daily moxibustion, his blood pressure stabilized back on a single pill; his stomach and prostate improved, too. He used to dread climbing stairs or hills; now he helps me run our small workshop, tends the vegetable garden, cooks, does laundry, naps for a moment at noon—and stays busy the rest of the time. He rarely catches colds anymore. Once he even forgot a moxa cone burning on the top of his head when he went out shopping; the clerk yelled, “Why’s your head smoking?” That story still makes us laugh.
I didn’t leave my parents a fortune; they still work for me and earn a wage—but they love it, because they’ve learned to care for their own health and still contribute. They feel useful, and helping with my business has won respect from clients. Seeing them so happy, I no longer feel guilty for putting them to work—after all, their suffering has lessened. Dad especially has benefited greatly by trusting me. Mom is stubborn by nature, but she admits I relieved her pain.
True care isn’t just throwing money at a problem; it’s heart and action. Learning meridian health therapy let me truly understand my parents’ suffering—and actually fix it. That’s what matters most.
Why should parents learn some medicine? Because love must be appropriate and targeted. If we don’t understand a child’s constitution—say, a naturally “cold” child—and force “heating” remedies on them, we only make matters worse. If a child has poor digestion, piling on tonics without strengthening the spleen first adds burden. Driving children into endless extra classes “so they won’t lose at the starting line” can damage body and spirit. Instead, we should discover each child’s strengths and guide them gently, not impose adult power. Even the healthiest child can be undermined by a stifling home environment and poor diet.
As a parent myself, I admit I still fall short in caring for my children’s health. Knowing is not enough—action is required. My efforts now will shape my children’s futures.
Just yesterday my brother teased me, “Boss, reading your posts, you sound exhausted—take care of yourself, or you’ll shake my confidence!” He uses humor to show his concern. Even he, once skeptical, now sees the benefits of moxibustion and supports me. My husband, whose kidney stones once made him scoff, softened toward me after moxa relieved his pain.
A friend asked why I left a promising insurance career to promote moxibustion. I said: “Insurance pays bills, but it can’t buy health. Hospitals can’t cure everything—mine told me my condition was ‘medically unexplained’ and incurable. At 29, I refused to accept a life sentence of weakness and endless diarrhea. So I turned to moxa, which so effectively treats chronic issues and prevents illness at low cost. I now produce moxa sticks I trust for my own family, and I want others to benefit too.”
Everyone should learn TCM meridian health—one person learns, the whole family benefits. Housewives especially can care for both elders and children. Genuine, heartfelt effort is priceless. I’m proud that so many people have joined this journey under my influence!