Bian Que

There was an exceptional doctor named Bian Que (扁鵲) who lived 2,500 years ago, in about the same period as Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period (around 552–479 B.C.).

Last year, archaeologists unearthed 920 bamboo strips at a construction site in the south-western city of Chengdu in China, containing recipes for treating ailments that date back 2,000 years.

The Chinese idiom 諱疾忌醫, pronounced huì jí jì yī, refers to concealing an illness and avoiding treatment.