During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there was a renowned physician revered as the ‘Father of Medicine’ named Bian Que.
On one occasion, King Wen of Wei asked Bian Que, ‘You and your two brothers are all skilled in the art of medicine. Which of you is the best?’
Bian Que replied, ‘My eldest brother is the best, my middle brother is second, and I am the worst.’
King Wen asked, “Then why are you the most famous?”
Bian Que replied, “My eldest brother treats illnesses by observing a person’s condition; he can detect and cure them before symptoms even appear. Since ordinary people do not realise he can eliminate the root cause in advance, his fame does not spread;
My middle brother treats illnesses as soon as symptoms appear, so it seems as though he can only cure minor ailments; consequently, his fame is confined to our local village;
Whereas I treat illnesses when they have become severe. People generally see me inserting needles into the meridians to draw blood, applying medicine to the skin, and sometimes even performing surgery; so they believe my medical skills to be exceptional, and my fame has spread throughout the land.”
Origin: He Guan Zi “The Wise Men of the World”
#24 扁鹊三兄弟
春秋战国时期，有位神医被尊为 “医祖”，他就是扁鹊。
一次，魏文王问扁鹊说： “你们家兄弟三人，都精于医术，到底哪一位最好呢？”
扁鹊答： “我大哥最好，二哥次之，我最差。”
文王又问： “那么为什么你最出名呢？”
扁鹊回答： “我大哥治病是通过观察人的状态，在病情发作之前就能发现并治好，由于一般人不知道他能事先铲除病因，所以他的名气无法传出去；
我的二哥治病，在刚产生症状时就治好了，看上去好像只能治愈轻微的疾病，所以他的名气只在乡里传播；
而我治病，是在病情严重的时候，一般人都看到我在经脉上穿针管放血，在皮肤上敷药，有时甚至还施行手术，所以以为我的医术高明，名气因此响遍全国。”
出自《鶡冠子·世贤》