Ma Wenzhi Memorial on the Empress Dowager Illness
Qing Dynasty
Ma Wenzhi (1820-1903), styled Peizhi, was a native of Wujin, Jiangsu Province. This famous doctor of the late Qing was the sixth generation of his family to practice medicine. He was broadly learned in medicine, but was especially known for treatment of external disorders. In 1880 the governor of Jiangsu, Wu Yuan bing, recommended him to the throne to treat Empress Dowager Cixi. Here is his memorial on Cixi's illness, setting out his program of therapy based on doctrines from the Inner Canon. (Co11ection of Imperial Palace Museum.)