Chinese short story 102 |悬壶济世The Immortal Doctor and the Magic Gourd | HSK 3-4 | 听故事学中文

Chinese Short Story 102 | The Immortal Doctor and the Magic Gourd | HSK 3-4 | Learn Chinese Through Stories In the Han Dynasty, there was a man named Fei Changfang who lived in a small town. One day, he discovered that a new medicine shop had opened downstairs from his home. The owner of the medicine shop was an elderly man with white hair. He looked ordinary, but he was a highly skilled doctor, and many people came to see him. A gourd hung at the entrance of the medicine shop. When someone came to him sick, he would take out pills from the gourd and give them to the patient to take. A gourd hung at the entrance of the shop. Whenever someone fell ill, the shopkeeper would take a pill from the gourd and give it to the patient. Strangely enough, no matter how intractable the illness, patients would recover within a few days after taking the medicine from the gourd. Fei Changfang found this very strange, so he secretly observed the old man every day. One night, Fei Changfang witnessed something truly miraculous: late at night, the old man jumped into the gourd and disappeared. One night, Fei Changfang witnessed something amazing: late at night, the old man jumped into the gourd and disappeared. Fei Changfang was astonished, thinking, "This man must be no ordinary person; perhaps he is an immortal!" The next day, he brought some food and sincerely visited the old man, hoping to learn medicine from him. The old man, finding Fei Changfang to be of good character, told him that he was originally a celestial being, but had been banished to the mortal world by the Jade Emperor for a mistake. That night, the old man took Fei Changfang into the gourd. That night, the old man took Fei Changfang into the gourd. Fei Changfang discovered that inside the gourd was a vast world with mountains, rivers, and houses—a veritable paradise. Later, Fei Changfang became the old man's student, learned medical skills inside the gourd, became a good doctor, and began healing the sick. In ancient times, doctors often hung gourds outside their clinics as a sign, so the idiom "悬壶济世" (xuán hú jì shì) came to describe doctors who heal the sick and help others. 1. Where did Fei Changfang live? 1. Where did Fei Changfang live? Answer: He lived in a small town. 2. What was hanging at the entrance of the old man's shop? Answer: A small gourd was hanging there. 3. What happened after the patients took the old man's medicine? Answer: The patients got better after taking the medicine. 4. What magical thing did Fei Changfang see the old man do? Answer: He saw the old man jump into the gourd and disappear. 5. What does “悬壶济世” mean? Answer: It means healing the sick and helping others.