Inheriting Dynamics

Lou Duofeng

Release Date:

2022-07-06 08:52

Lou Duofeng, male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1929, enrolled at the Pingle Orthopedic College in Henan Province in 1958.

Henan Rheumatology Hospital   He is among the first cohort of nationally renowned senior TCM experts serving as academic mentors, the chief expert of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at Henan Rheumatism Hospital, a professor and chief physician, the founder and honorary president of Henan Rheumatism Hospital, the editor-in-chief of the journal “Rheumatism and Arthritis,” and a nationally recognized senior TCM expert who receives a special government allowance from the State Council.

Lou Duofeng was born into a distinguished family of traditional Chinese medicine and, from an early age, studied the classics of Qihuang under his esteemed grandfather, Lou Zonghai, a renowned local scholar and physician. He is thoroughly versed in the three foundational texts and has fully inherited the authentic teachings.

In September 1949, he was appointed Director of the Medical Association of the Seventh District of Yuanyang County. In February 1950, he joined the Yuanyang County Pharmaceutical Cooperative and, at the invitation of the renowned local veteran TCM physician Wang Qinggong, undertook the treatment of Wang’s son, who suffered from intractable rheumatic arthralgia. The patient was emaciated, with deformed limbs and writhing in agonizing pain; his family—especially his wife—stood in helpless bewilderment, covering their faces and weeping. The scene was so harrowing that it deeply moved him, inspiring him to devote himself to the study and ultimate cure of this stubborn ailment, thereby alleviating the suffering of the people.
   

In August 1954, he began working at the Yuanyang County Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Within one year, he visited more than a hundred renowned senior TCM physicians throughout the county, focusing on learning their experience in treating bi syndromes. Thereafter, whenever he encountered patients with bi disorders, he would meticulously inquire about the etiology, clinical manifestations, and previous treatments, while also applying the therapeutic principles of other distinguished senior TCM practitioners to his own clinical practice, gaining considerable insight in the process. Owing to the remarkable efficacy of his treatment for bi syndromes, the number of patients seeking his care steadily increased; particularly during his several years in Yang’a Township of Yuanyang County, the vast majority of those he treated were cases of rheumatic bi disease.
   

From September 1958 to 1961, he studied at the Pingle Orthopedic College for three years, during which all the patients he encountered had traumatic swelling and pain. Treatment addressed both internal and external factors, consistently yielding excellent results. In particular, his application of methods to invigorate blood circulation and resolve blood stasis in the treatment of trauma and bi syndromes—characterized by swelling and pain—left a profound impression on him and inspired many insightful reflections.
   

From September 1961, he engaged in clinical practice, teaching, and research on bone and injury disorders and rheumatic diseases at the Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The large number of challenging cases of bi syndrome, coupled with the library’s extensive collection, not only provided abundant clinical opportunities but also access to countless valuable and cutting-edge scholarly resources, enabling him to broaden his knowledge through extensive reading. Through a cyclical process of practice—theory—further practice—further theory, he gradually developed a systematic understanding of bi syndrome and distilled its etiology and pathogenesis into three key concepts: “deficiency, pathogenic factors, and blood stasis.”
   

In August 1983, he published “Clinical Experience in the Treatment of Bi Syndrome,” thereby making public his decades of theoretical insights and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Bi disorders. His scholarly contributions have been frequently cited and disseminated in scientific and technological literature both domestically and internationally, and his theories on the treatment of Bi syndrome have been incorporated into the nationally standardized textbooks for higher education institutions of traditional Chinese medicine, compiled under the auspices of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In recognition of his outstanding achievements in teaching, Lou Duofeng was awarded the “National Outstanding Teacher” Medal in 1989. In May 1995, he founded Henan Rheumatology Hospital—the largest specialized rheumatology hospital in China in terms of scale and offering the most comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic modalities—thereby benefiting a greater number of patients with rheumatic diseases.

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