Health Information

With homeland in our hearts, we set sail for the world.

Release Date:

2023-07-01 11:53

Today is July 1—a momentous day. On this very date, 102 years ago, the Communist Party of China was founded aboard a pleasure boat on South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, an event that has since been immortalized. Over the past 102 years, the CPC has remained true to its original aspiration, braving countless hardships and forging ahead with unwavering determination to build a prosperous and powerful nation.

Understanding the Party’s heart and safeguarding the people’s heart, the national-level intangible cultural heritage “Pingle Guo’s Orthopedic Manipulation Technique” warmly celebrates the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The glorious journey is immortal; let us salute this grand celebration of a prosperous era. This special day is fitting for both looking back and looking ahead—especially for remembrance and, even more so, for gratitude: gratitude for the Party’s constant care and protection, and gratitude for the beautiful life and the great motherland.

When the Communist Party of China is mentioned, one cannot help but recall the stories of Pingle Guo’s Orthopedic Therapy and its connection with the Party.

01

Bask in the Party’s Grace, Usher in a New Era

Fifth-generation descendant Gao Yunfeng

On the afternoon of April 3, 1948, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, under the leadership of our Party, launched a general offensive against the Nationalist garrison entrenched in the city of Luoyang. The deafening roar of gunfire and the clamor of fierce hand-to-hand combat lit up the entire city in fiery red. After more than eight hours of intense fighting, the Nationalist forces collapsed in disarray, and the victorious red flag was hoisted high over the walls of Luoyang.

The people of Luoyang spent a sleepless night in sheer terror; yet as the rosy dawn slowly ascended, this millennial ancient city ushered in a brand-new chapter in its history, with the people finally becoming the true masters of their city.

On the morning of the 4th, Gao Yunfeng and his son, Guo Weihuai, pushed open the door of their home and found a notice posted on the gate of the Guo family compound. The notice read: “The Guo Bone-Setting Technique of Pingle has been passed down through several generations and enjoys a distinguished reputation; it is a precious legacy of traditional folk medicine in our nation. All officers and soldiers are hereby instructed to protect it and refrain from interfering with its practice in the treatment of illness. All are required to take due note of this. Commander Chen Geng and Political Commissar Xie Fuzhi.”

At the time, the Guo family did not know Chen Geng or Xie Fuzhi, nor had they ever heard their names; all they knew was that they were high-ranking officials of the Communist Party. The Guo family did not fully understand why the Communist Party was acting in this way, but they did believe that it must be a party that truly put the people first—and that following the Communist Party would surely bring better days ahead.

02

Boldly Presenting a Secret Recipe—A Tribute to the People’s Republic of China

Sixth-generation descendant Guo Weihuai

In 1952, under the leadership of the Communist Party, Gao Yunfeng and his son, Guo Weihuai, decided to dedicate the ancestral secret formula of the PingLe Guo School of Orthopedics to the Party and to the nation, so that every commoner could afford medical care and receive effective treatment.

As soon as the news broke, the Guo family compound was thrown into an uproar, with unanimous opposition from the clan: they would never allow the donation of their ancestral heritage, nor would they ever permit the public disclosure of the time-honored family secret formula. However, Gao Yunfeng and his mother stood firm in their resolve, defying all dissent; moreover, leaders from the Luoyang Municipal Party Committee stepped in to mediate, and ultimately the Guo clan agreed to donate the formula.

On the day of the donation, the Luoyang Municipal Party Committee held a grand ceremony at the Youth Palace Square in the old city. Leaders of the municipal party committee delivered enthusiastic speeches, lavishly praising Gao Yunfeng and his mother for their noble act of donating their organs, and commending the Gao family for doing a great good deed for the people and for society. They also presented honorary certificates, while the audience below responded with wave after wave of rousing applause, expressing the common people’s profound respect for Gao Yunfeng and his mother.

On the bustling Cross Street in the old city, the Guo family’s time-honored secret formulas—such as “Bone-Setting Pill,” “Tendon-Strengthening Pill,” “Augmented Qi-Boosting Pill,” and “Bone-Setting Plaster”—were prominently displayed. As a result, the renowned brand name of PingLe Guo’s Orthopedic Clinic has earned an even higher standing in the hearts of the common people.

Traditional Chinese medicine and herbal remedies have a long history in China, and the Chinese people have accumulated extensive experience in combating disease. TCM plays a vital role in safeguarding public health. In the early years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country faced severe shortages of medical personnel and pharmaceuticals. To ensure that the population could receive timely and effective treatment, the Party and the government actively encouraged Western-trained physicians to learn from TCM, while at the same time launching a nationwide effort to collect secret folk remedies.

However, for a long time people have been influenced by the notion of private ownership, leading to the strict confidentiality of secret recipes and their exclusion from public view. At that time, very few were willing to voluntarily donate their ancestral secret formulas to the state; yet Gao Yunfeng and his mother, defying familial pressure and breaking through millennia-old notions of private ownership, took the lead in making these time-honored secrets publicly available to society and to the motherland—a truly commendable act.

03

Opening the Academy and Pioneering a New Future

Gao Yunfeng guides students in reducing dislocations for patients.

In 1954, Gao Yunfeng was elected as a deputy to the People’s Congresses of both the county and the province, representing the traditional Chinese medicine community in participating in the deliberation and administration of state affairs. In 1956, the Second Session of the Second National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing, where Gao Yunfeng attended as an invited delegate and was cordially received by Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and other central leaders at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai.

On that day, Chairman Mao met Gao Yunfeng, warmly shook her hand, and lavished praise on her superb medical skills. He then said to her in a cordial tone: “Your divine methods must be made public—train more apprentices and serve the people wholeheartedly.” With tears welling in her eyes, Gao Yunfeng replied with unwavering resolve: “We will certainly make our techniques public and pass them on to many!”

During the conference, Gao Yunfeng also had the opportunity to meet Commander Chen Geng, the great benefactor of the Guo family. Commander Chen recounted how, back in those days, the People’s Liberation Army had protected the Guo family and ensured the peaceful continuation of the Guo Bone-Setting Tradition. He urged Gao Yunfeng to always keep Chairman Mao’s instructions firmly in mind: to pass on the bone-setting techniques to as many people as possible, so that more patients could benefit.

In September 1956, eight months after Gao Yunfeng returned from Beijing, she—encouraged and supported by the Party and the government—proactively designated the Guo Family Courtyard as the site for establishing the Luoyang Special District Orthopedic Hospital (now renamed Henan Provincial Luoyang Orthopedic Hospital), thereby dedicating her efforts to the construction of New China. Upon the hospital’s completion, she formally began accepting apprentices, training successors in the art of orthopedics for the nation and the people. From that day forward, the PingLe Guo School of Orthopedics officially stepped out of its humble beginnings as a private clinic beneath the old locust tree in the Guo Family Courtyard and entered the hallowed halls of modern medicine, gradually evolving into a renowned hospital celebrated both at home and abroad.

In order to cultivate more orthopedic professionals for the nation, in 1958 the Henan Province Pingle Orthopedic College—the first national institution of higher learning dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine orthopedics—was established in Luoyang’s White Horse Temple. The college was founded under the leadership of Gao Yunfeng as its president and Zhang Binghe as its Party secretary, with approval from the National Ministry of Health. Its establishment marked another milestone in the history of Pingle orthopedics, signifying that the Pingle Guo family’s orthopedic techniques, which had been passed down through private, family-based instruction for over a century, had now entered the hallowed halls of modern, state-sponsored higher medical education.

04

Stay True to the Banner, With a Global Vision

The Eighth-Generation Heir, Guo Jiayi

In 2008, the “Pingle Guo Family Bone-Setting Technique” was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China;

In 2013, the “Pingle Guo School of Orthopedic Manipulation” was approved by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine as one of the first batch of institutions designated for the establishment of National TCM School Inheritance Studios.

In April 2019, it was approved as a project unit for the second round of the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Academic School Inheritance Studio Construction Program.

In June 2019, the “Pingle Guo School of Orthopedic Manipulation” was selected as an outstanding case of best practices in the protection of national-level intangible cultural heritage under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Today, the intangible cultural heritage of Pingle Guo’s Bone-Setting has been passed down to the eighth generation. The eighth-generation representatives, Guo Jiayi and Guo Malong, inspired by the Party’s benevolence in the new era, are keeping pace with the times and exploring innovative ways to carry on this tradition.

They deeply understand that starting a business is hard, but sustaining it is even harder; they also recognize that only by staying true to one’s original aspiration can one ultimately achieve lasting success.

Like the ruling party, the ancestors and descendants of the PingLe Guo School of Orthopedics share a glorious conviction and are committed to forging a bright future.

On this occasion, Guo Jiayi, together with all her colleagues at the Pingle Guo School of Orthopedics, warmly wishes the Communist Party of China a happy 102nd anniversary!

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