Chapter 741 The Debate
Lou Zhiping put forward his argument in an aggressive manner. Although what he said was just a well-worn cliche that was often used to attack traditional Chinese medicine, Qin Haodong still found it very difficult to dispute in a direct way.
After all, the theories of traditional Chinese medicine, including Yin and Yang, meridians, and Qi, could not be placed on a table. So it was not as persuasive as Western medicine theory.
To make today’s debate more influential, Lou Zhiping had invited many reporters to come, and the debate platform was surrounded by them. It looked even more daunting than the World Medical Association’s investigation.
At this moment, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Qin Haodong, and they were all waiting for his answer.
Qin Haodong looked at Lou Zhiping with a smile and asked calmly, “Mr. Lou, I heard that you are a famous scholar and have a deep understanding of scientific research. Is that right?”
“Of course. I’ve always believed in science.”
Lou Zhiping jutted his chin forward and gave them a triumphant smile.
Qin Haodong said, “Then I’d like to ask you a question. What’s the temperature of the sun, and what’s the distance from the Earth to the sun?”
Lou Zhiping was a professor who had always regarded himself as the spokesman for science, so he answered without hesitation, “The sun’s surface temperature is 5,500 degrees Celsius, the center temperature is about 20 million degrees Celsius, and the distance from the Earth is 149.6 million kilometers.”
He reeled off these figures and felt proud of himself. Not everyone could keep these data clearly in mind.
Qin Haodong smiled and asked, “Professor Lou, did you measure the temperature and the distance by yourself? Or did you feel it or see it with your own eyes?”
“Well…”
Lou Zhiping was stunned and he said, “What are you talking about? These scientific data are all estimated by scientists!”
He would definitely be burned into ashes if he tried to measure the temperature of the sun.
“Estimation? You don’t believe in traditional Chinese medicine because you can’t see its components with your eyes. But how can you be sure of this estimation?”
“What…”
Lou Zhiping was speechless. He licked his dry lips and said, “Mr. Qin, these things are too far away from us, and they can’t prove anything.”
“OK, fine. Then I have another question for you. Have you ever seen your great-grandfather?”
“Of course not!”
Qin Haodong said, “Since you haven’t ever seen him, shouldn’t you question his existence? According to your theory, what you see is real and scientific.”
“What…”
Lou Zhiping realized that Qin Haodong was much more difficult to deal with than he had expected. He looked gentle but his questions were tough.
“Qin Haodong, you’re just making excuses!”
“I don’t think so. You’re irritated and maybe that’s because you speak against your conscience.”
Qin Haodong said, “So you mean that what people can’t see does not exist. But we ordinary people have never seen a genetic code or virus. Are you sure that they do not exist?
“Traditional Chinese medicine has existed for 5,000 years, which has made great contributions to the survival and reproduction of the Huaxia people. It’s a treasure left by our ancestors, and you’re not allowed to question it!”
Qin Haodong’s argument seemed to be shrewd and absurd, but its effects were strong and direct. The audience also found it easy to accept.
As soon as he finished his words, all the audience present broke into loud applause!
Lou Zhiping had participated in many debates, so he didn’t panic even though Qin Haodong had taken the initiative. After the applause died down, he continued, “I’ve heard that you Chinese medicine practitioners always take the thousands of years of history of the TCM as your evidence to prove that it’s not an illusory trick. But based on this fact, it is still unknown whether traditional Chinese medicine has made contributions to the human race or not.
“In the era when everyone believed in traditional Chinese medicine, we Huaxia people could only live 30 or 40 years. However, with the introduction of Western medicine, our average life expectancy has reached 70. From this point of view, do you still believe that traditional Chinese medicine has made great contributions to us?
“I even suspect that the short lives of ancient Huaxia people have something to do with traditional Chinese medicine, which is not scientific.”
Everyone present in the audience was a student of the school of traditional Chinese medicine. Lou Zhiping was slandering traditional Chinese medicine, so they were all irritated. They were eager to walk onstage and have a debate with this shameless guy.
Qin Haodong was still calm. He was not irritated by Lou Zhiping’s words, nor was he disturbed by his nonsense. He continued, “Mr. Lou, you’ve mentioned that the Huaxia people had short lives when they believed in traditional Chinese medicine, then according to your theory, the Westerners who have always believed in Western medicine should always live long lives.
“But that’s not the fact. In the same period, the life expectancy of Westerners was even shorter than that of the Huaxia people. So what you’ve said could only prove the value of traditional Chinese medicine.”
“Great! What Mr. Qin said is right. Traditional Chinese medicine’s role in the development of Huaxia can’t be underestimated…”
“Mr. Qin, you’re right. I support you…”
Qin Haodong paused and the audience broke into loud applause once again.
After a while, he continued, “The extended life expectancy is related to many factors. In ancient times, people could only live short lives, and the major reason was that they were tortured by hunger and war.
“Since ancient times, traditional Chinese medicine has never been defeated when it comes to the evaluation of medical skills. This can be proved by data.
“In the process of human development, nearly 100 million people died from the Black Death in Europe, but our Huaxia was unscathed. Nearly 75 million died from the Spanish flu, but Huaxia was fine. 25 million people died from the Justinian plague in the West while Huaxia remained unaffected.
“The world’s top 10 deadliest infectious diseases have never broken out in China. What do you think is the reason for this? Was it luck? Of course not, it’s due to our wonderful traditional Chinese medicine.
“It has protected our nation for thousands of years. Now you take it as pseudoscience. What a shame!”
Hearing Qin Haodong’s words, all the students present cheered and applauded. All of them were inspired by his words and felt the enthusiasm and recognition of traditional Chinese medicine.
Lou Zhiping looked calm, but panic flashed across his eyes. This young man sitting opposite him was not like those old doctors of TCM he had dealt with before.
Those old doctors had high medical skills, but they were not very smart nor eloquent after working as a doctor for their whole lives.
A few months ago, he had had a debate with a well-known old doctor of TCM. At that time, he irritated the old man in a few words, who had lost his temper and proved that traditional Chinese medicine was scientific with awards and recognition he obtained from some officials. He made a fool of himself and Lou Zhiping became popular on the Internet for some time.
But Qin Haodong was different. He was both young and eloquent, and the questions he asked were quite tough. Lou’s tricks didn’t work on him, and Qin had firmly gained the upper hand since the beginning of the debate.
But no matter what happened, he had to win today’s debate. He took a deep breath, suppressed his panic, and continued, “Doctor Qin, I have to say that you’re really a person of words and are good at provoking people’s sentiment. But facts are facts and can’t be changed by what you say.”
He took out a piece of newspaper from his pocket. “Doctor Qin, I don’t know if you have read this news three days ago. A five-year-old kid died because of the doctor’s misuse of medicine. This one is a traditional Chinese practitioner. What else do you want to say about this fact?”
Hearing his words, all the people present became silent. This news touched off a wave of debate, and many people started to criticize traditional Chinese medicine for this.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Qin Haodong once again. They didn’t know what this smart young guy would say.
Qin Haodong said, “Mr. Lou, please take your newspaper away. I’ve also read something about this medical accident on the Internet.”
Lou Zhiping smacked his hand down onto the table and shouted, “A traditional Chinese practitioner killed a five-year-old kid! He’s so cruel. What else do you want to say?
“This accident proves that traditional Chinese medicine is a trick. It can’t cure diseases at all. On the contrary, people will be killed by it!”
Qin Haodong continued, “The government hasn’t given the final result of this medical accident, and we’re not sure whether the kid died of TCM or something else. So please don’t draw a hasty conclusion.
“Putting this medical accident aside, I have a question for you. Have you done any research on the number of deaths caused by medical accidents of TCM? What’s the ratio? How many deaths are caused by Western medicine? What’s the ratio?”
“Well… I don’t know.”
Lou Zhiping did not give him an answer. But in fact, he had done this kind of research before and he had wanted to use the figure to attack traditional Chinese medicine. But he was surprised to find out that the number of deaths caused by traditional Chinese medicine and its ratio were far lower than those of Western medicine.
“You’re a famous scholar, so I believe that you must have done such research. Are you afraid of telling us the truth?” Qin Haodong sneered and said, “In fact, both the number of deaths caused by TCM and its ratio are far lower than those of Western medicine.
“To be specific, how many people die each year from penicillin allergies? How many people will die because of the wrong diagnosis? How many people die because of the wrong operation?
“Western medicine can also kill people. So why don’t you say that Western medicine is witchcraft and is not scientific?”
“What…”
Lou Zhiping was speechless. Attack the opponent with a case was one of his most commonly used methods, but it was ineffective on this young man.
“Whether it’s Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, it’s inevitable that there will be cases of failure,” Qin Haodong said, turning his head to the reporters and students around him. “But once there are cases of failure, the results are quite different.
“People think that the cases where someone died of Western medicine are quite normal and it was inevitable. These cases will not affect its scientific nature or its status in reality, and no one will stand up to criticize it.
“But what about traditional Chinese medicine? Once there is a medical accident, many people will say that traditional Chinese medicine is witchcraft, a hoax, and not scientific.”
This time, there was no applause, and the room fell into silence. The atmosphere became heavy, and all the people present started to think about his words.
That was the case. Many people thought that it was inevitable for Western medicine to have medical accidents, and some even thought that it was reasonable.
But when the same thing happened with traditional Chinese medicine, the entire society would scold and criticize it without mercy. What on earth caused this to happen?
Lou Zhiping cried out again, “Qin Haodong, I admit that you are very good at arguing, but what you have said is all illusory.
“Yin and Yang and the meridians can’t be seen, and what you just said is the same. They just exist in your mind, and the only thing you can do is deceive the masses with these ideas. These are not scientific at all and will not stand the test of time.”
This guy was a dog raised by Western companies and worked for money; he didn’t have the so-called scientific spirit at all. Thinking of this, Qin Haodong also lost interest in arguing with him. He sneered and said, “Do you mean that what you can’t see is not scientific?”
Lou Zhiping shouted hysterically, “Of course, traditional Chinese medicine is always illusory. It’s you and those who like you that made it up to deceive us. It’s an example of pseudoscience!”
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