Which one is the True Lord Lingying Medicine King in Taoism?

The title of "Medicine King" was an honorific given to renowned physicians skilled in medicine in ancient times. Throughout China's long history, several people have been honored as Medicine Kings. In Taoism, only one has been officially honored as the "True Lord Lingying Medicine King". Do you know who it is?

The most famous medical expert in the pre-Qin period was Bian Que during the Warring States Period. Bian Que's surname was Qin, and his given name was Yueren. He was from Maozhou, Bohai Prefecture. Legend has it that Bian Que's family had three brothers. The eldest brother was good at preventing diseases before they occurred, but he remained unknown because of this. The second brother was good at treating minor illnesses, and he was not famous either because the patients were cured before the conditions worsened. Only the youngest, Bian Que, was good at treating serious diseases, and thus gained the greatest reputation.

All kinds of difficult and complicated diseases could be easily treated by Bian Que. This was because Bian Que had a pair of X-ray eyes. When Bian Que was young, he met a divine doctor named Chang Sangjun. He studied respectfully under Chang Sangjun for more than ten years and finally moved the divine doctor. Chang Sangjun passed on various forbidden prescriptions to him and also gave him a kind of divine medicine to drink. After drinking the medicine, Bian Que was able to see the disorders in people's internal organs and gained the ability of X-ray vision.

Bian Que's most famous story is of course "Bian Que Sees Duke Huan of Cai", which was included in textbooks and contributed the idiom "Hide One's Illness and Refuse to be Treated". The most magical story, however, is the one about curing the Crown Prince of the Guo State. It is said that when Bian Que passed by the Guo State, he heard the news of the death of the Crown Prince of Guo. Bian Que went to the palace to inquire about the prince's illness and learned that the prince had died for less than half a day. He said to the palace attendants, "I have a way to bring the prince back to life."

The Duke of Guo decided to give it a try as a last resort. Bian Que applied acupuncture to the prince, and after a while, the prince regained consciousness. People all over the world said that Bian Que had the ability to "bring the dead back to life". Bian Que's medical skills were renowned throughout the world but aroused jealousy. Later, he was assassinated by Li Xi, the imperial physician of the Qin State.

Another Medicine King in Taoism was a genuine Taoist, and that was Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty. Sun Simiao practiced medicine when he was young, but his medical skills were not excellent, and he even caused a patient's death. Later, his medical skills improved, reportedly with the help of the Dragon King. A story recorded in the notebook novel "Youyang Zazu" by Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty goes like this:

Sun Simiao once lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain with Daoxuan of the Vinaya School for cultivation. One year, there was no rain for several months, and a severe drought occurred. The imperial court invited a foreign monk from the Western Regions to pray for rain at Kunming Pool. For seven consecutive days, the water in Kunming Pool became several feet shallower each day, and it was about to dry up. Suddenly, an old man came to visit Daoxuan for help. He claimed to be the Dragon King of Kunming Pool. The foreign monk wanted to use his dragon brain as medicine and deceived the emperor by saying that he could pray for rain. He hoped that the monk's magical power could protect him. Daoxuan recommended that he was from the Vinaya School and couldn't help. He could ask Mr. Sun for help.

So this old dragon found Sun Simiao. Sun Simiao knew that dragons were greedy by nature. Taking this opportunity, he said to the old dragon, "I know that there are three thousand immortal prescriptions in the Dragon Palace of Kunming Pool. If you pass them on to me, I will save you." The old dragon said that the Jade Emperor did not allow the prescriptions to be passed on randomly, but now it was a matter of life and death, and he couldn't care so much. Sure enough, he endured the pain and gave all the prescriptions to Sun Simiao. Sun Simiao kept his word. After exerting his energy, the water in Kunming Pool suddenly rose, and within a few days, it rose to the embankment. That foreign monk died of shame and anger.

After obtaining the prescriptions of the Dragon King, Sun Simiao's medical skills improved greatly. Later, he wrote "Qianjin Fang" with three thousand volumes, and each volume included one of the immortal prescriptions of the Dragon King. Later generations might think that it was not honorable to ask for the immortal prescriptions by taking advantage of the dragon's predicament, so it was changed to that the Dragon King of Jingyang voluntarily gave Sun Simiao "Thirty Rare Prescriptions of the Dragon Palace" to repay his kindness of saving his son.
Other Medicine Kings include Wei Cizang of the Tang Dynasty, etc., but their influence was not significant.

Both Bian Que and Sun Simiao were revered in Taoism, but only Bian Que was officially written into Taoist scriptures. The Taoist scripture "The True Scripture of the Medicine King Saving from Eighty-One Difficulties Spoken by the Primordial Celestial Lord" states: "Bian Que is the most spiritual among the gods and has accumulated countless merits. He was conferred the title of True Lord Lingying Medicine King. His profound silence communicates with heaven and earth, and his wonderful uses move ghosts and gods. He universally benefits all beings and his name spreads throughout the world. There is the True Scripture of Saving from Eighty-One Difficulties, which should be passed on to the world for circulation and recitation."

In Taoism, only Bian Que was conferred the title of True Lord Lingying Medicine King.