Wen Chen's View

  What is your favorite Chinese cuisine? I bet half of the readers would say, "Dumpling!" My boss ordered dumplings for every party. My western colleagues asked me to buy frozen dumplings for them from Chinese grocery stores. After my parents-in-laws moved to live with us, my husband begged them to make authentic Shandong dumplings (from scratch) no less than twice a week. Dumplings, wrapped in dozens of ways with various stuffings, can be fried, steamed, boiled. They have been comforting and healthy food ever since a Chinese medicine doctor, Zhang Zhongjin (張仲景), invented them 2000 years ago.  Zhang Zhongjin was the most exemplary Chinese physician in treating contagious diseases. During his childhood, he lost half of his family members from plagues. He devoted the rest of his life researching preventions and treatments of infectious diseases. He diligently explored medical literature published before his time for ancient remedies. At the same time, he actively outreached to...

  Lina is a good friend of my mother-in-law. They used to meditate together every Sunday morning until the pandemic stopped their regular get-togethers. Like many grannies, their favorite topics are cooking and family. Lina likes to visit us, and she brings food to our house on every visit. When chatting with my mother-in-law, Lina does 90% of the talk. She is always happy. I did not know much about her life before immigrating to the U.S. until this July. I gave her a ride to the Chinese consulate to protest the Chinese government's 22-year persecution towards Falun Gong, the Chinese meditation Lina has been practicing. "You were in China at that time, " I was curious, "were you persecuted?" Then, the 75-year-old grandma recalled how Chinese authorities arrested her in 2000 for doing the Falun Gong meditation in a community garden. "They detained me for two weeks, but it was only the beginning of the nightmare." she said. The police began to harass her...

  Dong Feng (董奉) was one of the most famous doctors during the 3rd century of China. He never charged a fee for his service, but neither did patients get everything for free. How did the doctor make a living?  Because Dong Feng owned a large piece of abandoned land, all he charged for patients were tree-planting after they recovered. One apricot tree from a kernel for a minor disease. Five apricot kernels for the most severe disease. After several years, his patients established an apricot forest with 100,000 trees. Dong Feng let people pick apricots by themselves during the harvest season, as long as they dump an equal volume of grains to his barn. The doctor ended up with enough food to support his family. He donated the surplus to feed poor neighbors and travelers in financial difficulties.  What a great example of sustainable charity with everyone to participate! The doctor was willing to help people without charging a fee. The patients kept their promise to plant the...