Friday, September 19, 2008

An Daoquan

An Daoquan is a character in the epic Chinese tale, the ''Water Margin''.

An Daoquan was from Jiankangfu, and inherited medical skills passed down by his ancestors. He became a reowned physician and could treat all kinds of illnesses, thus he was nicknamed 'Holy Physician' .

When Song Jiang led the Liangshan heroes to attack Damingfu, he contracted a growth on his back and was forced to abandon the offensive and retreat back to Liangshan. Zhang Shun's mother had suffered from a similar illness as Song Jiang before, and was treated by An Daoquan. So, Zhang recommended An Daoquan to treat Song Jiang.

Upon reaching Jiankangfu, Zhang Shun immediately went to find An Daoquan. Initially, An agreed to take a trip to Liangshan, but then he was in love with a prostitute named Li Qiaonu. Li refused to let An Daoquan go after hearing about it. Zhang Shun heard all the conversation and he sneaked into Li Qiaonu's home in the night. Zhang killed Li Qiaonu and wrote with blood, 'An Daoquan is the killer', on the wall to frame An. When An Daoquan discovered it, he was shocked and had no choice but to follow Zhang Shun and join the Liangshan band.

In the end, An Daoquan managed to cure Song Jiang's illness within ten days due to his excellent medical skills. Since then, An became the physician of Liangshan, and was in charge of treating the heroes of their illnesses and wounds, thus earning respect from them. After the heroes had obtained amnesty from the emperor, An followed the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels. However, during the Fang La campaign, An Daoquan was summoned back to the capital city to treat the sovereign emperor of his illness on the eve of the battle of Hangzhou. An Daoquan became an imperial physician after that.

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