My master said my hands were born for this. But I'll never get the license in this lifetime. The year I applied, my master fell ill right before the exam. I passed the written test but missed the interview. My score was high enough, but I was held up by the notarization of my apprenticeship. The last time, I fell four points short.
So I never call myself a doctor. I just look at how people live. Those who can't sleep at night, have no appetite, or have turned themselves into a wall: hospitals can't find anything wrong, and medicine can't help them. I only change how they sleep, sit, and eat.
Then a call for submissions titled "Bringing Traditional Chinese Medicine into Everyday Life" landed in my hands. Three characters were written in the recommender's signature box: Jiang Bainian. My master. He'd been dead for three years.
