There is a story, recorded in the Annals of the Three Kingdoms (280AD), about a doctor named Dong Feng who practiced in the impoverished areas of Anhui province in China. Knowing many of his patients could not afford to pay for his treatments, he instead asked that when they can, they plant an apricot sapling on the hill beside his house.
He was a good doctor, seeing many patients and in time, the house and its surrounding hills were covered in a large grove of flourishing apricot trees. Dong Feng picked the apricots and traded them with neighbouring provinces for grains such as rice, wheat and millet and gave this food back to the villagers in his area.
Since then the term ‘Apricot Grove’ - 杏林 Xìnglín has become synonymous in China with the profession of Chinese medicine. The legend of the grove emphasises that being a great Chinese medicine practitioner is not just about technical skill but also practising and living in such a way that those around you can flourish.
