Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 982

982. The Madman with Clear Eyes (7)

Hyang entrusted the work to Da Vinci not solely for the ruthless reason of ‘sucking him dry until the end.’

“It would be a waste to exhaust a talent like Da Vinci so quickly…”

With such ulterior motives in mind, Hyang initiated the ‘Million-Dollar Man’ project to revitalize Da Vinci. The first step was ‘recording the human anatomy.’

* * *

After the establishment of the Medical Institute through Gyeongjang, the empire’s medicine advanced remarkably. Traditional Korean medicine based on Yin-Yang, the Five Elements, and Qi also developed considerably, but it was herbal medicine and surgery that evolved with ‘explosive’ growth.

The ‘Hyangyak Jipseongbang Eonhae’ [Annotated Collection of Native Korean Prescriptions], which was created when Sejong revised ‘Zhenglei Bencao’ [Classified Materia Medica], a book compiled during the Northern Song Dynasty that marked a milestone in East Asian herbal medicine, allowed the empire’s herbal medicine to achieve developments that even the proud Ming Dynasty acknowledged.

However, it didn’t end there. As Daeseol Island and Shinji became part of the empire’s territory, the herbal knowledge possessed by the shamans and sorcerers of the indigenous people was also added. It wasn’t just a simple addition. They found herbs that could replace those listed in Zhenglei Bencao and Hyangyak Jipseongbang Eonhae, or herbs with even better medicinal effects.

Having completed a massive database on herbs, herbalists then began to study how to process these herbs more effectively.

-Within the empire’s territory, good medicinal ingredients must be available regardless of time and place.

-To achieve this, the processing methods of medicinal ingredients must also be studied.

To achieve these goals, herbalists tried various methods. In addition to traditional methods such as drying or steaming, they also tried grinding them into powder or making pills. That wasn’t all. They also attempted complex processes such as steaming the steamed herbs again or drying the steamed herbs, and they also tried fermentation, expressed as ‘aging.’

Through these various trials and errors, the empire’s herbal medicine greatly advanced. While the development of herbal medicine was significant, the medicine that developed even more greatly, deserving the modifier ‘transcendental,’ was surgery. In addition to the surgical tools and medicines traditionally passed down, medical books and treatment tools from Europe—especially from ancient Rome—that Hyang imported were added, and the empire’s surgery was ready to grow into a giant tree.

The continued active support and activity guarantees from Sejong and Hyang accelerated the growth of surgery. And on the battlefields where Joseon transformed into an empire, surgical medicine established itself as a proud field of medicine. However, the person who contributed the most to the empire’s surgical medicine was Hyang.

It was Hyang who revived the necessity of disinfection and sterilization, which existed in Roman times but had been forgotten by Europeans over time. Sterilization and disinfection were not the end.

Hyang succeeded in mass-producing natural antibiotics using honey and penicillin—called Blue Fungus Liquid (靑菌液)—which, although low in purity, was still usable for treatment.

However, the greatest achievement was valuing medicine and physicians. Until then, the profession of physician was never a respected one. Except for the physicians who worked in the palace for the king and the royal family, most physicians suffered from poverty. Of course, the biggest reason was that most of the commoners who sought physicians were poor.

Unable to receive proper treatment fees > Difficult living > Charging high prices for medicine and treatment > Patients unable to pay proper treatment fees. This vicious cycle continued, and the number of people engaged in the medical profession gradually decreased. In addition, the perception of the leadership, which looked down on medical personnel, was also a problem.

The most striking example was that the examination to select royal physicians to be responsible for the king’s life in the royal court was treated as a miscellaneous examination (雜科) [Jakwa, a lower-status civil service exam]. However, Hyang helped Sejong actively fix this part. No, it wasn’t just fixing it, but demolishing everything and building it anew.

First of all, anyone who wanted to engage in the medical profession had to pass an examination conducted by the state to obtain qualifications. And those who passed this examination were first given the rank of Jong 8 Pum (종8품) [the ninth level of the lowest rank in the Joseon Dynasty’s bureaucratic hierarchy]. It was an honorary position without salary or official duties, but it was a rank recognized by the king and the country.

It didn’t end there. Those who achieved medical achievements such as new medical techniques or treatments were allowed to announce them publicly. If this announcement was officially recognized through the examination of royal physicians and eminent doctors, the person was promoted to a rank befitting it. In addition, a considerable amount of money was paid to the person in the form of a pension. Instead, the person’s achievements could be known or learned by other doctors for free.

-This is recognizing the intellectual property of the doctor. However, since it deals with human life, the country has stepped in.

It wasn’t just about raising the status of doctors. Hyang and Sejong established military doctors in the Military Academy. Those who passed the military doctor examination and became military doctors were given the rank of Jong 8 Pum, Suibuui (수의부의) [Military Physician of the Eighth Rank]. After that, with experience and performance, promotions continued, and after a certain amount of time, they reached the rank of Jeong 4 Pum, Manho (만호) [Military Commander of the Fourth Rank].

As a result of these policies, social awareness of doctors gradually increased over time. Thanks to this, even prestigious families began to aim to become doctors, and the options for those who dreamed of rising in status increased, making imperial society move more dynamically.

As time passed and Hyang began to hold full power, starting with acting as regent, measures for the commoners who needed to receive medical services were also established and implemented. It was the beginning of a primitive health insurance service using Hyeminseo [government-run clinics for the poor] and Hojo [Ministry of Revenue]—later the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of General Affairs.

As a result, the people of the empire changed from giving up and waiting for death when they got sick to being more proactive.

-Even if we’re going to die, let’s at least try one dose of medicine.

This was the changed mindset of the people of the empire. As an aside, these achievements created by the collaboration of Sejong and Hyang troubled later historians—regardless of nationality, all historians studying the period.

“If I have to choose the best achievement, which one should I choose? Politics? Military? Culture? Education? Society? This is a mess! I can’t do it!”

“Why did I major in this period!”

It wasn’t just historians. Students who wanted to become historians, students preparing for entrance exams, and those preparing for civil service all gnashed their teeth.

“No way! They’re picking this period as a separate subject, not just national history!”

“Damn it! The score is the highest!”

“I’m aiming to be a functional civil servant, but why! Why! Why!”

* * *

Although the empire’s medicine had made great progress in all fields, there were also problems to be solved. One of the biggest problems was the textbook. The Korean medical books that have been passed down so far were full of sentences, regardless of internal or external medicine.

Of course, there were pictures in between, but the quality of the pictures was so poor. This was the same for European medical books. The vast majority of the pictures in the medical books, which were made by handwriting rather than printing, did not properly serve as data.

This was because most of the people who drew the pictures had no medical knowledge. No, the person who drew the first picture may have drawn it based on medical knowledge, but those who copied it later did not, so they could not copy it properly.

Naturally, petitions to solve this problem continued to be raised from the Medical Institute to the military doctors, and Hyang sent the painters of Dohwaseo [Royal Painting Academy] to the dissection room. But the results were hardly available.

Assuming that 10 painters were sent, 5 out of the 10 who received the order vehemently protested by submitting their resignations. Even if they were coaxed and appeased with the ‘royal order’ as a weapon, 3 out of 10 resisted to the end, and in the end, only 7 could go.

Then, until just before dissecting the corpse, all 7 drew pictures perfectly. After that, when the doctor took a knife and began to cut open the corpse’s stomach, 3 out of 7 disappeared on the spot. After that, the painters disappeared as the dissection progressed, and the painter who remained until the end was lucky to be one. And the picture drawn by the painter who remained until the end was not academically helpful.

“It would be suitable as a prop for a monster movie…”

That’s why Hyang sent Da Vinci. It was because Da Vinci had already frequented the dissection room in Italy. But Hyang couldn’t be sure either.

‘The butterfly effect I caused is not one or two, so it’s hard to be sure.’

Hyang, who was not very confident, was satisfied with pushing Da Vinci into the dissection room through Hyun for the time being.

“I have to pray that that Da Vinci is that Da Vinci…”

And Da Vinci, who entered the dissection room, proved himself.

“A crazy guy has entered the dissection room!”

* * *

Da Vinci, who entered the dissection room as an observer, was quiet at first. He sat quietly near the dissection table and sketched the dissected bones and muscles. However, as time passed, Da Vinci began to show such liveliness that not only the medical students taking the class but also the teaching doctors were horrified.

“I can’t record it properly like this! Stop for a moment!”

Da Vinci stopped the dissection and meticulously recorded the proportions of the skeleton and various dimensions using various types of measuring tools.

“Wait, wait, can you lift that arm up high? Like stretching your arm out.”

“Huh? Huh? Like this?”

“That’s right! Stop there! Stay still!”

Da Vinci, who adjusted the posture of the dissected corpse, soon sketched the position and appearance of the bones and muscles.

“Considering that it’s already a stiff corpse…”

Da Vinci’s eccentric behavior did not stop there.

“I want to dissect this young man’s corpse!”

“What qualifications do you have! Consider yourself lucky that we’ve shown you this much!”

Two days later, Da Vinci presented a document with the royal order written on it and was able to perform the dissection he wanted. The doctors and students were terrified by Da Vinci’s appearance, dissecting with several knives and sketching meticulously to the point of being obsessive.

“That’s madness, madness…”

However, after some time, the professor doctors of the Medical Institute, who saw Da Vinci’s sketches, ran to Hyun and begged him to publish a medical book based on Da Vinci’s drawings. Da Vinci, who heard the royal order from Hyun, immediately bowed his head and replied.

“I obey the royal order. It is truly an honor for my paintings to be included in the core that describes the truth of medicine.”

He answered willingly and stepped back, but Da Vinci was slightly worried.

“But, can they properly capture my sketches?”

When he told this concern to the artisan of the 51st District [a district known for its skilled artisans] who happened to visit his studio, the artisan smiled and replied.

“You didn’t look closely at the bills you receive on payday, did you?”

“Huh?”

At the artisan’s words, Da Vinci took out a bill from his wallet and examined it carefully. Da Vinci, who examined the bill here and there, shook his head and muttered.

“I’ve been had again…”

Da Vinci, who was looking at the patterns on the bill that were meticulously and precisely printed to prevent counterfeiting, asked the artisan.

“I respect the artisan who made the printing plate so precisely, even though it’s such a complex design. And the person who made the design as well.”

“The person who made the design is a painter from Dohwaseo, and the person who made the printing plate is our previous master artisan from the 51st District. But the person who created and taught the technique is…”

The artisan, who paused slightly, smiled and pointed to a portrait hanging on one side. Da Vinci, who looked at the portrait that only needed the final touches, sighed deeply.

“Haa~. Is it that person again…”