Ping Yizhi (simplified: 平一指, traditional: 平一指, pinyin: Píng Yīzhǐ, jyutping: ping4 jat1 zi2), known as the Famous Killer Physician (杀人名医), was a renowned doctor in the jianghu with the strange rule: “Cure one person, kill one person. Kill one person, cure one person. Cure and kill equally—never do business at a loss.” The name “Yizhi” (一指) meant “one finger,” referring to his ability to kill or cure with a single finger—to kill, he needed only to point at someone; to cure, he needed only one finger to take a pulse.
Biography
The strange rule
Ping Yizhi’s clinic in Kaifeng displayed a large scroll that read: “Cure one person, kill one person. Kill one person, cure one person. Cure and kill equally—never do business at a loss.” This rule ensured that Heaven would not blame him for taking lives, and Yama would not resent him for stealing business from the underworld. From another perspective, this reflected his exceptional medical skill—there was no disease he could not cure.
Treating Lao Touzi’s daughter
Lao Touzi sought Ping Yizhi’s help to treat his daughter Lao Busi. Knowing Ping Yizhi’s rule, Lao Touzi first killed Ping Yizhi’s mother-in-law’s entire family, as Ping Yizhi’s greatest enemy was his mother-in-law, but he was afraid of his wife and could not kill her himself. After Lao Touzi killed his mother-in-law’s family, Ping Yizhi was very pleased and carefully diagnosed Lao Touzi’s daughter, discovering that she had a strange disease from birth and prescribing the “Life-Extending Eight Pills” (续命八丸).
Treating Linghu Chong
Ping Yizhi was commissioned by Ren Yingying to treat Linghu Chong’s injuries. When he first examined Linghu Chong, he took his pulse with a single finger and immediately diagnosed that Linghu Chong had eight different types of neili in his body, colliding and conflicting with each other. He determined that two stronger energies came from Never Abstain the monk, and six weaker energies came from the Six Immortals of the Peach Valley.
However, because these energies could neither be expelled nor subdued, and were beyond the reach of acupuncture, medicine, or stone treatment, Ping Yizhi declared himself ashamed and unable to help.
The operation on Tao Shixian
Ping Yizhi demonstrated his exceptional surgical skills when he operated on Tao Shixian, one of the Six Immortals of the Peach Valley, who had been severely wounded by Ning Zhongze. Tao Shixian had been stabbed through the chest, and because the five brothers had moved too slowly, the wound had healed with the meridians misaligned. Ping Yizhi not only saved his life but also completely restored him, reconnecting the meridians so that his internal and external martial arts were exactly as they had been before the injury.
Ping Yizhi performed open-chest surgery, cutting open Tao Shixian’s chest, reconnecting the meridians, and sewing up the wound. After the operation, he struck Tao Shixian’s Baihui acupoint, and Tao Shixian immediately sat up, fully recovered.
Final attempt and death
At Wubagang, Ping Yizhi attempted to treat Linghu Chong again, but by this time, Linghu Chong’s condition had become even more complex due to various factors: mistakenly taking ten types of strong tonics, losing large amounts of blood, fighting after blood loss, drinking the Five Immortals Order’s Five Immortals Tonic Wine, and suffering from emotional distress.
Ping Yizhi diagnosed all these conditions instantly, but the situation had become so complex that even a great immortal would be helpless. He had originally planned to find eight masters with profound neili to work together to eliminate the eight types of foreign energy in Linghu Chong’s body, but the situation had changed, making this impossible.
In the flickering candlelight, Ping Yizhi’s appearance changed dramatically. His originally black hair turned completely white, and his face became deeply wrinkled. In just a few hours, he seemed to have aged twenty years. He muttered: “Cure one person, kill one person. If I can’t cure someone, what should I do?”
Linghu Chong said: “My life isn’t worth anything. Why should you keep worrying about it?”
Ping Yizhi replied: “If I can’t cure someone, then I’ll kill myself. Otherwise, how can I be called the ‘Famous Killer Physician’?” He suddenly stood up, swayed a few times, spat out several mouthfuls of blood, and fell down dead.
Personality & traits
Ping Yizhi was portrayed as eccentric, with a strange appearance—a short, fat man with a large head, a moustache, shaking his head and looking very comical. However, his medical skills were truly exceptional.
He was extremely afraid of his wife, who was described as tall and thin, with a square face, large ears, deep-set eyes, and completely bloodless complexion. Even the Six Immortals of the Peach Valley said she looked “neither human nor ghost.” Ping Yizhi, who was fearless in the jianghu and made everyone “turn pale at the mention of a tiger,” was completely submissive to his wife.
He once said: “Actually, all women in the world are boring and ugly. It’s best to avoid them. If you really can’t avoid them, you can only endure and pretend.” This was his personal experience with his wife.
Medical abilities
Diagnostic skills
Ping Yizhi’s medical skills were not limited to surgery. With a single finger, he could diagnose conditions through pulse-taking with incredible precision. He could instantly identify the source and nature of neili conflicts, demonstrating exceptional diagnostic ability.
Surgical skills
Ping Yizhi’s surgical skills were legendary. He performed open-chest surgery to reconnect meridians, a procedure that would be considered major surgery even by modern medical standards. His ability to completely restore a patient’s martial arts abilities after such severe injuries demonstrated his exceptional surgical precision.
The rule
Ping Yizhi’s strange rule of “cure one person, kill one person” reflected his belief that medical treatment and killing were two sides of the same coin. He believed that doctors could inadvertently shorten people’s lives through mistakes, just as they could save them through skill.
Relationships
Ping Yizhi’s relationship with his wife was one of extreme fear and submission. Despite his powerful position in the jianghu, he was completely controlled by his wife, who could order him to kill anyone she wanted.
His relationship with Ren Yingying was one of service. He treated Linghu Chong at her request, demonstrating his loyalty to the Sun Moon Order.
Behind the scenes
Ping Yizhi represents the paradox of medical practice—the line between saving lives and taking them can be thin. His character demonstrates that even the most skilled doctors have limitations, and that perfectionism can be destructive.
Literary significance
Ping Yizhi’s suicide after failing to cure Linghu Chong represents the ultimate expression of his strange code of ethics. His character serves as a commentary on the medical profession, questioning whether doctors should be held accountable for their failures and whether perfectionism in medicine is sustainable.
His fear of his wife adds a humorous element to an otherwise tragic character, demonstrating Jin Yong’s ability to blend tragedy and comedy in his characterisations.
Portrayals
Ping Yizhi has been portrayed in various adaptations of Laughing in the Wind:
Laughing in the Wind
See also
- Laughing in the Wind characters
- Linghu Chong – Ping Yizhi’s patient
- Ren Yingying – Ping Yizhi’s employer
- Sun Moon Order – Ping Yizhi’s faction
External links
- Ping Yizhi (Chinese) on Chinese Wikipedia