Hua-t'o had mastered the technique for nourishing one's nature. Although his contemporaries thought that he must have been a hundred years old, he still looked hale and hardy. Hua-t'o was also highly skilled in prescribing medicines. In curing illnesses, the decoctions that he prepared required only a few ingredients. His mind was so adept at dividing up and compounding according to the right proportions that he did not have to weigh the different components of his medicines with a balance. Once the decoction was boiled thoroughly it could be drunk. Hua-t'o would tell the patient how to take the medicine and then would go away, after which the patient's condition would promptly improve.
If Hua-t'o employed moxibustion, he would only burn punk in one or two places and in each place he only made seven or eight separate cauterizations, to which the disease would rapidly respond during the course of its elimination. If he employed acupuncture, it was also only in one or two places. As he instated the needle, he would instruct the patient, "I am going to guide the point to such-and-such a spot. When you feel it reach there, tell me." As soon as the patient told him that the point had already reached the designated spot, he would withdraw the needle and the sickness would likewise be virtually alleviated.
If a sickness were concentrated internally where the effect of acupuncture needles and medicines could not reach it, Hua-t'o would recognize that it was necessary to operate. In such cases, he would have his patients drink a solution of morphean powder whereupon they would immediately become intoxicated as though dead and completely insensate. Then he could make an incision and remove the diseased tissues. If the disease were in the intestines, he would sever them and wash them out, after which he would stitch the abdomen together and rub on an ointment. After a period of about four or five days, there would be no more pain. The patient would gradually regain full consciousness and within a month he would return to normal. (tr. Mair 1994:688-689)

The governor of Kuang-ling, Li Teng, had an illness which caused him to be distressed by a feeling of stuffiness in his chest. He also had a red face and no desire for food. Hua-t'o took his pulse and said, "Your honor, there are several pints of parasitic bugs in your stomach and you are on the verge of developing an ulcer. This was caused by eating raw fish." Whereupon he prepared two pints of a decoction for the governor, Hua-t'o had him drink one pint first and then after a little while had him finish the remainder. In the space of time that it takes to eat a meal, the governor vomited up three pints or so of parasites. They had red heads and were all wriggling; half of their bodies looked like sashimi. The discomfort that he had experienced was immediately relieved. "This sickness will erupt after three years. If you are attended by a good doctor, he will be able to save you." The sickness did indeed erupt after the specified period. At the time, Hua-t'o was not in the area and the governor died as Hua-t'o had said he would if he did not have a good doctor. (tr. Mair 1994:692-693)

Ts'ao Ts'ao heard about Hua-t'o and summoned him to court where he henceforth was often in attendance. Ts'ao Ts'ao suffered from blustery headaches. Whenever an attack came on, he would become dizzy and confused. Hua-t'o would employ acupuncture treatment at the diaphragmatic transport insertion point and the condition would be alleviated as soon as the procedure was carried out. (tr. Mair 1994:693)

Examples of Hua-t'o's superlative skills are in general of this sort. However, since he was originally a scholar, he often regretted that he was looked upon as a physician by profession. Later, when Ta'ao Ta'ao took personal control of the affairs of state, his sickness intensified and he had Hua-t'o attend him exclusively. "It will be difficult to heal you in the near term but if we maintain a program of treatment over a longer period, it will be possible to extend your life-span." (tr. Mair 1994:694)

Hua-t'o had been far away from home for a long time and wished to return, so he said, "I just received a letter from home and would like to go back temporarily." After he reached home, excusing himself on the grounds of his wife's illness, he requested several extension of his leave and did not come back. Ts'ao Ts'ao repeatedly wrote letters to Hua-t'o calling him back, and he issued imperial orders to the commandery and district authorities to send Hua-t'o back. Proud of his ability and finding it distasteful to wait upon others for a living, Hua-t'o continued to procrastinate in setting off on the journey. Ts'ao Ts'ao became very angry and dispatched men to go and investigate. If Hua-t'o's wife were really sick, Ts'ao Ts'ao would present him with forth bushels of lentils and be lenient in setting a date when his leave would expire. But if Hua-t'o were prevaricating, then he would be apprehended and escorted back. Consequently, Hua-t'o was handed over to the prison at Hsü where after interrogation, he confessed his guilt. Interceding on behalf of Hua-t'o, Hsün Yü said, "Hua-t'o's techniques are truly effective and people's lives are dependent upon them. It is fitting that you be clement toward him." "Don’t worry," said Ts'ao Ts'ao. "Do you think there aren't any other rats like him under heaven?" (tr. Mair 1994:694)

Whereupon the investigation against Hua-t'o was concluded with the announcement of the death penalty. When Hua-t'o was about to be executed he brought out a scroll with writing on it and handed it over to the jailer, saying, "This can preserve people's lives." Fearful of the law, the prison subaltern would not accept it, nor did Hua-t'o force it upon him. Instead, he asked for a fire in which he burned the scroll. (tr. Mair 1994:694)

After Hua-t'o's death, Ts'ao Ts'ao's blustery headaches did not go away. "Hua-t'o could have cured me," said Ts'ao Ts'ao, "but the scoundrel prolonged my illness, wishing thereby to enhance his own position. Thus, even if I hadn't put the knave to death, he never would have eradicated the source of my sickness." Later on, when his beloved son Ts'ang-shu was critically ill, Ts'ao Ts'ao said with a sigh, "I regret having put Hua-t'o to death and causing my son to die in vain." (tr. Mair 1994:695)

Wu P'u of Kuang-ling and Fan Ah of P'eng-ch'eng both studied with Hua-t'o. Using Hua-t'o's methods of treatment, many people were completely cured by Wu P'u. "The human body needs exertion." Hua-t'o told Wu P'u, "but it shouldn't be pushed to the limit. Movement of the limbs facilitates the absorption of nutrients in food and enable the blood in the arteries to flow freely, preventing sickness from occurring. It's like a door-pivot that never decays from bugs or worms because of the constant opening and closing. That's why, when the ancient transcendent practiced duction, they strode like a bear and turned their head backward like an owl. They elongated their waist and limbs and moved all of their joints, seeking to stave off old age. I have a technique called 'the exercise of the five animals'. The first is the tiger, the second is the deer, the third is the bear, the fourth is the ape, the fifth is the bird. They may also be used to get rid of illness and are beneficial for the legs and feet because they are a type of duction. If there is discomfort somewhere in your body, get up and do one of my animal exercises until you're soaking with sweat, then sprinkle powder on yourself. Your body will feel relaxed and you'll have a good appetite." (tr. Mair 695-696)

Fan Ah requested from Hua-t'o the recipe for an orally ingested medicine that would be beneficial to one's health, and Hua-t'o instructed him how to make a powder of varish tree leaves and herbe de flacq. The proportions are fourteen ounces of shredded herbe de flacq for each pint of shredded varnish tree leaves. Hua-t'o said that if one takes a long course of this medicine, it will get rid of the three worms (of parasites ), benefit the five viscera, make the body feel nimble, and prevent you hair from turning white. (tr. Mair 1994:696)

There is absolutely no principle whereby to account for this. That which makes a human being a human being is his physical form, and that which enlivens the physical form is the vital breath. I have no way of knowing whether Hua-t'o's medicine could make a person intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness so that he could endure being cut open and could fully recuperate, causing the damaged portions to grow back together again. However, once the abdomen, back, intestines, or stomach have been cut open and dissected, how can they again be infused with vital breath? Being in such a condition, how could they be brought back to life again? If Hua-t'o could do this, then whoever was subjected to the punishment of dismemberment could be brought back to life again and there would no longer be any reason for carrying out royal punishments (physical mutilation ). (tr. Mair 1994:697)