Way back to the Western Han Dynasty some 2,000 years ago, there was a woman named Yi Shuo in the East Area of the Yellow River (present-day Fuxian County of Shanxi Province). She was a famous woman doctor in the early history of China. As a child, Yi Shuo developed a keen interest in herbal medicines. In her teens, she began to gather medicinal herbs in the mountain and pound them into pulp, which was applied to villagers' wounds or injuries. Whenever there were doctors passing by, she would modestly consult them on medical questions. From them, she gradually learnt a lot of medical knowledge and accumulated rich clinical experiences.

Once, a patient was carried in from other places. She developed abdominal dropsy and had a belly even bigger than that of a pregnant woman. Her navel was protruding and her body was a mere bag of bones. She was breathing feebly. After careful examining, Yi Shuo took out a few silver needles and pricked into the patient’s belly and legs for several times. Then she took out a pack of medicine powder and applied to her navel and wrapped her belly with a band of silk soaked with hot water. Finally she fed the patient some traditional Chinese medicine.

A few days later, the patient's dropsy gradually went away. Within less than 10 days, the patient was up and about. Later, Emperor Wu of Han learnt about Yi Shuo and her superb medical skills. He then recruited her into the palace and made her a woman imperial doctor, solely responsible for treating the empress dowager, who deeply trusted her.