Listen to this articleyǒu bìng bù zhì, cháng dé zhōng yī 有病不治，常得中医
Self-treating an Illness Can Usually Get a Good Result.
有病不去就医，其结果如同请中等水平的医生诊治一样（与“久病成医”意思相近）。“不治”，不请大夫，不去医治；“得”，相当，能够；“中医”，中等水平的医生或疗效，有时作“合乎医理”解（“中”读zhònɡ）。这是《汉书·艺文志》记载的谚语，后来演变为“不服药胜中医”等说法。其本意是说，与其请来庸医治病，胡乱施治，非但没能将病治好，反而使病情更糟，还不如不请医生；况且有些疾病即使不治，也能自愈。此语表达了人们对庸医的拒斥和对良医的期盼，也隐含这样的观念：某些疾病可以自愈，无须施治。
The proverb, which is similar in meaning with the concept “prolonged suffering from an illness will turn a person into a doctor,” comes from The History of the Han Dynasty. It later changed into sayings like “taking no medicine is better than seeing a mediocre doctor,” which means essentially it is better not to see a doctor than to be mistreated by a mediocre doctor. Incompetent treatment will make a patient sicker rather than better. On the other hand, certain illnesses can recover automatically over time without treatment. This saying speaks to the rejection of people of mediocre doctors and longing for competent ones. At the same time, it also implies the notion that some diseases can cure themselves over time without treatment.
引例 Citations：
◎［经方］及失其宜者，以热益热，以寒增寒，精气内伤，不见（xiàn）于外，是所独失也。故谚曰：“有病不治，常得中医。”（《汉书·艺文志》）
（及至有些药方不适合病情，用热性药物使人更热、用寒性药物使人更寒，对人的精气神造成伤害，而身体表面并不显现，这完全是用药不当造成的失误。所以谚语说：“有病不去就医，其结果如同请中等水平的医生诊治一样。”）
And some prescriptions are not appropriate to treat diseases. Medicines that are hot in nature make patients even hotter whereas those that are cold in nature make patients even colder. They damage their essence, energy, and spirit, though it does not show any symptoms in appearance. That is the mistake solely of misusing medicines. Hence the proverb: self-treating one’s illness can usually get a good result. (The History of the Han Dynasty)
◎世言“不服药胜中医”，此语虽不可通行，然疾无甚苦，与其为庸医妄投药反败之，不得为无益也。（叶梦得《避暑录话》卷下）
（世人说“有病不吃药，胜过中等水平的医生”，这话虽然不适用于所有病情，但若是病得不很严重，与其被医术平庸的大夫胡乱开药让病情变得更糟，还不如这样做更好。）
People say, “Self-treating one’s illness can usually get a good result.” That saying may not apply to all diseases, but if one’s illness is not serious, practicing selftreatment may be better than trusting a mediocre doctor who may prescribe wrong medicines and make one’s condition even worse. (Ye Mengde: Essays Written on Summer Holidays)
◎古谚有“不服药为中（zhònɡ）医”之说，自宋以前已有之。盖因医道失传，治人多误，病者又不能辨医之高下，故不服药。虽不能愈病，亦不至为药所杀。况病苟非死症，外感渐退，内伤渐复，亦能自愈，故云“中医”。（徐大椿《医学源流论·轻药愈病论》）
（古代谚语有“有病不吃药，亦合乎医理”的说法，这话在宋朝以前就有了。这大概是因为医术失传了，医生给人治病经常失误，而患者又不能辨别医生水平的高低，所以干脆不吃药。病虽然好不了，但也不至于被庸医所开的药害死。况且，如果不是致死的病症，体表的病症逐渐消退，体内的伤病逐渐平复，也能自愈，所以说“合乎医理”。）
An ancient proverb goes, “self-treating one’s illness makes medical sense, too.” That proverb was perhaps already prevalent before the Song Dynasty. The reason may be due to the loss of the past medical skills, resulting in frequent occurrence of wrong diagnosis and treatment. Frustrated and yet unable to judge the skills of the doctors, patients simply stop taking medicines. That may carry the danger of never recovering from their illness but may save them from being murdered by quacks. Moreover, if the illness is not life-threatening, it will gradually cure itself. Therefore, such an approach “makes medical sense.” (Xu Dachun: The Origin and Development of Illnesses)
