Prescriptions on the Tombstone: A Chinese Doctor Ordered 100 Recipes That Doctors Keep Secret to Be Engraved on Her Grave
Yuan Shufang, a 97-year-old Chinese doctor, ordered 100 traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions with precise dosages to be engraved on her tombstone, defying tradition. Since the story was published, 300–400 visitors arrive daily to copy the prescriptions.
In the village of Panlongjiao in Henan Province, central China, stands a granite tombstone engraved with 100 traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, including the names of herbs and exact dosages. The tombstone belongs to Yuan Shufang, a doctor who began treating patients at age 16, specialized in women's medicine, and worked for over 80 years. Before her death in 2006 at age 97, she asked her son to engrave the prescriptions on her grave, saying: 'The medicine of our country is not mine, it belongs to everyone.' Contrary to the Chinese tradition of 'passing on the prescription, not the dosage,' she revealed the exact quantities. Since the story was published in the Dahe Daily on November 3, 2026, 300–400 visitors arrive daily, some from thousands of kilometers away. Grandson Wang Kezhong reported that his grandmother had over 200 handwritten prescriptions, and the family plans to publish them all. He warned that the prescriptions do not cure every disease and that independent use should be avoided. Additionally, a viral photo of a white-haired elderly woman circulating with the story is fake.