(June and July 1981)
U.S. President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to the People’s Republic of China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration’s resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation. The seven-day official visit to three Chinese cities was the first time a U.S. president had visited the People’s Republic of China (PRC); Nixon’s arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries and was the key step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and PRC. Nixon visited PRC to gain more leverage over relations with the Soviet Union. The normalization of ties culminated in 1979, when the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the PRC. In 1979, exchange programs of scientists were established between PRC and the USA and Europe. Dr. Robert Gorter was one of the very first scientists from Europe (The Netherlands) to visit PRC as part of its Exchange Program.
Dr. Robert Gorter:
“One day, I was invited to see the Great Wall and on the way, I visited the tombs of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Usually, we moved in a black limousine without a license plate but with a driver and the translator who was also my personal tour guide. It happened that we took a coffee break half-way in a small village. The driver had a few vegetarian sandwiches and a thermos can with coffee. In minutes, we were surrounded by literally hundreds of Chinese villagers and their children, laughing and clapping their hand and talking first shy and then loudly to the drivers and my guide. It was clear they had never seen a blond, blue-eyed person and I appeared to them to be an alien from Mars. So we all laughed and then a few women walked up to the guide and asked him if they were allowed to touch me: only then they would believe what they saw. (I had to think of the story of Thomas who only believed that Christ had risen after he touched His wounds). Of course, I consented and a handful of men and women touched my hair and my face and jumped of joy that I was real; and obviously friendly. I received little gifts and food for on the way…….”
Dr. Robert Gorter:
“On the third day in Beijing, I was invited for a very formal gala dinner with about 18 Chinese governmental hosts present. They were mainly from the Ministry of Education and some other Ministries. The dinner was in a huge room at in the main palace in the Forbidden City. The room seemed to be reserved for formal dinners. Throughout my stay, it was remembered that since age 4, I am a strict ovo-lacto vegetarian out of ethical reasons. I never met in any other country before that all guests at the table ate vegetarian only in my honor.…… At a certain moment, after the speeches which had some diplomatic content, all attendees were silent when I was offered a very special delicatesy: a special and unique part of a formal dinner from imperial times! When the bowl was brought in by servants with white gloves, everybody got very silent and all the attention was directed towards me. Then, the bowl was opened and in the middle was one large (duck or goose?) egg of blue-black color. It turned out to be a hard-boiled egg that was marinated and buried in special terracotta pots for about 10 years. All attention was directed towards me and everybody sat there in full anticipation of how much I would like it…. The substance of the egg-shaped object was extremely leather-rubbery and could not possibly chewed and swallowed. This was the first time in my life I experienced a nightmare while being 200% awake. What was a delicatesy for them was almost impossible to eat for me qua taste and substance. Thus, with a big smile on my face and sweating profusely, I chewed and chewed and finally, I was able to somehow swallow it down. This showed me that I had a lot more to learn about other cultures and their world views and their appreciations.” But I was very touched by their hospitality and will never forget.
Dr. Robert Gorter:
“One day, during my stay in Beijing, we went to see the Great Wall which was a few hours’ drive away from the capital. It was a beautiful day and upon arrival, it was a very impressive view (bearing all I knew about history in the back of my mind). At that time, tourism was not a big item yet and only about 2 km of the wall were accessible for visitors. It was obvious that the Great Wall was severely neglected under previous governments. While walking there on the Wall, from the opposite direction, a group of Asians approached Robert Gorter and his Dutch-speaking translator / tour guide. While passing each other Robert Gorter heard them speak Dutch! Of course, he was very surprised and turned around and addressed the group in Dutch. Then a very friendly conversation developed and it turned out that it was a (diplomatic) delegation of middle aged Indonesians. Most of them had studied in the Netherlands (at the Universities of Leyden, Groningen and Amsterdam). And it was his understanding that senior Indonesian academics who studied in the Netherlands would still speak Dutch among themselves. The conversation in Dutch was very pleasant and they separated as best friends and exchanged business cards with an open invitation for both sides to come and visit.”
In 1981, tourism was practically non-existent and the road to the Great Wall was in a poor condition. Also, the Wall was opened for visitors for about one to two kilometers due to the poor and sometimes dangerous condition of the structures of the Wall.
On his way, the driver and the guide-translator took a coffee break outside of the car. Within a few minutes, 50-80 villagers surrounded them with amazing looking at Dr. Gorter. They had never even seen a person from abroad. Then, one of the elderly men asked my guide if it was allowed to touch me…. Only then they would believe….. Thus, about 10-20 men and women came forward and touched my hands, face and hair. Then they were convinced and the complete crowd clapped their hand and approved my presence. It was a very moving moment as I understood that these people and I shared the same planet but of my things they had no knowledge or awareness of what was a daily experience for me..
Dr. Robert Gorter:
“A visit to the tombs of the Ming Dynasty was also very impressive. In huge egg-shaped tombs which were for 2/3 underground there was built a large construction like a replica of a palace with several chambers. Here, the deceased emperor would be buried in full estate and next to him his empress and in the next rooms his concubines. Then, in other rooms, his court would be laid to rest. It was believed that in heaven one could continue to serve the emperor as a God if one would be buried with him (alive). Thus, when everything was ready, and the emperor’s remains were put in his shrine, all others would follow (voluntarily?) and lay in their designated places and the doors would be closed for ever. Then, the hundreds of members of his court would suffocate due to a lack of oxygen and die in his presence.”
History of Ming Tombs
Of the 16 emperors who ruled China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 13 are buried in elaborate complexes in the valley of the Ming Tombs north of Beijing. Tomb construction began here in 1409 and continued for 2 centuries. The valley was sealed off by a red gate at its only entrance, guards were posted to keep out the people, and no one, not even the emperor, could ride a horse on these grounds. The site of this huge cemetery was chosen by the same Emperor Yongle (1360-1424, reigned in 1402-1424), who oversaw the construction of the Forbidden City.
Dingling Tomb
Dingling (royal security) is the tomb of Emperor Wanli, the 13th Ming Emperor. He was born in 1563, and was chosen and named crown prince when he was six years old. He ascended the throne at the age of 10 and ruled for 48 years until he died in 1620. Dingling is the only one of the Ming Tombs excavated so far. Excavation work took more than two years from 1956 to 1958.
In 1956, a decision was made by the Chinese Government to open up the tomb. It was the first time that an imperial tomb was excavated in China in a scientific way. Dingling is now a museum made up of three sections: the Underground Palace and two exhibition rooms. The objects on display are mostly original. The Underground Palace was divided into 5 sections: Front, Middle, Rear, Left Annex, and Right Annex Chambers.
Changling is the tomb for Emperor Yongle, the third Ming emperor, and his wife Empress Xu. He ruled for 22 years and made some achievements in political, military, economic, cultural and diplomatic fields.
Changling is located at the foot of Tianshou (Heaven and Longevity) Mountain and is the first and the largest of the Ming tombs. The tomb was constructed in 1409 and completed in 1427. It took almost 18 years.
In architectural design, it is square in the front and round in the rear, and is divided into three courtyards. The main buildings on the central axis are still standing.
Ling’en Hall, or the Hall of Eminent Favor, is grand and magnificent. It is 66.56 meters long from east to west and 29.12 meters wide from north to south. The 60 gigantic columns carved out of nanmu, a kind of cedar (this kind of nanmu can give off an unusual scent reputed to repel mosquitoes in summer), support the entire building. The four columns in the middle are the biggest, 1.17 meters in diameter and 23 meters in height. Each is made of a whole trunk. This kind of valuable timber came from Southwest China. The succeeding emperors used the hall for offering sacrifices to their ancestors.
Sacred Way
Known as “shen-dao” in Chinese, it means “the Way of the Spirit.” The body of the dead was carried over the route at funeral ceremony. It is totally 7.3 kilometers long, from the Memorial Arch to the gate of the main tomb – Changling (the tomb of the third Ming emperor).
The highlighted part starts with a huge stone memorial archway, which is completely carved with Chinese white marble. Then you will see the Shengong Shengde Stele Pavilion with a 50 tons tortoise carrying a 6.5 meters tall stone tablet inside. 4 white marble columns, called “Huabiao” or “Wangzhu” in Chinese, are positioned at each corner of the stele pavilion. On the top of each column seated a mythical beast.
Then come 2 columns on each side of the road. They are hexagonal, carved with a cloud design, and the top is shaped like a round cylinder. Along the road, 24 stone animals are arranged in a row. The animals are lion (symbol of power); xie-zhi (symbol of justice) was a mythical beast of the feline family, said to be able to distinguish right and wrong; camel (symbol of transportation); elephant (symbolizing auspices and peace); qi-lin (ky-lin, Chinese unicorn) was a sort of imaginary animal with a scaly body, a cow’s tail, deer’s hooves and only one horn on its head, (qi-lin presenting auspices, and exorcizing evil spirits); and horse (standing for expedition). These pairs of the animals are alternately standing and sitting.
After them in a row, stand 12 human figures, i.e. 2 generals wearing sabers (representing imperial body guard generals), 2 civil officials (standing for emperor’s close ministers), and 2 meritorious officials (symbolizing meritorious civil and military officials). There are six statues on each side and twelve in all. The bold and simple style of carving is typical of the Ming period (1368-1644). They do give people a sense of solemnity on the way leading to the Tombs.
Dr. Robert Gorter:
“We visited the Forbidden City in the center of Beijing and a few summer palaces in and around Beijing. At one of the palaces, there was a wall around the temple complex and built in a perfect circle. If one would whisper it would travel along the 300 meters long wall and reach you a second or two later from the other side and with approximately the same strength of one’s voice. This reminded me of the perfect acoustics of the arenas of the Greek temples and amphitheaters.”
Robert Gorter was deeply impressed by the beauty and harmony of so many buildings like this one in the heart of the Forbidden City in Beijing (June 1981) Picture taken by Robert Gorter
Robert Gorter captured all the following pictures himself in operation rooms of two teaching hospitals during operations under acupuncture anesthesia only and Robert Gorter assured himself during each operation whether the patient was awake: they all were and seemed to be in little to no distress at all (1981).
Robert Gorter did his acupuncture training in Holland and in Belgium during the years 1965 through 1971. His teachers themselves were trained in Japan and the UK by Chinese and Japanese acupuncturists.
Robert Gorter himself applied electro-acupuncture anesthesia in numerous surgeries including caesarian sections, gall bladder removals, inguinal hernias, thyroid ectomies and dental procedures in The Netherlands between 1971 and 1978. (Two hospital where he went frequently was the Academic Medical Center of the University of Leyden and the Academic Medical Center of the University of Utrecht).
Robert Gorter assisted in several major dental procedures where a general anesthesia was proposed. He would apply acupuncture needles between the fingers to bring about anesthesia in the upper jaw (maxilla) and between the toes to bring about anesthesia of the jaw (mandibula).
Robert Gorter expressed to friends that through his studies of the scientific works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, he was able to understand where he had to insert the needles. Without exception, all dentist and oral surgeons testified that they were amazed how elegant this method was and more importantly, there was practically no bleeding! This is very important for a dentist as minor surgical interventions in the mouth usually cause significant bleeding: these bleedings hamper a good view and optimal interventions like implantations etc.
Then, after the death of Mao Zedong, rapidly, cultural exchange programs where established with a few European nations and the USA. Between China and the Netherlands, there had also been established such an exchange program where 18 Chinese academics and 8 Dutch academics could participate and be invited by China or the Netherlands.
Robert Gorter (to his great surprise) was nevertheless proposed by the Chinese Government for his excellent work with acupuncture in the Netherlands for a formal three-week visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Quanchu. Of course, he accepted gratefully.
Then, a few months into 1981, the Dutch government sold a few submarines to Taiwan and this was perceived by the Chinese government as an act of aggression towards the People’s Republic of China. All invitations of Dutch academics were cancelled except the invitation to Professor Dr. Robert Gorter. (See copy of the invitation letter by the Chinese government to Robert Gorter).
Robert Gorter was asked to appear at the Ministry of Education (Onderwijs en Wetenschappen) in The Hague to discuss the sensitivity of his visit under the given circumstances in view of the sales of submarines to Taiwan and the subsequent political “fall-out”. It is only known that at the Ministry of Education Dr. Robert Gorter was welcomed and instructed by representatives of the Minister of Education and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Buitenlandse Zaken).
Robert Gorter thus embarked on a KLM plane in Amsterdam to Honkong in July of 1981 where he stayed three days before taking a Hoover craft boat to Quanchu (Cantoon). Here, he stayed one day and one night and then took a plane to Beijing (Peking). He remembers that the air conditioning in the plane was not functioning and everybody received a hand-foiled fan which one could use by hand. It seemed that this was normal as the passengers did not seem to be disturbed by this. The temperature on board was unbearable for Dr. Gorter but what could he do? Nobody spoke a word English.
Once in Beijing, Robert Gorter was received with full honors by representatives of the Ministry of Education at the airport of Beijing. Here, he met his translator for the following three weeks.
Robert Gorter had a busy schedule and he told us a lot about his experiences of which we remember a few and we will report here.
Robert Gorter:
“The tradition of acupuncture was somewhat different from city to city. Doctors in one hospital would say: “We always puncture Heart 3 in cases of a Myocard Infarction (heart attack)”; in another hospital in Beijing or in Shanghai they would tell me: “In case of a Myocard infarction it is wrong to puncture Heart 3.”
Robert Gorter:
“Some professors were very famous as they had certain mixtures of plant extracts which would be very effective in cases like rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes or high blood pressure. The composition though was kept secret by the professor and when he died, he would take the secret with him into his grave.”
Robert Gorter:
“On several days, I was taken to another general hospital. All of them seemed to be teaching hospitals as I was introduced to Professors right and left and there was a large body of medical students present. I was shown several operations under acupuncture anesthesia and for different indications. Almost any kind of operation one could think of was done there. It seemed that both acupuncture anesthesia and Western anesthesia were performed. Also, I witnessed cesareans that were performed under acupuncture anesthesia only.”
In addition, since 1971, Dr. Gorter combined acupuncture with Anthroposophically-extended medicine: “to renew old traditions.” With a very fine needle, he would inject (natural and homeopathic) anthroposophic medications at acupuncture spots and could often document that this combination with traditional acupuncture and anthroposophic medicine had better outcome than each method on its own.
Dr. Gorter: “my goal in medicine is to renew old traditions with new insights. Acupuncture and Anthroposophic Medicine are very good examples how these two traditions can pollinize each other to the benefit of the patient…….
Addendum:
From 2005 on, Robert Gorter was invited multiple times by Chinese universities and companies to come to the PRC to lecture on the “Gorter Model” (www.gorter-model.org). Especially since 2010 on, Dr. Gorter made several visits to the PRC and lectures at about 12 universities throughout China, again and again. In 2019, it was even discussed (and decided) to offer Dr. Gorter a “Visiting Professor” Status at the University of Shanghai. Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, this was put on ice.
Fighting Cancer in Mandarin Chinese translation
The book “Fighting Cancer” was translated into Chinese as well and in 2019, more than 3,000,000 copies had been sold already.
Lecturing at one of many University Hospitals
Often, Dr. Gorter was honored because of the book he wrote on “Fighting Cancer” and in China, more than 3.000.000 copies in Chinese were sold.
Dr. Robert Gorter was received with great honors wherever he came and had picked his brains nonstop.
His last formal visit to China (mainly Shanghai) was weeks before the announcement of the COVD-19 pandemic was declared and that made travelling to China more difficult. But, Prof. Dr. med. Robert Gorter has been urged by several Universities in China and the Ministry of Health in Beijing to return in the fall of 2024.
On many occasions, Dr. Gorter was welcomed as a Head of State with a very formal (and in Mao Style) defile by hundreds of men and women marching in uniform to welcome Dr. Gorter as a guest of honor.
Here, a picture taken of Prof. Robert Gorter – standing to the far left in this picture – next to the male and female nurses of an army unit that marched very formally with the flags of China and Germany for about 30 minutes to welcome Prof. Gorter (approximately 2016)