The disease has progressed to [in and around the heart] cannot be treated. See notes.
A situation that is so serious it cannot be resolved
Negative
None
None
This story requires an understanding of some aspects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). I am not very familiar with TCM myself, but this is what I have briefly researched:
膏 (gāo) - the fat of the heart (心尖脂肪, xīn jiān zhī fáng)
肓 (huāng) - the area between the heart and the abdomen
In TCM, if a disease reached these two areas, it was impossible to cure regardless of what kind of treatment was administered.
As far as treatments, two of the treatments in the story below should be familiar to the reader, but moxibustion (灸, jiǔ) is probably not. Moxibustion is a healing technique in which one burns dried mugwort on designated spots of the patient's body
《春秋左传》(Chūn Qiū Zuò Zhuàn), a famous work that discusses political and military affairs during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC). It was written by the famous blind historian 左丘明 (Zuò Qiū Míng) and is also known as 《左传》(Zuò Zhuàn)
During the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期 | chūn qiú shí qī | 777 - 476 BC), there lived a Duke Jǐng (景公, Jǐng Gōng) of the state of 晋 (Jìn). One night, a malicious spirit appeared in the duke's dreams. The spirit's long hair dragged against the ground, and he pointed a hand at the duke's pounding chest and said, "You killed my descendants! I have already asked the lord of heaven to let me avenge them." And with that, the spirit burst through the palace gates. The terrified duke ran into the inner rooms, but the spirit broke through those doors as well. Then, the duke woke with a jolt.
Soon, the duke fell seriously ill. He dispatched messengers to the state of 秦 (Qín), asking for the help of a good doctor. The duke of 秦 agreed to help and ordered a doctor to go to Duke Jǐng's assistance.
Before the doctor arrived, Duke Jǐng had another terrible dream. In it, the illness he suffered turned into two children. One child said, "The doctor from 秦 is a good doctor, and I'm afraid he might hurt us. Where can we go that will be safe?" The other replied, "Let's hide in the 膏 (gāo) and the 肓 (huāng). What could he do to us there?"
Eventually, the doctor arrived. He took one look at the duke and said, "Your illness cannot be cured. It has already reached the 膏 and the 肓. Moxibustion (灸, jiǔ) would not help, nor needles (针, zhèn), nor medicine (药, yào). There's absolutely nothing that can be done!"
The duke heard this and exclaimed, "You really are an excellent doctor!" He sent the doctor back on his way home with a large number of gifts. It was not long after that that the duke passed away.