After Cao Binghe had said all that, had he persuaded Kang Zhirong?
Of course not!
Kang Zhirong quickly followed with another question, "Doesn't modern medicine deserve any credit here?"
Cao Binghe did not dodge this question; instead, he replied very succinctly, "Yes, certainly. The contributions of modern medicine cannot be denied. However, there are two points that must be clarified. The lower average lifespan in ancient China had two main reasons.
First, women in ancient times married very early, often at fourteen. In some dynasties, they could even marry at eleven. If a woman wasn't married by sixteen, she would be gossiped about. Consequently, these women also began childbearing at a relatively young age. This early childbearing led to a higher incidence of difficult labor and infant mortality, which further lowered the average lifespan. Working at the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, you should understand this quite well."
