郎中 is a historical term with two distinct meanings. In traditional Chinese medicine, it refers to an herbal doctor or folk physician — a practitioner who diagnoses and prescribes herbal remedies. Historically, it also referred to a mid-level official in the imperial bureaucracy, roughly equivalent to a secretary-general of a ministry. In some modern colloquial contexts, it can carry a slightly negative connotation of a quack or trickster posing as a doctor, though this is less common.