Abstract
In his discussion of this case, Xu is outlines what he perceives as the most pressing issue with contemporary “time-saving doctors.” According to Xu, they possess only a rudimentary understanding of diagnosis, simply dividing patterns of medical disorders into yin and yang, whereas the Treatise divides them into six main divisions and many sub divisions. Unlike the discussion in other cases which cite the canons to support Xu’s diagnosis and treatment, here he simply decries his competitors’ incompetence.
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Notes
- 1.
This term (shiyi 世醫) is translated elsewhere as ‘hereditary physicians’ or ‘lineage doctors’, especially to distinguish them from literati physicians (ruyi 儒醫) in late imperial China; the former obtained their knowledge from the experience and manuscripts accumulated within their lineage whereas the latter predominantly via printed textual often canonical sources. However, for some Tang and Song authors, a shiyi 世醫 is a doctor with no particular skill, but because he has a certain amount of experience and of luck, he cures a certain number of patients. See Yu Gengzhe 2011. Xu seems to perceive these doctors similarly since he often alludes to the fact that these doctors are not thoroughly versed in the canonical medical literature and predominantly rely on common more rudimentary notions of diagnosis and treatment.
- 2.
This term is sometimes misleadingly translated as ‘cholera’, its denotation in biomedicine.
- 3.
- 4.
See Scheid et al. 2009, pp. 257–260.
- 5.
Xu is refers here to the discussion about Regulate-the-Middle Pill in the Treatise (辨霍亂病脈證并治, line 6). See Yu 1997, p. 86.
- 6.
See Scheid et al. 2009, pp. 296–298.
Bibliography
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Scheid, Volker, Dan Bensky, Andrew Ellis, and Randall Barolet. 2009. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies. Seattle: Eastland Press.
Yu, Bohai 于伯海, et. al. 1997. Shanghan jinkui wenbing mingzhu jicheng 伤寒金匮温病名著集成 [Collected Famous Works on Cold Damage, Golden Casket, and Febrile Disorders]. Beijing, Huaxia chubanshe.
Yu, Gengzhe 于賡哲. 2011. Tangdai jibing yiliao shi chu tan 唐代疾病医疗史初探 (Preliminary historical studies of illness and therapy in the Tang dynasty). Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe.
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Goldschmidt, A. (2019). Case Number 23. In: Medical Practice in Twelfth-century China – A Translation of Xu Shuwei’s Ninety Discussions [Cases] on Cold Damage Disorders. Archimedes, vol 54. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06103-6_24
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