Besides the changes in weight measuring units, the other units also changed. "Larger and smaller liter" affected traditional Chinese medicine. Length measuring units was little used, and the irregular measuring units such as imitate units, quantity units, and assessing units remained in some extent. Because the regular measuring units gradually replaced the irregular ones, some doctors made investigates to the conversion of these measuring units.
History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; methods

In the Song dynasties, the irregular measuring units were seldom used in medicine and length units were no longer used in medicine. The volume units changed from "ancient ones" to "modern ones". There were necessary regulations on the conversion of measuring units of medicine in medical books officially published. Doctor Chenyan made detailed investigations to ancient measuring units.
History, Medieval ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history

Five flavors are basic nature of Chinese medicine. But the labeling of Chinese medicine flavors was in a chaos. Song Jin and Yuan dynasty is a transconformation stage of labeling Chinese medicine flavors. In this article the author put forward that the determination of Chinese medicine flavor shifted from tasting of early and middle age of Northern Song dynasty to categorical analogizing and functional analogizing in the late age of Northern Song dynasty. The latter method had a flourished development in Southern Song, Jin and Yuan dynasty. This regularity conclusion has provided a reference for the standardizing Chinese medicine flavors.
History, Medieval ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; Taste

This paper aims at probing into evolving course of DOU Han-qing's works catalogue. On the basis of summarizing and referring to study achievements of our predecessors, through analysis of book lists and relative works and chapters, it is hold that the catalogue which were not attained by ZHULiang-neng possibly are the contents of acupuncture reinforcing and reducing methods; the books printed and published by ZHULiang-neng include the contents of both channels and acupoints; the book, Zhinan, which was attained by DOUGui-fang, includes the content catalogue of needling methods; Fu Zhenjiu Zashuo in Zhenjiu Sisu. Zhenjiu Zhinan also were extracted by DOU Gui-fang from Illustrated Manual of Acupoints of the Bronze Figure, and The Zhenjiu Biji Taiyi Zhi Tuxu and Dongzhi Yezhe Gongshuo should belong to The Fu Zhenjiu Zashuo.
Acupuncture ; history ; Books ; history ; History, Medieval ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history

Based on Huangdi' s Internal Classic and a great deal of clinical verification, in combination with new discoveries of the nerve, the meridian electromagnetic field and the quantum physics for role of thought outside body, it is proved that the main mechanism of the reinforcing-reducing method in Huangdi's Internal Classic is to promote flow of qi with the doctor's thought, with the needle very few twisted and rotated; discover new mechanisms of the reinforcing-reducing method, newly explain and clinically verify many basic standpoints about the reinforcing-reducing, and name as "acupuncture therapy of promoting qi with thought". The method has a strong reinforcing-reducing function and do not need the needle feeling, and is directly related with doctor's idea. It is emphasized specially that it can be carefully adopted only when full syndrome differentiation is made and strictly obey the contraindications in Huangdi's Internal Classic, otherwise it has very serious danger. This kind of model that doctor's mental effect is translated into the patient's biological effect put forward new problem, new thinking for brain sciences and modern acupuncture studies.
Acupuncture Therapy ; history ; History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history

On account of the dense cuticles of the fresh stem and the light, hard and pliable texture of the dried stem, Dendrobii Caulis is difficult to dry or pulverize. So, it is very important to the ancient doctors that Dendrobii Caulis should be properly treated and applied to keep or evoke its medicinal effects. The current textual research results about the preliminary processing, processing and usage methods of Dendrobii Caulis showed that: (1) In history the clinical use of fresh or processed Dendrobii Caulis as teas and tinctures were very common. (2) Its roots and rhizomes would be removed before using. (3) Some ancillary approaches were applied to shorten drying times, such as rinsing with boiling mulberry-ash soup, washing or soaking with liquor, mixing with rice pulp and then basking, etc. (4) According to the ancients knowledge, the sufficient pulverization, by means of slicing, rasping, hitting or pestling techniques, was necessary for Dendrobii Caulis to take its effects. (5) The heat processing methods for Dendrobii Caulis included stir-baking, stir-frying, steaming, decocting and stewing techniques, usually with liquor as an auxiliary material. Among above mentioned, steaming by pretreating with liquor was most commonly used, and this scheme was colorfully drawn in Bu Yi Lei Gong Pao Zhi Bian Lan (Ming Dynasty, 1591 CE) ; moreover, decocting in advance or long-time simmering so as to prepare paste products were recommended in the Qing Dynasty. (6) Some different processing programs involving stir-baking with grit, air-tightly baking with ondol (Kangs), fumigating with sulfur, which appeared in modern times and brought attractive outward appearance of the drug, went against ancients original intentions of ensuring drug efficacy.
Dendrobium ; History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; history

CHEN Ying-long is a famous acupuncturist in modern China. He is one of the disciples of CHENG Dan-an who is considered as the initiator of the Chengjiang acupuncture school. Through collecting and sorting of CHEN's theses and medical records which carried on and developed the Chengjiang acupuncture school, it is found that his academic features of acupuncture manifested in the following points: attaching importance on prac tice of qi and finger force; valuing the reinforcing and reducing manipulations according to midnight-noon and ebb-flow doctrine; utilizing moxibustion to treat difficult and complicated diseases; applied group points to treat chronic diseases; good at treating manic type of mental disorder with deep acupuncture at Fengfu (GV 16).
Acupuncture ; history ; China ; History, 20th Century ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history

There were some changes for the measuring units of medicine in Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasty. The measuring units of length showed decreased usage in medicine measuring, while increased usage of weight units. Weight unit was also used for measuring medicines that had been measured by imitate unit or assessed unit. Besides, some special measuring units for medicine appeared in this period of time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; methods

In ancient china, four famous literatures, Huang Di Nei Jing, Nan Jing, Ben Cao, Shang Han Lun appeared, which made the foundation of oriental medicine. Huang Di Nei Jing, the book of acupuncture, is the most essential literature among these four litertures. So the question asking the identity of oriental medicine can be turned into the question about the identity of acupuncture. The investigation into origin will not be the only way to study of identity but one of the most attractive means. So we can answer with the study of origin to the question about identity. Acupuncture is comprised of theories like jing mai, qi xue and technical factors like moxibustion, bian which is like present operating knife. To trace the origin of acupuncture, we must investigate not only technical factors but also theories. But it will be impossible to trace every theories underlying the acupuncture in this small thesis. This is the reason that I restricted my attention to the principle of preventive medicine, regimen. Before the excavation of Mawangdui, the belief that acupuncture started long ago before Han period had been generally accepted. But there was not any proof proving the presence of acupuncture in the excavated literatures representing the Han period medicine. This fact announced that we must draw the time of establishment of acupuncture back after the Mawangdui literature buried in B.C. 168. But we can find the proof of the presence of acupuncture just before B.C. 168 in Shiji written by Si Mi Qian. Through these facts and inferences that we got until now, we can reach a conclusion that acupuncture would have appeared around 190-176 when Chun Yu Yi was practicing as a doctor. As you know, in the Mawangdui literature, what was associated with jing mai was moxibustion. But at the same time, moxibustion was being used just as the experience medicine technique without theory. So the moxibustion would has been about to be associated with jing mai theory in Mawangdui period. The word zhen jiu, the acupuncture and moxibustion, means there was a way to reconcile two techniques. It was by assuming bu and handing xie over to acupuncture that moxa can coexist with acupuncture. bian is used for infection treatment more than bloodletting tool in ancient china. but there is a bridge between acupuncture with bian. Acupuncture inherited its appearance from bian. It is generally believed that blood-letting is commonly developed in the classic east and west medicine. But the blood-letting could be harmonious with the old chinese belief that vitality must be retained in the body? No. The blood-letting is not generally practiced in ancient china. We can scarcely find the evidence of blood-letting in the ancient literature now in hand except Huang Di Nei Jing. Blood-Letting widened its territory in ancient chinese medicine with the help of the medical version of wuweierwubuwei principle which means 'not do anything, then everything does'. But soon lost its territory. Even in the Huang Di Nei Jing, We can find its disappearance. What is the reason? For its disharmony with chinese life idea, 'not lose essence'. Acupuncture replaced the blood-letting. It was the response of the ancient chinese healers to the regimen spirit and harmonious with chinese life view. Regimen spirit, the medical version of 'wuweierwubuwei' does not pursue cure after being ill but defense before disease. Acupuncture, meeting the demands of time, appeared in pre-han period as the association with jingmai theory which may be developed in regimen field, inheritence of moxa's esperience, and the shape of bian.
Acupuncture Therapy/*history ; Bloodletting/history ; Books/history ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/history ; Moxibustion/*history

This paper aimed to introduce and examine the biography of Sun Xi-miao (581-682) which I found in The Biography of The Avatamsaka-Sutra, that Fazang (643-712) wrote in 692 A.D. This document was neglected to understand Sun who was the famous medical writer of the collection of prescriptions, the Bei ji qian jin yao fang. His life is rather well documented, because he has his own biographies in Jiu Tang shu and Xin Tang shu which cited from Da Tang sin yu, published in 807. But I found several new informations about Sun in The Biography of The Avatamsaka-Sutra, such as he use to be a military medicine in the troops of Li Yuan who became the first emperor Kao Tsu of Tang dynasty and treat Sun with great favour. This document let us know that the Bei ji qian jin yao fang was dedicated to Kao Tsu, known as published in 652 A.D. MY CONCLUSIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: First, it was written by Fazang in 692 A.D, who was the real establisher of the fraternity of the Avatamsaka in China, for the purpose of encouraging to copy the Avatamsaka-Sutra. According to this biography, Sun made 750 copies to persuade the monks and the peoples, and that's the reason Fazang wrote his biography. Secondly, it was not conveyed to posterity, such as Sun was good looking, tall and use to be the medicine of Kao Tsu and dedicated his medical book to the first emperor. It might be left out for Tai Tsung's sake in the official records, who murdered his brother, the heir apparent to the throne and became the second emperor by himself. On the contrary, it was written in Da Tang sin yu, Jiu and Xin Tang shu that Sun made a prediction that his collection of prescriptions would help the holyman after 50 years from Xuan Di (578-579) of Northern Chou Dynasty. Holyman meant Tai Tsung. It shows that Sun's biographies in the Da Tang sin yu, Jiu and Xin Tang Shu were based on the documents that might be fabricated and embellished for Tai Tsung. Thirdly, this biography let us know that Sun wote the Bei ji qian jin yao fang under the circumstances that the epidemic disease was spreaded in Changan at 618 A.D. and the population of Kao Tsu era (618-626) was decreased rapidly. I think that's why he wrote down the medical morals as the first chapter, and the prescriptions about the gynecology and pediatrics as the second chapter.
Military Medicine/history ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/*history ; Humans ; History, Medieval ; Disease Outbreaks/history ; China