Puzzling out the Etymology and Usage of Fuju
10.16466/j.issn1005-5509.2025.04.005
- VernacularTitle:"?咀"词源及用法解惑
- Author:
Yafang LIU
1
;
Mingqiu MEI
Author Information
1. 浙江中医药大学基础医学院 杭州 310053;浙江省中医"瘀毒"证重点实验室
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
"fuju";
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy;
etymology;
pruning process;
operation method;
chewing;
lexicographic works;
literature research
- From:
Journal of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
2025;49(4):427-432,437
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
[Objective]To investigate the evolution process of the ancient Chinese term"fuju(?咀)"and to clarify the pruning processing methods of"fuju"in traditional Chinese medical formulas.[Methods]Through literature review,content analysis and comparative analysis,sorting out a large number of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacy incunabula,dictionaries and agricultural books related to the term"fuju",analyzing the characteristics of formulas and medicinals,and comparing it with other works horizontally and vertically,a reasonable understanding of the development and operation methods of the term"fuju"is formed.[Results]The medical records from the Mawangdui Han Tombs mention the characters"父且",In Shuowen Jiezi,there was a character"咀"which was most similar to"?咀".The closest word to"?咀"was"哺咀".The methods of"?咀"were recorded in medical books such as Inner Canon of Huangdi,Treatise on Febrile Diseases,Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency,Inner Chapter of Baopuzi,Variorum of the Classic of Materia Medica,Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold for Emergencies during the Han and Tang Dynasties.TAO Hongjing clearly defined the operation of"fuju"as fine cutting.In a large number of prescriptions from the Song Dynasty,"?咀"was recorded.Classified Emergency Materia Medica explained"?咀"as"Taste the flavor".The rhyme books Guangyun and Jiyun both had explanations for"?咀".In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties,LI Gao and WANG Haogu believed that"?咀"transformed from"teeth-biting"to"knife-grinding",whose purpose was to make the liquid of the decoction clear,and it was mainly used for treating arthralgia syndrome and exterior syndrome.In the Qing Dynasty,Annotation on Shuowen Jiezi recorded that"?咀"was related to"哺咀",and Kangxi Dictionary recorded that the meaning of"?咀"included chewing,tasting the flavor,discussing and deliberating,etc.It was explained in pharmacological works as chewing or biting finely.[Conclusion]There is a lack of historical continuity from the use of"fuju(父且)"in the medical books of various Han dynasty tombs to the use of"fuju(?咀)"in the medical books passed down through generations.As for the"fuju"method of processing medicinal materials,in most cases recorded in ancient medical literature,the processing method adopted should not be chewing.The etymology and early usage of"fuju"are currently not clear enough and still require further exploration.
