Page 231 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 224
Medicine

yao-xue

The oldest book on Chinese medicine is supposed to be the ‘Book of the Yellow
Emperor’ (Huang-di nei-jing), compiled, we are told, by the mythical Emperor Huang-di,
to whom is also attributed the oldest book on sexual practices (Huang-di su-wen). In their
present form, both of these works seem to have been put together around the turn of the
millennium. Medical texts which have been recently excavated in burial sites, introduce
us to the medical knowledge available in the China of before 200 BC; they are certainly
older than the classical works ascribed to Huang-di, and more closely related to the Ben-
cao (see below). In these newly discovered texts, the two main components of Chinese
medicine are already clearly recognisable: on the one hand, remedies based largely on
herbal materials which must be prepared in certain prescribed ways; and on the other,
instructions for the use of these materials some of which we would regard as magic spells
or incantations. Both of these components have held their ground and are practised even
today, except where Western medicine has managed to break through. ‘Magic’ medicine
of this sort is not practised by anyone the Chinese would call a ‘doctor’, but by a shaman
who usually performs movements and actions in a state of trance, in which either he goes
to the spirits and gods or they come to him. The shaman prescribes no medicine, except
perhaps ashes from the incense burned during the ceremony. Any effect that this
treatment may have upon the invalid is purely psychological.
Doctors in ancient China who prescribed medicines made from herbal matter or from
parts of animals, were divided into three categories: at the top were the state doctors,
upper-class men who, in addition to their training in traditional medicine, had studied the
medical texts available and had passed a state examination. They were called ‘Great
Doctors’, held state posts and were summoned to court if the Emperor or one of his high

officials were ill. The second group also belonged to the upper class: they were state
officials who had studied medicine as a sideline in their free time. Should a friend or a
relation fall ill they would do what they could to help. They never asked for payment but
expected gifts on suitable occasions such as major feast-days and holidays.
The third category was drawn from the lower classes of society. Its members were
often the sons or grandsons of doctors. Practitioners belonging to this category often had
their own private books of remedies and treatments, which were carefully guarded from
rival eyes. They worked in small shops or on the streets, and they took payment for their
advice. These practitioners are still active, and the present regime has been trying to lay
its hands on their secret texts, partly in order to make use of information possibly
contained therein, and partly to curtail the influence of its owners. ‘Barefoot doctors’
have attended basic courses in first aid, hygiene, the use of ordinary medicines and of
drugs available only on prescription. Apart from this they also roll up their trouser legs,
take off their shoes and work in the fields – hence their name.