University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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CHINESE MEDICINE 15 of the people having any greater regard for the skill of the doctor than they did for the soothsayer or the temple priest. In fact, because of the supposed supernatural origin of bodily ills, the temple priest was consulted as frequently as the doctor and his copy of magic rites secured and burned to the sound of throbbing drum and low toned bell. Even the ignorant coolie of the street who had secured a prescription of a remedy with occult powers was deemed worthy of a trial, The men of worth and knowledge and reputation with lines of treatment of dehnite value had to combine their few helpful facts with rites of magic and superstition to satisfy a clientele haunted by a fear of the supernatural. 1 '-JWVV ' ni A fipi ,229 J . iff 4 'ai 0 xi t.yt H ?,v: VV? V AAF The Yang and Yin CONCEPTIONS UNDERLYING CHINESE 'MEDICINE 3 The teachings of Chinese medicine are a weird mixture of facts. misconceptions, and superstitions. They rest on the fundamental -belief that life is based on the perfect equilibrium of two principles the Yang and the Yin. These two principles are supposed to underly the universe and their expression in the human body is but one manifestation of universal life. The Yang is the warm, active principle and is symbolized by the sun. The Yin is the moist passive principle and is symbolized ,by shadow. If the 'Yang is in excess, there is a condition of excitation. If the Yin is in excess, there is a condition of depression. The action of these two principles is manifested in twelve organs. The six organs in which the Yang is found are located inthe abdomen. The six in which the Yin resides are the brain, spleen, right kidney, and the organs found in the chest. These twelve organs are connected to each other and to the hands and feet by twelve channels, six for the Yang and six forthe Yin. The Yang tends to arise in the body and the Yin tends to descend. METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT. The practitioner of Chinese medicine considers the pulse as the most important diagnostic element and, frequently, its palpitation is the only examination made. The right hand of the physician is :used to feel the left pulse of the patient and, with the left hand, he

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14 THE LINGUIST CHINESE MEDICINE THE ART OF HEALING IN ANCIENT CHINA. The history of the art of healing in China throws much light on the backward state of medicine. Going back to times of great antiquity, we find the record of Shen-nung1fB. C. 2737-2697j who is known as the father of Chinese medicine. He compiled a book giving the curative and toxic effects of a great number of herbs thus bringing together the first collection of medical knowledge in China of which we have any record. ' In the tenth century B. C. free clinics were established by govern- mental edict? The decree of Han Pinl A. D. made definite pro- visions for isolating cases oi contagious diseases in outhouses where they could be treated, thus anticipating the modern isolation hospital. Charity hospitals were founded at the time of Nan Tsi. Buddhism, after its introduction into China about 65 A. D.,- was very active in organizing Homes for the Sick which were managed by priests and nuns. These Homes continued until 845 A. D. when they were demolished in accordance with imperial decree and the Budd- hists compelled to return to private life. Following 985 A. D., governmental institutions were founded to care for the sick and provisions made in them for training practitioners of medicine. Hwa Teo, who lived at the time of the Three Kingdoms, was celebrated for his skill in surgery. .He meta tragic end at the hands of the ruler of one of the kingdoms because he advised trephin- ing the rulers skull forthe relief of an obstinate headache due ap- parently to ,intracranial disease. This eminent surgeon was credited with the performance of many successful surgical and medical measures. Unfortunately, his records were burned by the wife of his prison attendant and the knowledge that Hwa Teo attempted to hand' down to posterity was lost because of her superstitious fears. FACTORS CAUSING DEGENERATION OF CHINESE MEDICINE From these isolated instances, we see that, almost before Vlfestern medicine had its birth, Chinese medicine had made beginnings in most of the helds of medical endeavor. Yet none' of these movements survived to a healthy growth. Their degeneration was usually a matter of a few decades at the most. That this should have hap- pened was .inevitable when one considered the system under which they developed. A great part of the medical knowledge worked out by men of genius and observation was lost, or distorted due to the fact that such knowledge was handed down from father to son. Inevitably, superstition, magic rites, and folklore sayings crept in and soonf the merits of the original discovery were hidden under a mass of details which destroyed its value. The high ideal of medicine as a science for the good of society as a whole was not manifest in the practice of the native doctor. Naturally the lack of such ideals among the members of the profession precluded the possibility

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16 THE LINGUIST feels the right pulse. The pulse must be palpated with each finger at weak, moderate. and strong pressures for a period of nine in- spirations. Each finger of the physician reveals information con- cerning the condition of a specific part of the body. There are twenty four main types of pulses and twenty seven which prog- nosticate death. Occasionally, the tongue is examined if the pulse does not give sufficient information. From its appearance some thirty six conditions can be diagnosed. All organs have their appropriate elements, colors. times, and seasons. For instance. the- heart has red as its color, fire as its element, summer as its season. and noon as its hour. Therefore, heart troubles would be apt to manifest themselves in a flushed, feverish patient who became ill at noon on a summer day. The remedies used by the Chinese doctor uncontaminated by' VVestern medicine are many in number and various in source. They range from bones of the tiger. much prized for relieving nervous debility, to kaolin, arsenic, andthe mereurials which are used for some of the same conditions in which they have been found of value in Occidental medicine. Rice wine is used to prepare tinctures and extracts of herbs, barks, seeds, and roots. Plasters are favorite remedies. In some districts acupuncture is extensively usedl for treating disease. there being three hundred and eighty recognized sites where the body may be punctured by the needle used. THE INADEQUACY OF CHINESE MEDICINE. The basic conceptions underlying Chinese medicine renders it impossible that this system can be adequately developed to meet the needs of the people. Without definite knowledge of the structure- of the human body, with misconceptions of the functions of the various organs, with vague, erroneous ideas of the causation of disease. there has been no opportunity to build up a rational. science. The ,higher ideals that should underly the relation of physician to the- social order have been lacking. There is no knowledge of pre- ventitive medicine and hygiene. Except in isolated instances, com- municable diseases are not recognized as such. Yet, until the advent of Western medicine, one fourth of the world's population depended on this system for its medical needs. Even under present conditions, it is estimated that over ninetynine per cent of the sick of China receive no other treatment than that administered by the native- trained doctor, the neighbor, or the temple priest. 4 1-.. , . 0, f-IVA. it