Early Chinese Medical Literature by Donald John Harper

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

Anyone have a chance to look over this book? Any comments? Thanks.

 

http://redwingbooks.com/products/books/EarChiMedLit.cfm

 

Regards,

Rich

[Guest guest]

Hi Rich, & All,

 

Rich wrote:

> Hi, Anyone have a chance to look over this book? Any comments?

> Thanks. Regards, Rich

 

Re: Early Chinese Medical Literature by Donald John Harper;

Hardcover book, 549 pages; Published: 1998; Dimensions: 7 " by

10 " ; Price: $297.50; ISBN: 0-7103-0582-6, I found it at:

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/0710305826

 

That source says: " The seven medical manuscripts from

Mawangdui tomb 3, unearthed in 1973, represent the richest cache

of ancient medical manuscripts ever found in China. These

manuscripts, which comprise this book, reveal for the first time the

breadth of medical knowledge in third and early second century

B.C. China. Included are discussions of physiological theories and

pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the

practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises, and illustrations

of hygienic exercises.

 

I also had a look at the Redwing URL that Rich mentioned:

http://redwingbooks.com/products/books/EarChiMedLit.cfm

The intro there sounds very interesting, especially the following:

" ... A fifth [text] is a manual of recipes to treat ailments, arranged

by 52 ailment categories. Many of the recipes detail exorcistic

incantations and rituals. "

 

The latter will make Todd's day! ;-)

 

Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/compare/0710305826 )

 

No matter how good the content of the book is, failure to read it

because of its high price will make it irrelevant to most practitioners

in the " Third World " , and to many practitioners in the " First World " .

 

IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

rich people.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Email: <

 

WORK : Teagasc Research Management, Sandymount Ave., Dublin 4, Ireland

Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

 

Chinese Proverb: " Man who says it can't be done, should not interrupt man doing

it "

[Guest guest]

, " "

 

> Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

> Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

>

> IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

> rich people.

>

 

That's horrible. I remember paying $145 for the book in April 2002,

which was the retail price then.

 

I guess they doubled the price to make up for low sales. Capatilism

rears its ugly head again.

 

Brian C. Allen

[Guest guest]

I think alot of the material is available from UMI microfilm in his PhD

thesis, which should be substantially cheaper than the published version.

We have a copy in our library, but I want to UMI's site and had some

difficulty locating it. My recollection is a thesis costs about $50-60 for a

printed and bound version, e texts or pdf's may cost less.

 

Par

 

-

" bcataiji " <bcaom

 

Wednesday, September 01, 2004 2:32 PM

Re: " Early Chinese Medical Literature " by Donald John Harper

 

 

> , " "

>

> > Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

> > Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

> >

> > IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

> > rich people.

> >

>

> That's horrible. I remember paying $145 for the book in April 2002,

> which was the retail price then.

>

> I guess they doubled the price to make up for low sales. Capatilism

> rears its ugly head again.

>

> Brian C. Allen

>

Chinese Herbal Medicine offers various professional services, including

board approved continuing education classes, an annual conference and a free

discussion forum in Chinese Herbal Medicine.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Rich, & All,

 

Rich wrote:

> Hi, Anyone have a chance to look over this book? Any comments?

> Thanks. Regards, Rich

 

Re: Early Chinese Medical Literature by Donald John Harper;

Hardcover book, 549 pages; Published: 1998; Dimensions: 7 " by

10 " ; Price: $297.50; ISBN: 0-7103-0582-6, I found it at:

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/0710305826

 

That source says: " The seven medical manuscripts from

Mawangdui tomb 3, unearthed in 1973, represent the richest cache

of ancient medical manuscripts ever found in China. These

manuscripts, which comprise this book, reveal for the first time the

breadth of medical knowledge in third and early second century

B.C. China. Included are discussions of physiological theories and

pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the

practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises, and illustrations

of hygienic exercises.

 

I also had a look at the Redwing URL that Rich mentioned:

http://redwingbooks.com/products/books/EarChiMedLit.cfm

The intro there sounds very interesting, especially the following:

" ... A fifth [text] is a manual of recipes to treat ailments, arranged

by 52 ailment categories. Many of the recipes detail exorcistic

incantations and rituals. "

 

The latter will make Todd's day! ;-)

 

Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/compare/0710305826 )

 

No matter how good the content of the book is, failure to read it

because of its high price will make it irrelevant to most practitioners

in the " Third World " , and to many practitioners in the " First World " .

 

IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

rich people.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Email: <

 

WORK : Teagasc Research Management, Sandymount Ave., Dublin 4, Ireland

Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

 

Chinese Proverb: " Man who says it can't be done, should not interrupt man doing

it "

[Guest guest]

Hi Phil,

 

I was actually able to locate a copy to look at. It is pretty

interesting. Particularly the part on the ancient qigong exercises.

They actually look like African dancing moves. :-) The pictures show

the man twisting and bending in all directions. No surprise. It seems

to be all about maintaining flexibility.

 

There were interesting discussions of channels and ancient " remedies " .

I won't get into too much depth because ... well, ... they are kind of

gross - but probably very effective. :-) The kind of stuff we can see

on " Fear Factor " .

 

For me, it is probably not worth the price tag. But schools may want

to purchase it as part of their library. It does provide very

interesting historical context for Chinese medicine.

 

Regards,

Rich

 

Chinese Medicine , " "

<@e...> wrote:

> Hi Rich, & All,

>

> Rich wrote:

> > Hi, Anyone have a chance to look over this book? Any comments?

> > Thanks. Regards, Rich

>

> Re: Early Chinese Medical Literature by Donald John Harper;

> Hardcover book, 549 pages; Published: 1998; Dimensions: 7 " by

> 10 " ; Price: $297.50; ISBN: 0-7103-0582-6, I found it at:

> http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/0710305826

>

> That source says: " The seven medical manuscripts from

> Mawangdui tomb 3, unearthed in 1973, represent the richest cache

> of ancient medical manuscripts ever found in China. These

> manuscripts, which comprise this book, reveal for the first time the

> breadth of medical knowledge in third and early second century

> B.C. China. Included are discussions of physiological theories and

> pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the

> practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises, and illustrations

> of hygienic exercises.

>

> I also had a look at the Redwing URL that Rich mentioned:

> http://redwingbooks.com/products/books/EarChiMedLit.cfm

> The intro there sounds very interesting, especially the following:

> " ... A fifth [text] is a manual of recipes to treat ailments, arranged

> by 52 ailment categories. Many of the recipes detail exorcistic

> incantations and rituals. "

>

> The latter will make Todd's day! ;-)

>

> Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

> Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

> http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/compare/0710305826 )

>

> No matter how good the content of the book is, failure to read it

> because of its high price will make it irrelevant to most practitioners

> in the " Third World " , and to many practitioners in the " First World " .

>

> IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

> rich people.

>

>

> Best regards,

>

> Email: <@e...>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,Phil and ALL

>Included are discussions of physiological theories and

pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the

practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises,

 

>and illustrations of hygienic exercises:

http://www.cntcm.com.cn/ the left picture is the part of

illustrations of hygienic exercises, in Chinese pronounced " (Mawangdui) dao yin

tu " . it is one kind of qigong exercises.

Regards

XU

 

 

-

Chinese Medicine ; PVA-L ;

Pa-l ; Likemlist

Cc: Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine ; VBMA

Thursday, September 02, 2004 2:11 AM

Re: " Early Chinese Medical Literature " by Donald John Harper

 

 

Hi Rich, & All,

 

Rich wrote:

> Hi, Anyone have a chance to look over this book? Any comments?

> Thanks. Regards, Rich

 

Re: Early Chinese Medical Literature by Donald John Harper;

Hardcover book, 549 pages; Published: 1998; Dimensions: 7 " by

10 " ; Price: $297.50; ISBN: 0-7103-0582-6, I found it at:

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/0710305826

 

That source says: " The seven medical manuscripts from

Mawangdui tomb 3, unearthed in 1973, represent the richest cache

of ancient medical manuscripts ever found in China. These

manuscripts, which comprise this book, reveal for the first time the

breadth of medical knowledge in third and early second century

B.C. China. Included are discussions of physiological theories and

pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the

practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises, and illustrations

of hygienic exercises.

 

I also had a look at the Redwing URL that Rich mentioned:

http://redwingbooks.com/products/books/EarChiMedLit.cfm

The intro there sounds very interesting, especially the following:

" ... A fifth [text] is a manual of recipes to treat ailments, arranged

by 52 ailment categories. Many of the recipes detail exorcistic

incantations and rituals. "

 

The latter will make Todd's day! ;-)

 

Unfortunately, the book is expensive: $298 at Redwing; $204 at

Amazon.ca Marketplace (CANADA)

http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/compare/0710305826 )

 

No matter how good the content of the book is, failure to read it

because of its high price will make it irrelevant to most practitioners

in the " Third World " , and to many practitioners in the " First World " .

 

IMO, it is a pity that such knowledge should be available only to

rich people.

 

 

Best regards,

Email: <

 

WORK : Teagasc Research Management, Sandymount Ave., Dublin 4, Ireland

Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

 

Chinese Proverb: " Man who says it can't be done, should not interrupt man

doing it "

 

 

http://babel.altavista.com/

 

and adjust

accordingly.

 

If you , it takes a few days for the messages to stop being

delivered.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

This book (1) is known, in short, as the MaWangDui manuscripts, which

caused quite a stir back in the 1980s. Known to have been buried in 168

BCE, they constitute the largest collections of " medically-related "

manuscripts prior to the time of the NeiJing. It is thought they were

written ca. 200 BCE, plus/minus a couple of decades. Very similar contents,

in some cases, are found in other excavated burial sites of about the same

period.

 

Unschuld considers this material pre-medicine (or " healing arts " ), in the

sense that it lacks a full theory relating to natural law (factors of

climate, seasons, etc.). He points to this as evidence that the NeiJing

books (and acupuncture) actually came into existence after ca. 200 BCE.

 

Although a couple of the manuscripts describe 11 vessels/channels, with the

names we know - foot/hand TaiYang, ShaoYang, etc. (but without hand

JuiYin), there is mention of cauterization (moxa) and blood-letting, but no

mention of acupuncture (or anywhere else in these manuscripts, or any other

prior or in this time period).

 

One of the largest manuscripts, and best known -- " WuShiEr BingFang " ( " 52

Disease Formulas " ) - contains prescriptions for 52 conditions. These are

largely relating to wounds, burns, insect and animal bites, skin,

genital/urinary/anus and a couple of others. Some of these we would

recognize as " herbal formulas " , e.g.

" Ju abscess. Jiang (ginger), gui (cinnamon), jiao (zanthoxylum), leaving

them for four [?] one half dou of pure liquor. Boil until it produces three

sheng. "

 

Many, however are more along the lines of:

" [for burns] Beat a chicken egg into rabbit fur, and spread on it. "

or

" [for burns] When a burn occurs, utter this curse: 'Sjit sjit, khwjet

khwjet. Come out from the stove and do not spread. The Yellow Spirit is

about to speak with you " . Immediately spit on it thrice. "

 

Unschuld published a positivistic analysis (2), comparing the individual

substances listed in this text with those in the earliest preserved Ben Cao

text (ca. 500 CE). Using scientific analysis and statistics, he concludes

that about 55% of the things mentioned in the " 52 bingfang " are

identifiably the same as in that Ben Cao. Hence that one can speak of

something of a continuum in the herbal materia medicae and fang

(prescription) literary traditions from pre-Han times into the 1st

millennium. This in contrast to the sharp distinction between the practices

documented pre-Han (largely ad hoc physical remedies, demonology and

longevity practices) and the full-blown medical system theory and

application seen with the emergence of the NeiJing.

 

As Rich points out, interesting stuff is in these texts, relating to

DaoYin, and further dietary therapy and sexual conditioning and other

esoterica.

 

In a very small text on " Charms " :

" Take four nails from the left claw of a male dove and four nails from the

left hand of a young girl. Scorch in a saucepan, combine, and smith

[grind]. Apply it to the person and the person will be obtained. "

 

From a text " Book of the Generation of the Fetus " [eugenics?]:

" Take the larvae from a beehive and the Yin [penis] of a dog. Dry and

smith them. Have the pregnant woman drink them, and she gives birth to a boy. "

" If you wish to give birth to a girl, boil a black hen; have the woman

alone eat the meat and drink the liquid; and sit on a mat [?]. "

 

What Unschuld stresses often, is that these kinds of approaches are

documented throughout the history before and during the imperial era (220

BCE - 1912 CE), and even into modern times, along side what we consider

" medicine " .

 

Harper's book is expensive, but not much more compared to buying 2 or 3 of

Unschuld's bigger books. (It does irk me to know I could have gotten it for

$204 from Canada.)

 

 

 

1) Harper, Donald J; Early Chinese Medical Literature: the Mawangdui

Medical Manuscripts; Kegan Paul International, London, 1998.

 

2) Unschuld, Paul U; " Ma-wang-tui Materia Medica: a Comparative Analysis of

Early Chines Pharmaceutical Knowledge " , in Zinbun: Memoirs of the Research

Institute for Humanistic Studies, Kyoto Univ, No. 18, 1982.