History of Chinese Medicine
OM301: HISTORY OF EASTERN MEDICINE: Week 1: Introduction & Origins of Chinese Medicine Yueqikun Wang, L.Ac, Dipl.OM ywang17@vuim.edu
ORIGINS OF CHINESE MEDICINE & CHINESE DYNASTIES
PÁN GǓ 盤古
NÜ WA ⼥媧
Goddess with a human head and snake body
One creation myth made humans from clay
Another story goes that she and Fú Xi ̄ 伏羲 lived together on Mt. Kunlun and were the representative of Yin and Yang
CHINESE DYNASTIES
Neolithic Period 10,000-2070 BCE
Xià Dynasty 2070-1600 BCE
Zhōu Dynasty 1046-256 BCE
Spring & Autumn Period (722- 476 BCE)
Warring States Period (Zhàn Guó) (475-221 BCE)
Six Kingdoms (Liù Guó) (475-221 BCE)
Qín Dynasty 221-206 BCE
Hàn Dynasty 202 BCE-220 CE
Three Kingdoms (Sān Guó) 220-265 CE - Wèi (220-265) Shǔ(221-263) Wú (222-288)
Jìn Dynasty 265-420
Sixteen Kingdoms (Shí Liù Guó) 304-439
Southern Dynasties (Nán Cháo) 420-579
Northern Dynasties (Běi Cháo) 386-581
Suí Dynasty 581-618
Táng Dynasty 618-907
Five Dynasties Period (Wǔ Dài) 902-979
Ten Kingdoms (Shí Guó) 907-960
Liáo Dynasty 916-1125
Sòng Dynasty 960-1279
Xià Dynasty 1038-1227
Great) Ji ̄n Dynasty 1115-1234
Yuán Dynasty 1271-1368
Míng Dynasty 1368-1644
Qi ̄ng Dynasty 1636-1912
Republic of Chinas 1912-1949
People's Republic of China 1912-1949
People's Republic of China 1949-present
BEGINNINGS OF ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION
1.7 million years ago: Yuanmou Man
400,000-500,000 years ago: Peking Man
10,000-200,000 years ago: Dali Man
8,000-5,000 years ago ❖ Hemudu Man
NEOLITHIC (10,000-2070 BCE)
Time of the Sage Kings and development of civilization around the Yellow River Valley
7000 BC: Jiahu culture began in China
Earliest pottery in China, as well as some of the oldest rice
Made “beer” out of honey, along with wild grapes (pu tao 葡萄), hawthorn berries (shan zha ⼭楂) and rice (mi ⽶).
6000 BC–3000 BC development of proto-writing in China
CĀNG JIÉ 倉頡
Cāng jié 倉頡
Attributed as the inventor of the Chinese characters
MEDICINE PRIOR TO THE HAN DYNASTY
Shamanic Medicine: Ancestor worship and Demonological medicine
Oldest grave sites found were of women/ wu ̄ 巫- shamaness
Archaeological evidence shows use of herbs
Example: Ma Huang/Ephedra found on a mummy dating around 2000 BCE
Cranial Drilling dating back 5,000 year along with axes, and bone combs
Bian Stones the precursor to the modern filiform needles
Oracles Bones providing the first “written” records & gives insight into ancient history
Bian Stones
• Mentioned in the Shan Hai Jing ⼭海經 & in Chapter 12 Sù Wèn 素問
• Tool used for external treatment for incising boils and abscesses, and for bloodletting.
• Stone found in Mongolia had one was sharp & pointed like a pyramid while the other was flat and in the shape of an arch knife
SAGE KINGS & CULTURAL HEROES OF CHINESE MEDICINE
FÚ XĪ 伏羲
Drew the Ba Gua ⼋卦 / Eight Trigrams
Has a connection to the Yi Jing (I-Ching)
Said to have invented the compass and was given fire from the Legendary Emperors
Ba Gua ⼋卦
• Essential part of ancient Chinese Philosophy
• Consists of 3 lines
• This would be further developed in the Zhou Dynasty by King Wen and recorded in the Yi Jing/Book of Changes
SHÉN NÓNG 神農
The“Divine Farmer”
Taught people about herbal drugs and agriculture (invented plough & introduced crop planting)
Tasted more 70 herbs per day of herbs & grasses. Got poisoned frequently but found other herbs to detoxify
Credited as the author of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing 神農 本草經
HUÁNG DÌ ⿈帝
Considered thesage/father of medicine and formulated the medical classics
Credited for the invention Chinese characters/ language, music/bamboo pitch pipes, mathematics, the Chinese calendar
QÍBÓ岐伯
Huáng Dì’s imperial doctor & advisor.
Helped compile together the medical classics
XIA DYNASTY (2194-1600 BC)
The legendary/mythical “first” dynasty in ancient China & links Neolithic cultures with the historically documented Shang Dynasty.
Described in ancient historical chronicles such as the Zhushu Jinjian/Bamboo Annals, the Shu Jing/Classic of History & the Shi Ji/Records of the Grand Historian
Established by the legendary Yu the Great
Archaeologists discovered 400 ceremonial vases from the Xia and Shang which 1098 characters with 4200 variation
Established a calendar system that used both lunar and solar movements
Belief that disease was caused by supernatural influences, especially curses
Folk herbal knowledge
DÀ YǓ ⼤禹
Legendary ruler in ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control
Inaugurating dynastic rule in China by establishing the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character