Ancient Chinese Medical Theories
By admin on 2015-01-14

The medical theories in ancient China had an independent system . It developed through a historical course from primality to maturity , from simplicity to complication and from chaos to unification . With the appearance of the “Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine” , a more systematic theory of the Chinese medicine came into existence , based on the practitioners’ experiences and the development of natural philosophy in the Spring-Autumn-Warring States period .

After the inception of the theoretic system , the Chinese medicine progressed further . Many renowned medical practitioners emerged . They proposed different medical theories and formed different schools of medicine . They wrote many medical works that still have a guiding clinical importance now .

The “Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine” was compiled from the Warring States Period until the Western Han Dynasty . It was the earliest work on medical theories . It discussed the issues of viscera , channels and collaterals , pathogeny , pathology , diagnostics , treatment , principles , acupuncture , moxibustion , hygiene , etc ., and referred to the conceptions of the ancient Chinese philosophies , such as Jing (essence) , Qi (vitality) , Yin and Yang (negative and positive) and Five Elements (metal , wood , water , fire and earth) , incorporating the ancient materialism and dialectics . The theoretic system of the Chinese medicine had its own scientific implications .

There were eight noted competing medical schools of the Chinese medicine as the following : the Eight Typhoid Masters Schools prior to the Song-Jin Dynasties , the Three Typhoid Schools in the Ming-Qing Dynasties , the Hejian School , the Yishui School , the Febrile-Disease School and the Confluent School .

As pioneers of the medical elite , the Eight Typhoid Masters comprised Wang Shuhe in Jin (4th century) , Sun Simiao in Tang , Han Dihe, Zhu Hong , Pang Anshi , Xu Shuwei and Guo Yong in Song , and Cheng Wuji in Jin . They expounded from different angles the gist of diagnosis and treatment proposed in the “Treatment of Typhoid” , influencing greatly the later doctors in treating typhoid .

The Three Typhoid Schools in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are referred to as the Wrong Edition Revision School , the Old Edition Supporting School and Dialectical School . The first school held that there were certain mistakes in the existing old edition and that it should be revised , sponsored by Fang Youzhi at the end of the Ming Dynasty and Yu Jiayan in the beginning of the Qing Dynasty , and a number of doctors followed them afterwards . The second school advocated supporting the old edition . There were also many doctors in this school , who affirmed basically the edition of “Treatment of Typhoid” edited by Wang Shuhe and the “Annotations and Treatment of Typhoid” written by Cheng Wuji . The third school advocated studying the “Treatment of Typhoid” from various angles , and treating typhoid dialectically .

The Hejian School in Song came into shape under specific historic background and social environment . At the outset they discovered the feverish pathology of typhoid and cured it with chilly-natured herbs . They were widely known for treating later typhoid by countering vicious symptoms and nourishing body fluid and blood , and were divided into two sub-schools : One stressed countering vicious symptoms . The other stressed nourishing body fluid and blood . The school broke new ground theoretically and achieved important successes in clinical treatment . They prompted both pathological study and theoretical study in Chinese medicine and provided foundation for the emergence of the Febrile Disease School in Ming and Qing . It was one of the most influential medical schools in the history of Chinese medicine .

The Yishui School , came into shape on the basis of the study of externally affected febrile diseases carried out by the past doctors . It was fully developed in Ming and Qing , and was divided into the epidemic febrile disease school and febrile disease school . The former carried out researches on epidemic febrile diseases . The latter carried out researches on common febrile diseases (including the damp febrile diseases) . They made respective important contributions in that they detached he externally affected febrile disease from the bondage of the “Treatment of Typhoid” . So , they played a far-reaching role in the development of the Chinese medicine .