Beiji qianjin yaofang (traditional Chinese: 備急千金要方; simplified Chinese: 备急千金要方; pinyin: Bèijí qiānjīn yàofāng),[lower-alpha 1] literally Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies,[2] is a Chinese medical text by Tang-dynasty physician Sun Simiao, first published in 652. A sequel was published in 682.

Contents

Comprising thirty juan or scrolls,[1][3] the text is primarily focused on medical disorders and their remedies. The introduction discusses medical diagnosis and treatment,[1] while laying out a moral code for physicians.[4] The remaining twenty-nine juan pertain to, among other things, gynaecology;[5] "wind-induced disorders";[6] diseases experienced by women and children; "disorders of the seven orifices"; disorders of qi; "cold damage disorders"; "wasting thirst" and hemorrhoids; detoxification; acupuncture and moxibustion.[1]

Authorities cited in the text include Bian Que, Hua Tuo, Wang Shuhe, and Zhang Zhongjing.[7] Uncharacteristically for medical texts of the time, Beiji qianjin yaofang also contains twenty-five case histories.[2]

According to the Zhongyao xueshi (中藥學史), the text has some 3,500 remedies,[8] some of which involve a single drug, whereas others call for as many as sixty-four ingredients,[9] most commonly ginseng, which is contained in 445 remedies.[10] For instance, a certain "White Vetch Pill" that "triggers pregnancy" contains seventeen ingredients mixed with honey, including white vetch; ginseng; angelica; southern asarum; asarum; bull dodder; achyranthes; magnolia bark; pinellia; adenophora; dried ginger; infected silkworm; gentian; Sichuan pepper; aconite; saposhnikovia; and purple aster.[9] Many of the remedies end with warnings such as "Do not transmit it even for a thousand in gold" and "Keep it secret".[11]

Authorship

Beiji qianjin yaofang was written by Sun Simiao, one of the most renowned physicians in Chinese history.[12] In the text's preface, Sun explains his motivations behind compiling thousands of remedies:

I find that all formula books are massive volumes. If one suddenly encounters an emergency, it is very hard to seek the remedy. By the time the formula is acquired, the illness has already become incurable. Alas! I agonize over the calamity of untimely death and lament the follies caused by crude learning. I then widely gathered various classics. I deleted the complicated formulas and made sure to keep the simple ones, thereby producing one book of Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies.[7]

Publication history

The text was completed and first published in 652.[13] A sequel, titled Qianjin yifang (千金翼方; literally Supplement to Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold),[3] was published in 682.[13] Beiji qianjin yaofang and its sequel were reedited in the Song dynasty by civil servant Lin Yi (林億) and his colleagues at the Jiaozheng yishu ju (校正醫書局; literally Bureau for Editing Medical Texts); both texts were republished in 1066.[14]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Also referred to as Qianjin yaofang (千金要方) or Qianjin fang (千金方).[1]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hsu 2013, p. 926.
  2. 1 2 Liu 2021, p. 106.
  3. 1 2 Liu 2021, p. 111.
  4. ↑ Lo & Junqueira 2022, p. 304.
  5. ↑ Lo & Junqueira 2022, p. 314.
  6. ↑ Liu 2021, p. 119.
  7. 1 2 Liu 2021, p. 112.
  8. ↑ Goldschmidt 2022, p. 142.
  9. 1 2 Liu 2021, p. 114.
  10. ↑ Sul 2022, p. 124.
  11. ↑ Liu 2021, p. 113.
  12. ↑ Liu 2021, p. 109.
  13. 1 2 Bertschinger 2008, p. 1851.
  14. ↑ Shinno 2016, p. 122.

Bibliography

  • Bertschinger, Richard (2008). "Qianjin Yaofang". In Helaine Selin (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 1851–1852. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9046. ISBN 9781402045592.
  • Boyanton, Stephen (2022). "The Canonicity of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: Han through Song". In Vivienne Lo; Michael Stanley-Baker (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine. Routledge. pp. 120–132. doi:10.4324/9780203740262-9. ISBN 9780415830645.
  • Goldschmidt, Asaf (2022). "Pre-standardised Pharmacology: Han through Song". In Vivienne Lo; Michael Stanley-Baker (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine. Routledge. pp. 133–145. doi:10.4324/9780203740262-10. ISBN 9780415830645.
  • Hsu, Elizabeth (2013). "Sun Simiao and Chinese Medicine". In Fabrizio Pregadio (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Taoism. Taylor & Francis. p. 926. ISBN 9781135796341.
  • Liu, Yan (2021). Healing with Poisons: Potent Medicines in Medieval China. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295748993.
  • Lo, Vivienne; Junqueira, Luis F-B (2022). "What Not to Eat – How Not to Treat: Medical Prohibitions". In Vivienne Lo; Michael Stanley-Baker (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine. Routledge. pp. 303–319. doi:10.4324/9780203740262-23. ISBN 9780415830645.
  • Shinno, Reiko (2016). The Politics of Chinese Medicine Under Mongol Rule. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315770178. ISBN 9781317671602.
  • Sul, Heasim (2022). A Global History of Ginseng: Imperialism, Modernity and Orientalism. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781003286691. ISBN 9781000604146. S2CID 248847276.
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