Story

The most ancient in the history of China, the Shan state (later it was called Yin) was formed in the middle of the second millennium BC. e. in the valley of the Yellow River (Yellow River) (Fig. 33). The creation of Chinese hieroglyphic writing also dates back to this time. Ancient Chinese texts were recorded on turtle shields (armor), bamboo plates, bronze ritual vessels, stone drums, and then on silk and paper, which was invented in China in the first century. BC e. Ancient China gave the world silk and porcelain, paper and ink for writing, a compass and gunpowder.

For millennia, China has represented a unique example of the stability of the traditional system and traditional medicine, which is largely due to the locality of Chinese civilization, due to the reasons of a geographical, socio-economic and political nature.

Periodization of history and healing

Four stages are distinguished in the history of ancient China: the Shang (Yin) period (XVIII — XII centuries BC), when the first slave-owning state in the history of China was formed; the period of the Zhou dynasty (XI-III centuries BC), when many states existed on the territory of China; the period of the Qin Empire (III century BC), when the country was united into a single empire (during this period, at the behest of the first Chinese emperor, Shi-Huangdi (246-210 BC), the construction of the Great Wall of China began ), and the period of the Han empire (206 BC - 221 AD) is the time of the highest prosperity of ancient China. In the III — IV centuries. feudal relations developed in China, which persisted until the 20th century.

In the history of healing of ancient China, two large periods are distinguished: the royal (XVIII — III centuries BC), when oral tradition prevailed, and the Han empire (III century BC and III. III century AD) when the chronicles of the Han dynasties were compiled and the medical works that reached us were recorded.

Sources on the history and healing of ancient China: medical monuments; written language (from the 3rd century BC), data of archeology, ethnography, monuments of material culture.

The first multi-volume history of ancient China "Shi Ji" ("Historical Notes") was compiled in the first century. BC e. outstanding Chinese scholar Sima Tszyan (145-86 BC); It has widely used materials from the chronicles of the Han dynasty, which also reported on the successful application of the chen-tshh method and pulse diagnosis. The oldest extant medical text from ancient China is the treatise Huangdi Nei Jing (The Canon of the Yellow Ancestor's Medicine), which is briefly called the Nei Jing (the Canon of Healing). Compiled it in the III. BC e. in line with tradition in the form of a dialogue between the healer and the legendary ancestor of the Chinese people, Huandi, to whom the tradition attributes the authorship of this treatise. However, according to researchers, "Nei Ching" is the result of the collective work of many authors of different eras. Nei Jing consists of 18 books. The first nine ("Su Wen") are devoted to the structure and functioning of the body, recognition and treatment of diseases. The last nine volumes ("Lin Shu") describe the ancient method of chen-ju.

Philosophical foundations of Chinese medicine

Original Chinese philosophy has gone a long way of becoming and development: from the cult of nature (earth, mountains, sun, moon and planets) to religious and philosophical systems (Confucianism and Taoism from the 6th century BC., Other teachings) and the philosophy of elemental materialism (natural philosophy), which was formed in China by the middle of I millennium BC. e. and it was the development in the works of Chinese scientists in the era of ancient empires.

The teachings of the ancient Chinese philosophers on the material world are set forth in an anonymous natural-philosophical treatise of the 4th — 3rd centuries. BC e, "Xi qi zhu-an": the single primordial matter of taiji generates two opposing substances — the feminine (yin) and the masculine (yang); the interaction and struggle of these principles give rise to five elements (in sin): water, fire, wood, metal and earth, from which all the diversity of the material world arises - “ten thousand things” (wang), including man. The five elements are in constant movement and harmony, mutual generation (water gives rise to wood,. Wood - fire, fire - earth, earth - metal, and metal - water) and mutual overcoming (water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal destroys wood, wood is the earth, and the earth falls asleep water) (Fig. 34). The objective world is knowable and is in constant motion and change. Man is a part of nature, a part of the great triad Sky - Man - Earth, and is in harmony with the outside world.

Among the prominent representatives of elemental materialism in ancient China was the philosopher and doctor Wang Jun (27–97), the author of the polemical treatise Lun Hen (Critical Reasoning). He recognized the unity, eternity and materiality of the world, developed the doctrine of the "granular" (atomistic) structure of matter, fought the superstitions and prejudices of his time, opposed the Taoist ideas of immortality. “Among the creatures that carry blood in their veins,” he wrote, “there are none who would not die.” The development of elemental materialism in ancient China took place in a complex struggle with Confucianism and Taoist religion.

The spontaneous materialistic views of the ancient Chinese philosophers (with elements of dialectics) formed the basis of traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

The basic theoretical principles of ancient Chinese medicine have stood the test of time and, in their basic features, have been preserved for three thousand years.

Knowledge about the structure of the human body began to accumulate in China in ancient times, long before the ban on opening bodies of the dead (about the 2nd century BC), which is associated with the establishment of Confucianism as the official religion. This is evidenced by the preserved anatomical tables of a later period (VI-VII centuries).

The concepts of diseases and their treatment in ancient China had a natural-philosophical basis. Health "was filmed as a result of the equilibrium of yin and yang and the five elements in sin, and the disease as a violation of their proper interaction. The various ratios of these disorders were combined into several syndromes, which were divided into two groups: excess syndrome - yang and deficiency syndrome - yin. The variety of diseases was explained by the breadth of the body’s interaction with the outside world and nature, the characteristics of the body itself (five temperaments are described in the Nei Ching treatise; this coincides with the period of formation of the same representations in ancient Greece), a long stay in one of the emotional states (anger, joy, sadness, meditation, chagrin, fear and fear) and other natural causes.

The art of diagnosis in ancient China was based on the following methods for examining a patient: examination of the skin, eyes, mucous membranes and tongue; determining the general condition and mood of the patient; listening to the sounds that occur in the human body, determining its smells; detailed survey of the patient; pulse study; pressure on active points. According to legend, these methods were introduced by the legendary healer who lived in the XI century. BC e. and known under the pseudonym Wien Chi (Little Forty); his real name is Qin Yuezhen. The historical chronicles of the Han Dynasty tell of the miraculous healings that Bian Qu and his students carried out, skillfully applying acupuncture and moxibustion, massage and local medicines. (For comparison, we note that the diagnostic methods used by the doctors of the classical period in the history of Greece in the 5th — 4th centuries BC) are in many ways similar to the ancient Chinese methods listed above.)

One of the greatest achievements of the philosophical thought of ancient China is the idea of ​​circular blood flow, set forth in China’s most ancient medical treatise, Ie Jing: “The vessels communicate with each other in a circle. There is no beginning and no end in it ... The blood in the vessels circulates continuously and in a circular fashion ... and the heart regulates over the blood. " “Without a pulse, blood distribution through large and small vessels is impossible ... It is the pulse that causes the circulation of blood and“ pneuma ”... You look forward, look back - everything comes from a pulse. Pulse is the inner essence of a hundred parts of the body, the most subtle expression of the inner spirit ... "

The physicians of ancient China came to these conclusions in an empirical way (in Europe, the scientifically based theory of blood circulation was formulated in 1628 by William Harvey, see p. 186). Examining the patient, they studied the pulse at no less than nine points and distinguished up to 28 types of pulse; Of these, ten were considered basic: superficial, deep, rare, frequent, thin, excessive, free, viscous, intense, gradual.

The ancient method of pulse diagnosis has been constantly improved by many generations of Chinese healers and over time turned into a harmonious teaching about the pulse, which was the pinnacle of diagnosis in ancient China. It is most fully set forth in the work of a famous Chinese physician of the 3rd century. n e. Wang Shuhe - “Mo Ching” (“Treatise on the Pulse”, 280) (Fig. 35).

Outside of ancient China, the doctrine of the pulse spread relatively late. In the ancient Indian treatises Charami (I-II cc.) And Sush-Rut (IV c.), The pulse is not mentioned. This fact is explained by the relatively late establishment of mutual contacts between China and India (trade routes — from the 2nd century BC., The spread of Buddhism in China - from the 1st century AD). In the Middle Ages, the method of pulse diagnosis penetrated the territory of Central Asia: the theoretical rationale for studying the pulse in the Canon of Medicine by the prominent physician of the medieval East Ibn Sina (980-1037) is in many ways similar to the provisions of ancient Chinese medicine.

A characteristic feature of traditional Chinese medicine is chen-jiu therapy (Chinese. Chen, acupuncture; Lat. Acupunctura; Chinese. Tszyu - cauterization). The empirical roots of this method go back to ancient antiquity, when it was noticed that injections, cuts or injuries at certain points in the body lead to the healing of certain ailments. For example, the compression of the central fossa of the upper lip allows the patient to faint, and the introduction of needles at the base of the first and second fingers from the back of the hand cures insomnia. Thus, on the basis of long-term observations, philosophers and healers of ancient China came to the conclusion that there are “life points”, the irritation of which contributes to the regulation of life processes. They believed that through the holes made in the “vital points” the imbalance was restored. Yin-yang beginning Yang leaves the patient's body in case of its excess or enters the body if it is deficient, as a result of which the disease disappears. Historical chronicles of the Han dynasty report individual cases of the successful use of acupuncture by doctors Bian Que (XI century BC), Fu Weng (I-II centuries BC), Hua To (II century AD) .) and others.

The first detailed presentation of the theory and practice of this method is given in the treatise Nei Ching, especially from the second part of it, Lin Shu. (it is called “Canon of acupuncture”), where “vital points” are described, the channels along which they are located, collateral, needles and methods of their introduction, indications and contraindications for the use of acupuncture and cauterization.

In the III. n h Doctor Huanfu Mi (215-282) systematically summarized the achievements in the area of ​​chen-jiu over the preceding 4–5 centuries and compiled an extensive compilation work “Zhen Jiu Jia and Jing” remained the main source of knowledge in this area until the XI century and was known outside of China, starting from the 5th c.

The first acupuncture needles were stone. They had the thinnest hole (like the needle of a syringe), which was believed to move the beginning of yang. Subsequently, needles were made not only from silicon or jasper, but also from bone, bamboo, and later from metals: bronze, silver (fig. 36), gold, platinum, and stainless steel. With the development of this method, the specialization of needles began, I divided them into species.

In the Nei Jing treatise, nine types of needles are described: a needle with a needle tip for surface pricking, a rounded massage needle, a blunt needle for tapping and pressure, a sharp triangular needle for venous puncture, a saber-shaped needle for removing pus, a sharp round needle for quick injection, a thread-like needle (used most often), a long needle to pierce thick muscles, a large needle to treat joints.

The rich variety of needles speaks about the breadth of the acupuncture method in antiquity: it was used to treat and prevent diseases, for anesthesia during operations, as well as in combination with massage and cauterization, i.e., thermal effect on “vital points” by means of lit cigarettes, dry leaves of medicinal plants.

Most often, the moxa plant was used for these purposes (Russian — common cholina; lat. Artemisia \? Ulgaris). Moreover, it was believed that the efficiency of moxa increases with years of storage. So, for the treatment of cauterization of the disease, which arose seven years ago, it was recommended mock-i; a, collected three years ago.

In ancient China, there were several methods of cauterization. Direct cauterization was carried out at close proximity of a burning cigarette to the body. With the method of indirect burning, the cigarette was at a certain distance from the point of impact, and between the cigarette and the body could be placed medicinal substances. Cauterization with warm needles combined both acupuncture and cauterization: the cigarette was twisted around the needle and lit when the needle was in the tissues; thus, a combined effect was achieved (needle action and a glowing medicinal plant).

Drug 'healing in ancient China reached high perfection. From traditional Chinese medicine entered the world practice: from plants — shenzhen, lemongrass, camphor, tea, rhubarb, resin; from animal products — antlers of a deer, liver, gelatin; from mineral substances - iron, mercury, sulfur, etc. In 502, the first Chinese pharmacopoeia known in the world was created, in seven books of which 730 types of medicinal plants are described. In ancient China, there were institutions that today are called pharmacies.

Nevertheless, all come down to. Our works on medicines were not written in ancient (slaveholding), but in feudal China, that is, during the Middle Ages, the heyday of traditional Chinese culture and medicine flourished (see p. 166).

The first special medical schools appeared in China also only in the Middle Ages (from the 6th century). Until that time, knowledge about traditional healing was inherited or in a narrow circle of initiates.

The development of surgical treatment in ancient China (as well as the autopsy of human corpses) was a stitch. It is not religious prohibitions that arose in the last century BC. e. in connection with the affirmation of Confucianism.

Hua Guo is considered the largest surgeon in ancient China. (141-208), who became famous as a skillful diagnostician and expert on chen-jiu therapy. He successfully treated fractures, performed operations on the skull, chest and abdominal cavities. In one of the ancient Chinese books described the case of recovery of the patient, which Hua Too removed part of the spleen. For the anesthesia during operations, Hua To used mafusan, mandragora, and acupuncture method, achieving the desired result by introducing one or two needles.

The strength of ancient Chinese medicine was the prevention of disease. Even in the treatise "Nei Jing" it was noted: "The tasks of medicine are to cure the sick and strengthen the health of the healthy."

For a long time, important medical preventive measures in ancient China were massage, therapeutic gymnastics at Xing or (in Chinese) the game of five animals, based on the imitation of a stork, a monkey, a deer, a tiger and a bear, breathing exercises that people used to maintaining health and longevity.

In the Chinese chronicles reported on the improvement of ancient cities from the middle of I millennium BC. e. (bridge, sewage, water supply). There is evidence of widespread use of variolation to prevent smallpox. So, according to legend in the XII century. BC e. During the smallpox epidemic, Chinese healers tried to prevent the spread of the disease by rubbing pustules of the pox into the nostrils of healthy children (girls in the right nostril and boys in the left nostril).

Traditional Chinese medicine has long developed in isolation from other cultures of the globe. Thus, information about it entered Europe only in the 13th century.

In the modern world, traditional Chinese medicine plays an ever-increasing role. The scientific study of its heritage is important for the development of modern scientific medicine.