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Yibian
 Shen Yaozi 
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titleShengji Zonglu
orComprehensive Recording of Sage-like Benefit
aliasZhenghe Shengji Zonglu
dynastyNorthern Song, written in 1111 - 1118 AD, published in 1161 AD
bubble_chart Description

This book is also known as Zhenghe Shengji Zonglu, comprising 200 volumes. It was compiled by physicians under the auspices of the government in the late Northern Song Dynasty and promulgated in the name of Emperor Huizong of Song. During the Zhenghe period (1111-1118), Emperor HuizongZhao Ji ordered the collection of a large number of medical prescriptions offered by the folk and physicians at that time, and combined them with secret recipes from the imperial palace. These were then compiled and organized by the imperial physicians of the Shengji Hall.

The book includes internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, five sense organs, acupuncture and moxibustion, health preservation, miscellaneous treatments, etc., totaling 66 categories, with the content of "yunqi" (five circuits and six qi) placed at the beginning of the book, which is related to Emperor Huizong of Song's belief in the theory of five circuits and six qi. Below "yunqi" are chapters such as "preface" and "treatment methods," which serve as the general introduction of the book. From "various winds" to "immortal elixirs," each category corresponds to the specific discussions of the book. Each category contains discussions, concise and comprehensive, summarizing the category, and is further divided into several disease patterns. The etiology, pathogenesis, prescriptions, processing of materia medica, administration methods, and contraindications are all explained. The book contains approximately 20,000 prescriptions, rich in both theory and experience. In terms of theory, besides citing classic medical texts such as Neijingcold-damage disease theory, it also pays attention to combining contemporary theories and further elaborating on them. In terms of prescriptions, it mainly selects effective folk recipes and secret formulas from physicians, with relatively reliable efficacy. This book comprehensively reflects the level of medical development, academic thought tendencies, and achievements during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Shengji Zonglu is a product of Emperor Huizong of Song's intention to imitate the compilation of Taiping Shenghui Fang by Emperor Taizong of Song. However, Shengji Zonglu shows significant progress in arrangement compared to Taiping Shenghui Fang. For example, diseases are divided into 66 categories, each further divided into several disease patterns, which is clearer and more reasonable than the over 1,000 categories in Taiping Shenghui Fang. The recorded formulas include a significant increase in pills, powders, ointments, elixirs, and wine preparations, fully reflecting the Song Dynasty's emphasis on ready-made medicines.

After the book was engraved, it was seized and transported north by the Jin army before it could be printed, and thus was not seen in the Southern Song Dynasty. Earlier editions include those from the Dading period of the Jin Dynasty (1161-1189) and the fourth year of the Dade period of the Yuan Dynasty (1300). Later, Japan had a collected rare edition in the tenth year of the Bunka era (1813). In 1962, the People's Medical Publishing House published a punctuated lead-print edition based on the comparison of existing good editions and incomplete Yuan Dynasty editions, with some chapters deleted.

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