bubble_chart Description

The original title of this book is Zhouhou Jiucu, consisting of three volumes, authored by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, supplemented by Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty, and further appended with prescriptions by Yang Yongdao of the Jin Dynasty. The current version, Zhouhou Beiji Fang, comprises eight volumes, primarily focusing on simple treatments for common ailments, including internal formulas, external applications, massage, moxibustion, bonesetting, and other practical methods. Although this book is titled "Zhouhou" (Elbow Rear), it contains a wealth of valuable medical historical materials and practical formula methods, with many significant inventions and discoveries in medical history, offering important insights for today's medical practices.

The "lu chuang" (??) described by him, namely smallpox, was introduced from outside and is not native to our country, holding significant value in medical history.

The book also mentions various pestilence diseases such as "she gong" (??), "sha shi" (??), and "ma bi ju" (???). Commentators believe that "she gong" refers to a description of schistosomiasis, while "sha shi" describes scrub typhus. Some scholars suggest that this is the process of contracting schistosomiasis. More valuable is the book's mention that after the "sha shi" burrows into the skin, if one uses a needle to extract the worm, it is similar to a scabies mite, visible under light when placed on a fingernail. This proves that scabies mites were already recognized at that time, and the book aptly compares the size and extraction method of scabies mites to "sha shi." In summary, Zhouhou Beiji Fang provides detailed descriptions of several ancient pestilence diseases, holding an important place in the history of global pestilence studies.

Zhouhou Beiji Fang dedicates a section to discussing the treatment of "mad dog bites." The book first recognizes the severity of being bitten by a mad dog (rabid dog), noting its incubation period and disease progression. It proposes about twenty methods for treating rabies, including "killing the biting dog, taking its brain, and applying it to the wound to prevent recurrence." The value of this method lies in its use of the rabid dog's brain tissue to dress the wound to prevent rabies, representing an early concept of immunotherapy. The rabies virus is neurotropic and proliferates extensively in the brain tissue of rabid dogs. Using this tissue to treat rabies, if proposed under the influence of the "using poison to fight poison" philosophy, aligns with the basic principles of modern immunotherapy.

Zhouhou Beiji Fang, although it contains simple and easily accessible treatment methods, the work and its promoted treatment philosophy seem inconsistent with the traditionally orthodox "syndrome differentiation and treatment" approach. This has led some later "orthodox" physicians to consider it insignificant, even unworthy of mention or inclusion in serious medical discourse. However, these simple and accessible treatment methods and formulas contain valuable essence that should be taken seriously. For example, using Sweet Wormwood to treat malaria?"soak in two liters of water, extract the juice, and consume it all"?is a precious conclusion drawn from long-term experience. Modern research has shown that Sweet Wormwood contains artemisinin, a heat-sensitive chemical component with significant antimalarial effects. Although Chinese medicinals are generally decocted, Ge Hong emphasized consuming the raw juice. The isolation and study of artemisinin led to a major discovery in modern antimalarial history (research on Sweet Wormwood's antimalarial properties is documented in Thirty Years of Selected Papers from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Chinese Medicine Ancient Books Publishing House, 1985). Additionally, the book's descriptions of foot weakness disease can be considered the earliest historical account of beriberi, particularly the description of cardiac beriberi and the use of sufficient vitamin B to treat beriberi.