| title | Sibu Yidian |
| alias | Yifang Sixu, Juxi |
This book is also known as Yifang Sixu, with the Tibetan name abbreviation reportedly (rGyud-bzhi). It is a classic work in the treasure trove of Chinese and Tibetan medicine, authored by the renowned Tibetan medical scholar Tonima Yundan Gongbu and others. It was compiled around the 8th century AD. Sibu Yidian is divided into four parts, comprising 156 chapters and approximately 240,000 characters. The first part, The Fundamental Medical Tantra (rTsa-rgyud), consists of six chapters, providing an overview of human physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment. The second part, The Explanatory Tantra (Shad-rgyud), includes 31 chapters, detailing human anatomy, disease classification, and treatment principles. The third part, The Secret Instruction Tantra (Man-ngag-rgyud), contains 92 chapters, elaborating on the diagnosis and treatment of various clinical diseases. The fourth part, The Subsequent Tantra (Phyi-ma-rgyud), has 27 chapters, primarily discussing pulse diagnosis, urine analysis, the combination of medicinal formulas, the processing of materia medica, their functions, administration methods, and external treatments (such as bloodletting, moxibustion, fire therapy, external application, and cupping).
Sibu Yidian records 443 formulas and 1002 single medicinal substances, categorized into eight classes based on their origin, texture, habitat, and medicinal parts: precious medicines, gemstones, earth substances, wood substances, essence substances, flatland products (referring to crops), herbs, and animal medicines. It also documents the properties and processing of these medicinal substances. The authors believed that the growth of medicinal substances is closely related to the five elements (earth, water, fire, wind, and space) and classified medicines into hot and cold natures, using cold-natured medicines to treat hot diseases and hot-natured medicines to treat cold diseases, which aligns with the principles of Chinese medicine.
The entire book, from physiology to pathology, is permeated with the three fundamental factors of rLung, mKhris-pa, and Bad-kan, the theories of the five zang-organs and six fu-organs, and the concepts of cold, heat, qi, and blood, reflecting the unique characteristics of Tibetan culture. Some diseases described are specific to high-altitude regions, and certain disease names have yet to find equivalents in Chinese or Western medicine. Tibetan medicine's understanding of embryology posits that the embryo develops from the union of paternal sperm and maternal blood, progressing from simplicity to complexity until the formation of a fetus. This understanding of embryology in Tibetan medicine is considered highly advanced in the history of world biology.Sibu Yidian was compiled by summarizing the medical experiences of the Tibetan people while also incorporating and referencing theories and medical achievements from Han Chinese medicine, ancient Indian medicine, and Persian medicine. After its compilation, the book underwent revisions, additions, annotations, and organization by successive generations of Tibetan medical scholars, becoming increasingly detailed and refined. By the 12th century, it was comprehensively revised by Yutog Yonten Gonpo (Yutog Sarma Yonten Gonpo), the 13th descendant of Yutog the Elder, becoming the standard version for later generations.
Sibu Yidian is a foundational work that has had a profound impact on the development of Tibetan medicine. It has been regarded as a medical guide by generations of physicians and is a compulsory textbook for Tibetan medicine. Its academic status is comparable to that of the Han Chinese Huangdi Neijing.
