| title | Dongyi Baojian |
Dongyi Baojian (????) is a monumental work in the history of ancient Korean pharmacology, authored by Xu Jun during the reigns of King Seonjo and King Gwanghaegun of Joseon. It was completed in the 2nd year of Gwanghaegun's reign (1610) and officially published three years later (1613).
In the 29th year of King Seonjo's reign (1596), Xu Jun proposed to the king the compilation of a medical book to popularize medical knowledge, enabling ordinary people to read and prevent diseases before they occur. Consequently, King Seonjo ordered Xu Jun, along with royal physicians Yang Li-shou, Kim Eung-tak, and Lee Myung-won, to establish an editorial bureau and begin compiling the medical book. The compilation was interrupted by the "Imjin War" but resumed after the war ended. After more than a decade of effort, the compilation was finally completed in the 2nd year of Gwanghaegun's reign (1610) and published three years later (1613). To date, Dongyi Baojian has 36 different versions.
Dongyi Baojian consists of 25 volumes divided into five major sections: Internal Scenes (Internal Medicine), External Forms (Surgery), Miscellaneous Diseases, Decoctions (Pharmacology), and Acupuncture and Moxibustion. It contains a rich and practical selection of prescriptions, covering 15 categories and more than 1,400 medicinal materials. Each prescription is annotated with its source, and folk remedies are included. The book references 83 Chinese medical texts and 3 Korean medical texts, making it the best comprehensive traditional medical text in Korea. It is the most renowned Han medical book authored by Korean medical scholars and holds significant reference value for clinical guidance and literature research. King Gwanghaegun highly praised the book, stating: Dongyuan is the northern physician, Danxi is the southern physician, Liu Zonghou is the western physician, and Xu Jun is the physician of Joseon, known as the eastern physician."
Dongyi Baojian was introduced to China during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and has had a positive impact on the development of medicine in both Korea and China. Dongyi Baojian holds a position in Korean medical history comparable to Li Shi-zhen's Bencao Gangmu in Chinese history. Both books are comprehensive collections of various medicinal herbs and hold invaluable significance for future generations of medicine.
