Medicine Philosophy And Religion In Ancient China

This collection of four essays explores the cultural boundaries of Chinese science and medicine, in particular their connections with the most general issues of abstract thought and religious experience. It concludes with bibliographic guides to important books and articles on the Taoist religion.

This book set covers the last 3000 years of Chinese Medicine, as a broadly flowing river, from its source to its mouth. It takes the story from the very beginnings in proto-scientific China to the modern age, with a wealth of historical and cultural detail. It is unique in presenting many anecdotes, sayings, and excerpts from the traditional classics.The content is organized into four parts. Part one focuses on the medical activities in Chinese primitive society and the characteristic features of the witchcraft stage of medicine. Part two traces the progress of Chinese medicine as it entered the stage of natural philosophy. It also discusses how other aspects of philosophy, religion, and politics influenced Chinese medical theory and practice at the time. Chinese medicine, having a kind of social existence, was also impacted by the natural and social environment, and multiple cultural factors. Some of these factors are discussed in Part three. The last part concludes by examining the cultural process of Chinese medicine in history and offers a glimpse into the future of Chinese Medicine.

In this book, we endeavor to introduce readers to the cultural background, origins and historical development of traditional Chinese medicine. We surveyed the most important events in its long history and the conditions that influenced its development, including the cultural and philosophical ideas and assumptions that led to the development of the particular methods and techniques of healing that characterize Chinese medicine. Our goal is not to give an exhaustive survey of the history and philosophy of Chinese medicine, but rather to convey the patterns of its development and allow readers to gain an understanding of the distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine.

The first major reassessment of ancient Chinese religion to appear in recent years, this book presents the religious mentality of the period through personal and daily experiences.

By examining all the prevalent varieties of therapy from self-care to religious ritual, this book explores health care practices in China, before modern times. In ancient China most people were unable to afford a doctor, even in the unlikely case that one lived near their village and was willing to treat peasants. What did they do when their children got sick? The answer is to be found in this book, which goes far beyond the history of medicine. The author uses methods of medical anthropology to explain the curative roles of popular religion, Daoism, Buddhism and the therapeutic rites performed by imperial officials. Readers will discover the steady interaction of religious healing and classical medicine in this culture. This highly readable book builds on over forty years of study and analysis of early liturgical and medical writings and a wide variety of other sources. Its focus on the eleventh century throws new light on a period of rapid transition in many aspects of therapy and it will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.

Together, and for the first time in any language, the 24 essays gathered in these volumes provide a composite picture of the history of religion in ancient China from the emergence of writing ca. 1250 BC to the collapse of the first major imperial dynasty in 220 AD. It is a multi-faceted tale of changing gods and rituals that includes the emergence of a form of “secular humanism” that doubts the existence of the gods and the efficacy of ritual and of an imperial orthodoxy that founds its legitimacy on a distinction between licit and illicit sacrifices. Written by specialists in a variety of disciplines, the essays cover such subjects as divination and cosmology, exorcism and medicine, ethics and self-cultivation, mythology, taboos, sacrifice, shamanism, burial practices, iconography, and political philosophy. Produced under the aegis of the Centre de recherche sur les civilisations chinoise, japonaise et tibétaine (UMR 8155) and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris).

A collection of essays which presents insights into the Chinese scientific tradition and its interaction with Western science. An introductory overview and biographical assessments of Shen Kua and Wang Hsi-shan are included in the discussion.