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C18 Chinese woodcut: Lurking-cold pharyngitis

Ming herbal (painting): Water chestnut

C19 Chinese paintings of famous physicians: Zhang Zhongjing

C19 Chinese MS moxibustion point chart: Quchi

Chinese Materia Medica illustration, Ming: Sesame of Jinzhou

C18 Chinese woodcut: White laryngitis

Chinese C18: Paediatric pox -- 'Nose Surrounding' pox

C20 Chinese medical illustration in trad. style: Face massage

Early C20 Chinese Lithograph: 'Fan' diseases

Chinese Qigong practice, from early C20 illustrated MS

Huitu zhenjiu yixue (Illustrated Acupuncture Made Easy), by Li Shouxian, was composed in 1798 (3rd year of the Jiaqing reign period of the Qing dynasty). It comprises two volumes (juan), plus a supplementary volume containing illustrations of the 'Seventy-two fan'.

 The 'Seventy-two fan' are not mentioned in any other early Chinese medical sources. Judging from the accounts given in this text, fan must be a generic term for a category of acute illness of unexplained origin. The word fan is qualified by names of animals and insects to characterise the external manifestations of these illnesses.

 This illustration shows the manifestations of Turtledove (banjiu) fan and Severing Knife (kandao) fan. 


 According to the captions, the signs of these conditions are as follows: In Turtledove fan, the head is outstretched, the limbs are cold, and the whole body trembles. This is treated by administering one or two twigs from a turtledove's nest, burnt to ash, washed down with yellow rice wine.


 In Severing Knife fan, the patient plucks at his/her mouth with both hands. To treat this, one should administer calcined and finely powdered stork's beak stork, to be taken with yellow rice wine.

Illustration of Weak Pulse from Renyuan maiying guizhi tushuo (Pictorial Handbook of Pulse Images Based on the Person). This is a specialist text on pulse diagnosis attributed to the third-century master Shuhe, edited and revised by Shen Jifen in the Ming period (1368-1644). It discusses various pulse images and the medical conditions to which they relate, and contains 48 pulse image diagrams. This undated edition was engraved and published in Japan. The text states: The pulse image of Weak Pulse (ruomai) is as follows. The rise and fall of the pulse can be felt only with a gentle touch; it is extremely soft, deep and thin, and feels like soggy cotton; if pressed, it virtually ceases. Weak Pulse is an indicator of lack of strength. When Weak Pulse is found at the cun (Inch) pulse sector of the wrist, it relates to spontaneous sweating and shortness of breath; at the guan (Pass) pulse sector, it relates to Qi deficiency (qi xu) and exogenous heat (kere) in the stomach; at the chi (Foot) pulse sector, it relates to deficiency of Qi and blood, and deficiency-heat (xure).

Chinese/Japanese Pulse Image chart: Weak Pulse (ruomai)

Yangsheng zazuan (Miscellaneous Compositions on Yang sheng/Nourishing Life), by an unknown author, was probably composed in the Ming period (1368-1644). The first and last pages of the book are damaged and fragmentary. The text deals chiefly with cultivating essence/sperm (jing) and procreation. It contains a few illustrations.

Yangsheng graphic: Ming Chinese woodcut

Youke san zhong (Three Books of Paediatrics) is a mid 20th century composite edition of three classics of paediatrics: Zengbu douzhen yusui jinjing lu (The Gold And Chalcedony Mirror of Pox Diseases, Expanded Edition) by Weng Zhongren (Ming period, 1368-1644), Youke tiejing (Iron Mirror of Paediatrics) by Xia Ding (Qing period, 1644-1911), and Xiao'er tuina guangyi (Overview of Paediatric tuina Massage) by Xiong Yingxiong (Qing period). A small number of illustrations are included in a supplement. This illustration of 'Waist Entwining' pox, in traditional ink and brush style, comes from The Gold And Chalcedony Mirror of Pox Diseases. The text states: The Kidney Channel (meridian) governs the lumbar region/waist. A pox (dou) encircling the waist is known as Waist Entwining (chanyao). It occurs when pox poisons are entrenched in the kidney. Treatment must focus on attacking the poisons.

Mid C20 Chinese medical illustration in trad. style: Smallpox

Illustration of 'Technique for nurturing the heart', finely executed colour painting from Daoyin tu (Diagrams of Therapeutic Movement [daoyin]), by Kun Lan (Qing period, 1644-1911), MS dated 1875 (1st year of the Guangxu reign period of the Qing dynasty). Daoyin tu contains explanations and illustrations of 24 daoyin techniques. They comprise 9 seated techniques, 6 standing techniques, 6 recumbent techniques, 2 squatting techniques, and one kneeling technique.

Daoyin technique to nurture the heart, C19 Chinese MS

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Chinese Medicine

Images

Catalogue

Early C20 Chinese Lithograph: 'Fan' diseases

Chinese/Japanese Pulse Image chart: Weak Pulse (ruomai)

Yangsheng graphic: Ming Chinese woodcut

Mid C20 Chinese medical illustration in trad. style: Smallpox

Daoyin technique to nurture the heart, C19 Chinese MS

Wellcome uses cookies.

Chinese Medicine

Images

Catalogue

Early C20 Chinese Lithograph: 'Fan' diseases

Chinese/Japanese Pulse Image chart: Weak Pulse (ruomai)

Yangsheng graphic: Ming Chinese woodcut

Mid C20 Chinese medical illustration in trad. style: Smallpox

Daoyin technique to nurture the heart, C19 Chinese MS

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