Acute pathologies, infantile diarrhoea, Chinese lithograph

Lithograph from Huitu shajing hebi (Illustrated Compendium of Acute Pathologies), published in 1911 (3rd year of the Xuantong reign period of the Qing dynasty). This is a specialised text dealing with shabing - a category of sudden, acute diseases. It contains descriptions of 44 conditions, each accompanied by an illustration. This presentation of the paediatric disorder xieli jingzheng (dysentery shock syndrome) combines expository prose, mnemonic verse and visual imagery. The illustration shows a naked little boy with pigtails, sitting on a chamber pot in sign that he is suffering from diarrhoea. He has a pained expression on his face. Xieli jingzheng is generally caused by excessive eating or drinking, or an imbalance of cold and heat in the diet. According to this text, it can be treated by needling the middle of the nose, the crown of the head, the upper breast (rushang), the navel etc.

Picture title: Other lettering: Below the picture is a quatrain, setting out the causes and treatment of infantile diarrhoea, as cited in 'Description of Image Content'.