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 Crow fan, Dog fan, White-Eye (baiyan) fan and Ant fan.
According to the captions, the signs of these conditions are as follows:
In Crow and Dog fan, the patient suffers from pain and heaviness in the head; the head itches and the eyes grow dim; the patient clutches at his/her heart. Starting with the finger-nails, the whole body turns blue. There is vomiting and diarrhea. The patient is unable to speak. The lower abdomen is painful. To treat this: If the patient's jaws are locked, they can be prised open with a bamboo chopstick. If, on lifting the tongue, red, yellow, black or purple blister-like swellings are found underneath it, they should be lanced with a needle so as to draw blood, and realgar (xionghuang) powder or gunpowder should be applied. If this is ineffective, a decoction of pine or fir bark, eclipta prostrata(?) (zhuyacao) and pink (qumai; dianthus superbus/chinensis) seeds can be administered internally. After taking this medicine, the patient should be covered with quilts to produce a sweat, and must not be exposed to wind or consume rice [solid food] for three days.
In White-Eye fan, the eyes roll up showing the whites. This is treated with moxibustion, applying a moxa cone to the top of the head (dingmen, Crown Portal) three times. If this does not help, three further moxa cones can be used.
In Ant fan, the patient has a sensation of malaise in the heart, and the body arches like the body of an insect. Red, blue or black blister-like swellings are found under the tongue. To treat this: [the following text appears in Image 167] [the passage that follows appears in Image L0039466] Lance the vescicles with a needle so as to draw blood. The blood must be spat out, and must not be swallowed. Stir-fry bran and rub it into the body, then wash once by immersion in bran water, and give the patient half a bowl of bran water to drink.
