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 Heart-Clutching (yongxin) fan, Deadly Crown Swelling (ding shazhang) and Horse and Monkey (mahou) fan.
According to the captions, the signs of these conditions are as follows: In Heart-Clutching fan, the patient has a swollen belly and clutches at her/his heart. If this illness continues for several days, it is likely to be incurable. It must be immediately treated with five measures of realgar (xionghuang), taken with water in one or two doses. If the belly echoes, recovery will ensue.
In Deadly Crown Swelling, the patient experiences pain in the head and heart, and has vomiting and diarrhoea. It is treated by striking the top of the head (dingmen, Crown Portal) with the application of cold water.
In Horse and Monkey fan, the patient suffers from headache, nausea and vomiting. It is treated by administering powder made from a leather whip calcined till brown, washed down with yellow rice wine.
