Early C20 Chinese Lithograph: 'Fan' diseases

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 Long Snake (changshe) fan, Toad fan and Sow fan. According to the captions, the signs of these conditions are as follows: In Long Snake fan, the patient writhes on the ground, and the abdomen is distended. To treat this, the navel is first needled three times, then the top of the head (dingmen, Crown Portal) is needled once, the soles of the feet are each needled once, and tobacco tar is applied externally. This will produce recovery. In Toad fan, the abdomen is distended. This can be treated by needling the area around the navel seven times, and the lower abdomen three times. In Sow fan the patient appears to root in the earth like a pig. This can be treated by needling first the root of the tongue, then the index, middle, ring and little fingers of both hands, once each. After this, the patient should be given water from a pig's trough to drink.

TITLE: Long Snake (changshe) fan; Toad fan; Sow fan. CAPTIONS: See 'Description of Image Content'