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 Scorpion fan, Gecko (xiehu) fan, and Millipede/Centipede (youzi) fan. According to the captions, the signs of these conditions are as follows:
In Scorpion fan, the patient clutches at the heart and collapses to the ground, bending the legs like a scorpion. This can be treated by administering gecko (xiehu, lit. scorpion tiger) feet, calcined till brown and powdered, washed down with yellow rice wine.
In Gecko fan, the head shakes and the arms wave about, and purple boils appear underneath the tongue. This is treated by lancing the boils with a needle and applying realgar (xionghuang) powder.
In Millipede/Centipede fan, the patient collapses to the ground clutching the heart; the hands clasp the cheeks and the legs are bent. This is treated by administering stork's beak, calcined till brown and powdered, washed down with yellow rice wine.
