Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment -
The efforts of the state and the literati, such as the implementation of beneficent politics(仁政) and the rectification of folk customs, led to the alteration of the medical environment throughout the Song period. Epidemics with a severe impact that occurred frequently were what started the transitio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society for the History of Medicine
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Uisahak |
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| Online Access: | http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-3-547.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811170597257871360 |
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| author | Hanshin KIM |
| author_facet | Hanshin KIM |
| author_sort | Hanshin KIM |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The efforts of the state and the literati, such as the implementation of beneficent politics(仁政) and the rectification of folk customs, led to the alteration of the medical environment throughout the Song period. Epidemics with a severe impact that occurred frequently were what started the transition. Urbanization, increased transit accessibility, and population growth have all contributed to the emergence of epidemics. In addition, a disease that was indigenous to southern China, where regional development and population expansion were focused, started to spread widely. When an epidemic spread, the local population occasionally received medical care, but most of the time they relied on spiritual care from the neighborhood shaman or spirit medium. Spiritual treatment is utilized to treat malignant infectious diseases, even though professional doctors primarily focus on treating patients with traditional medicine. By editing and releasing publications on medicine at the national level, the Song dynasty government and intellectuals encouraged the development and transmission of efficient treatment procedures to advance medical practices. Meanwhile, folk remedies or medical prescriptions discovered by renowned scholars like Su Shi(蘇軾) and Shen Kuo((沈括) were included in the medical book and made available to the general public. Although there was a difference of opinion between the Song government and intellectuals, they commonly rejected shamanistic treatment and pursued the spread of medicine treatment through the transmission of codified medical knowledge. In the end, the spread of the epidemic and the subsequent transmission and development of Song dynasty medicine had a significant impact on the emergence of codified medicine treatment, but this was not solely to advance medical knowledge; it also served to further their political and ideological objectives. As a result, the following Jin(金) and Yuan(元) dynasties’ physicians instantly criticized the Song dynasty’s medical advancements. It is indisputable, however, that the medical development of the Song dynasty had a considerable influence on later Chinese medical practice in that it established the ideological superiority of formal and orthodox therapy over traditional and heterodox spiritual care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:59:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ef6723410ce40a3bce7e846d02a7c26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1225-505X 2093-5609 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:59:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society for the History of Medicine |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Uisahak |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ef6723410ce40a3bce7e846d02a7c262023-02-06T23:16:54ZengKorean Society for the History of MedicineUisahak1225-505X2093-56092022-12-0131354757710.13081/kjmh.2022.31.5472423Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment -Hanshin KIMThe efforts of the state and the literati, such as the implementation of beneficent politics(仁政) and the rectification of folk customs, led to the alteration of the medical environment throughout the Song period. Epidemics with a severe impact that occurred frequently were what started the transition. Urbanization, increased transit accessibility, and population growth have all contributed to the emergence of epidemics. In addition, a disease that was indigenous to southern China, where regional development and population expansion were focused, started to spread widely. When an epidemic spread, the local population occasionally received medical care, but most of the time they relied on spiritual care from the neighborhood shaman or spirit medium. Spiritual treatment is utilized to treat malignant infectious diseases, even though professional doctors primarily focus on treating patients with traditional medicine. By editing and releasing publications on medicine at the national level, the Song dynasty government and intellectuals encouraged the development and transmission of efficient treatment procedures to advance medical practices. Meanwhile, folk remedies or medical prescriptions discovered by renowned scholars like Su Shi(蘇軾) and Shen Kuo((沈括) were included in the medical book and made available to the general public. Although there was a difference of opinion between the Song government and intellectuals, they commonly rejected shamanistic treatment and pursued the spread of medicine treatment through the transmission of codified medical knowledge. In the end, the spread of the epidemic and the subsequent transmission and development of Song dynasty medicine had a significant impact on the emergence of codified medicine treatment, but this was not solely to advance medical knowledge; it also served to further their political and ideological objectives. As a result, the following Jin(金) and Yuan(元) dynasties’ physicians instantly criticized the Song dynasty’s medical advancements. It is indisputable, however, that the medical development of the Song dynasty had a considerable influence on later Chinese medical practice in that it established the ideological superiority of formal and orthodox therapy over traditional and heterodox spiritual care.http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-3-547.pdfsong dynastyliteratiepidemicsspiritual treatmentshanghanlun(傷寒論)codified medicine treatmentsouthern china |
| spellingShingle | Hanshin KIM Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - Uisahak song dynasty literati epidemics spiritual treatment shanghanlun(傷寒論) codified medicine treatment southern china |
| title | Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - |
| title_full | Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - |
| title_fullStr | Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - |
| title_short | Epidemics and Medical Responses in the Song Dynasty - Exclusion of Shamanistic Treatment and Propagation of Codified Medicine Treatment - |
| title_sort | epidemics and medical responses in the song dynasty exclusion of shamanistic treatment and propagation of codified medicine treatment |
| topic | song dynasty literati epidemics spiritual treatment shanghanlun(傷寒論) codified medicine treatment southern china |
| url | http://www.medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-31-3-547.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hanshinkim epidemicsandmedicalresponsesinthesongdynastyexclusionofshamanistictreatmentandpropagationofcodifiedmedicinetreatment |