ABSTRACT

The pantheon of the Chinese gods of medicine is a large one. According to ancient legends, the origin of Chinese medicine is attributed to the Emperor Shen Nung, who is said to have lived about 2700 b.c. Among other sources of Chinese medicine found in ancient books is the important encyclopædia, the Golden Mirror, a work in forty volumes, attributed to I Ts’ong Chin Chien, that is to say, the Imperial writer on the medical art. The most important part of Chinese medicine is found in its materia medica. Wong and Wu’s history of Chinese medicine contains an invaluable account of this ancient literature. Revulsive medicines are much used by the Chinese in order to excite the activity of the Yang. The harmony or discord of the organism can be recognized by examining the pulse, which is thus fundamental for all medicine. The teaching of medicine was always confided to a superior college of physicians.