Sun Simiao
Sun Simiao(traditional Chinese:Tôn Tư Mạc;simplified Chinese:Tôn Tư Mạc;pinyin:Sūn Sīmiǎo;Wade–Giles:Sun Ssu-miao;died 682) was a Chinese physician and writer of theSuiandTang dynasty.He was titled as China'sKing of Medicine(Dược Vương;Dược Vương,Yaowang) for his significant contributions toChinese medicineand tremendous care to his patients.
Books
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Sun wrote two books—Beiji qianjin yaofang( "Essential Formulas for Emergencies [Worth] a Thousand Pieces/Catty of Gold" ) andQian Jin Yi Fang( "Supplement to the Formulas of a Thousand Gold Worth" )—that were both milestones in the history of Chinese medicine, summarizing pre-Tang dynastymedicine.[1]The former listed about 5300 recipes for medicines, and the latter 2000. He also put forth the “Thirteen measures to keep health”, which claimed that actions like touching hair, rolling eyes, walking, and shaking heads improved health.[1]
Apart from this, he is known for the text "On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians," often called "the Chinese Hippocratic Oath,"or called"Dayi Heart",which comes from the first chapter of the first of the above-mentioned two books. This portion of the book is still a required reading for Chinese physicians. The following is an excerpt of the text:
A Great Physician should not pay attention to status, wealth or age; neither should he question whether the particular person is attractive or unattractive, whether he is an enemy or friend, whether he is a Chinese or a foreigner, or finally, whether he is uneducated or educated. He should meet everyone on equal grounds. He should always act as if he were thinking of his close relatives.[2]
The workEssential Subtleties on the Silver Sea(Bạc hải tinh vi,yínhǎi jīngwēi) was probably written by Sun Simiao. It was published at the end of theYuan dynasty(1271−1368) and has had wide influence on theChinese ophthalmologyuntil today.[3]
In addition to his medical work, Sun also experimented in Chinesewaidanexternal alchemy and may have been an initiated Daoist adept.[4]The sinologistNathan Sivinsays Sun Simiao's famousDanjing yaojueĐan kinh muốn quyết"Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics"
[...] is as close to a modern laboratory handbook as anything we are likely to find in ancient literature. Following a preface and a catalogue of elixir names, there is a set of detailed specifications for necessities of the laboratory, including theliuyiniSáu một bùn"six-one" lute which was universally employed in Chinese pharmacology and alchemy for the hermetical sealing of reaction vessels. Finally, there are the recipes themselves: ingredients grouped at the beginning, with weight and advance preparation clearly noted, and perspicacious, concise directions for compounding and using the products.[5]
References
[edit]- ^abSun Simiao, King of Medicine, Cultural China
- ^Sass, Hans-Martin (September 2005)."Emergency Management in Public Health Ethics: Triage, Epidemics, Biomedical Terror and Warfare"(PDF).Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 15.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-07-19.
- ^Agnes Fatrai, Stefan Uhrig (eds.): Chinese Ophthalmology – Acupuncture, Herbal Therapy, Dietary Therapy, Tuina and Qigong. Tipani-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2015,ISBN978-3-9815471-1-5.
- ^Sivin 1968.
- ^Sivin 1968,p. 50.
Bibliography
[edit]- Sivin, Nathan (1968).Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
External links
[edit]- Sun Simiao: Author of the Earliest Chinese Encyclopedia for Clinical Practice— Subhuti Dharmananda
- 682 deaths
- 7th-century Chinese physicians
- 7th-century Chinese writers
- Chinese centenarians
- Men centenarians
- Chinese medical writers
- Chinese non-fiction writers
- Sui dynasty physicians
- Sui dynasty writers
- Northern Wei people
- Northern Zhou people
- Physicians from Shaanxi
- Tang dynasty science writers
- Writers from Tongchuan
- 7th-century Taoists