“学医”与“求仙”:中国传统社会早期的医学认知

Studying Medicine and Seeking Immortality:Early Medical Cognition in Traditional Chinese Society

中国传统医学产生于人对自然的观察与应用实践之中。在自然伟力下,传统社会早期自然产生对不老不死之“神仙”的信仰与向往,并试图通过修习达到成仙的目的。从《史记·扁鹊仓公列传》中“秦越人学医”与《后汉书·方术列传》中“费长房求仙”两则文本的记载来看,恰呈现早期“医生”与“仙人”的两类角色代表在各自社会阶层的身份特征、为人处世的性格特征以及学习医术/仙术的过程中的异名同质。医学以“祛病”为术,仙法以“长生”为道。通过却谷食气或是服食药物达到祛病养生的目的,这一行为本身就是“求仙”所必须借助的手段。在后世发展中,仙术传承中“得人为要”的严选模式与“行善立功德”的甄选标准又与儒家所推崇的“仁者”“仁心”相结合,逐渐演化为中国传统医学对从医者的道德要求,形成了后世“医为仁术”的核心观念。

Chinese traditional medicine originated from human's observation and application of nature.Under the great power of nature,people developed a faith and desire for immortals who didn't age or die,and they tried to be immortal by practicing in early traditional society.The two texts of“Qin Yueren Studied Medicine”in The Historical Records and“Fei Zhangfang Sought Immortal”in The History of the Later Han Dynasty reveal the conceptual parallel between early roles of doctors and immortals in terms of the identity of their social classes,the characteristics of their behavior and the process of studying medicine/immortal.Medicine is aimed at curing diseases,while immortality is aimed at longevity.Curing diseases and maintaining wellness by replenishing qi without eating or taking medicine are necessary means of seeking immortality.In later development,the strict selection model for selecting talents and the selection criteria based on good deeds in the inheritance of immortality were combined with benevolence that Confucianism promotes,which gradually evolving to the ethical requirement for medical practitioners of traditional medicine in China,and it formed the core concept that healing people is benevolence subsequently.