印度医学中的概念和实践——以《妙闻集》和《遮罗迦集》为例

Medicine in the Civilization of Ancient India——Discussing Through Sus'ruta-saṃhitāand Caraka-samhitā

印度历史上出现了很多医学体系:起源于印度远古时期的阿育吠陀(又名“生命吠陀”),在公元前最后几个世纪与希腊医学的一些交流,公元初期起源自泰米尔纳德邦(Tamilnādu)的悉达医学体系(siddha)。最古老的当属阿育吠陀,文献几乎全部用梵语写成。吠陀文献基本上是宗教性质的,在这些文献中,第一次出现了解剖及医学词汇,并论述了关于人体体质的理论观念,尤其是关于宇宙及人体原质连续相关性的想法。公元前后,两本伟大的医学专著——《妙闻集》(Susruta-Samhitā)和《遮罗迦集》(Caraka-Samhitā)论证了古代阿育吠陀。这两部文献是观察和理论相结合形成的医疗活动成果。此外,还提出了一种认识论,以供医生使用。本文将先介绍印度医学史,并针对以下主题介绍这两部著作中的观念:第一,关于身体和人体构成的概念,这些概念是同时期形成的数论(Samkhya)和胜论(Vaisesika)哲学体系在医学上的体现;第二,关于三元素的生理学理论,即风、痰、胆,医生认为这三种元素与健康和疾病状态相关;第三,在文化和宗教背景下的医学认识论和伦理学。

There have been several types of medicine throughout India's history:āyurveda known for its ancient foundations,some exchanges with Greek medicine in the last centuries before the Common Era and a system called siddha which originated in Tamil Nadu from the beginning of the Christian era.Āyurveda is the earliest type of medicine to appear.The source that informs us about it is almost entirely written in Sanskrit.The fundamentally religious Vedic texts have an early anatomical and medical vocabulary and expressed theoretical ideas about the nature of the human person,including the idea of a continuity of the matter of the universe and that of the human body.Around the Christian era,the classicalāyurveda is attested in two large,specifically medical works:Susruta-saṃhitāand Carakasaṃhitā.These two long texts are presented as the culmination of medical activity combining observation and theory.Moreover,they propose an epistemology for the use of physicians.After some historical contextualization,the article will examine the ideas presented in these two works on the following topics:Firstly,ideas about the constitution of the body and the human person which are often partial adaptations of medicine from the philosophical systems known as Samkhya and Vaisesika that were formed at the same time.Secondly,the physiological theory of the three elements-breath,phlegm,bile-considered by the physician in relation to the state of good health and illness.Thirdly,epistemology and deontology specific to the physician in his or her cultural and religious context.