“定州眼药”方剂渊源考

On the Origin of “Dingzhou Eye Ointment”

“定州眼药”在清末至民国时期曾盛极一时,传承至今尚存白敬宇、马应龙、张齐珠三家。各家“定州眼药”方剂配方类似,皆以炉甘石、冰片、麝香、珍珠、硼砂等药物为主要成分。主要治疗眼部炎症,剂型用法也相类似。这些相似性提示它们可能来源相同。“定州眼药”老字号多自述创始自明朝末年,但目前有文献佐证的历史仅可上溯至清末。其方药的渊源应该更为悠久,从中医药古籍中考察,金元时期的中医药方书中已有相似的眼药雏形,明代出现类似外用眼药方剂,清前期已有“熊胆膏”(《张氏医通》)等较定型化的类似方剂,至清末“定州眼药”成为中医外用眼药主流。如果以更广阔的视野观察,其方剂组方符合古希腊—罗马医学使用炉甘石等矿物药配合香料药来制作眼药的传统。用药多是外来药物,也多是阿拉伯医学眼科常用药物。组方思路与阿拉伯四体液医学思想吻合。在阿拉伯医学经典《阿维森纳医典》中有类似的方剂,“定州眼药”可能源自古代阿拉伯医学。可以将“定州眼药”作为丝绸之路外来医药知识传入我国并融入中医药体系,不断传承应用发展,至今仍在为我国人民健康福祉服务的典型案例来进一步研究。

“Dingzhou Eye Ointment” was once very popular from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.Up until today, Bai Jingyu, Ma Yinglong and Zhang Qizhu are the three brands that still carry on the prescription. The formula of these different brands of “Dingzhou eye ointment” is similar, with calamine, borneol, borax, musk, pearl, and other herbs as the main ingredients.They are all mainly for the treatment of eye inflammation, the dosage for usage of these is also similar, which indicated that they may be of the same origin. According to the self introduction of the time-honored brand“Dingzhou Eye Ointment”, it was created from the late Ming Dynasty, but the current historical documents can only be chased back to the late Qing Dynasty.Indeed the origin of the prescriptions should enjoy much longer history. From the investigation and research on ancient traditional Chinese medicine books, there were similar prototypes of eye ointment in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions in the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and similar eye ointment prescriptions for external use appeared in the Ming Dynasty. In the early Qing Dynasty, there were relatively fixed similar prescriptions such as “bear bile ointment”(Zhang Shi Yi Tong), and in the late Qing Dynasty, “Dingzhou eye ointment”had become the mainstream used medicine for external use. If viewed from a broader perspective, the prescriptions are in accordance with the tradition of ancient Greek-Roman medicine using mineral drugs such as adopting calamine combined with spice medicine to make eye ointment.The adopted medicines are mostly imported drugs from outside China, but they were mostly used in medical ophthalmology in Arabian countries. The idea of formulating prescriptions is consistent with the Arabian four kind of body fluid medical theory. There are similar prescriptions in Al-Qānūn fī al-Tibb, or The Canon of Medicine, the Abrabian medicinal classic work. “Dingzhou Eye Ointment” can be derived from ancient Arabic medicine. Dingzhou Eye Ointment can be further studied as a typical case where foreign medical knowledge from the Silk Road was introduced into China and integrated into the traditional Chinese medicine system. Further studies can be made upon it as a typical case in continuous application and serving the health of Chinese people.