Understanding the prevention and cure of plagues in Daoist medicine

Daoist medicine,a special form of traditional Chinese medicine with distinct Daoist styles,has played an important role in the history of plague control in ancient China.Emerged from the pandemics at the end of the Han Dynasty(146 C.E.-220 C.E.),Daoism,the native Chinese religion,has always had a religious mission to end the spread of plagues;thus,it has actively participated in treating plagues through various techniques of medicine and religion.In the practice of plague treatment for thousands of years,Daoist medicine has developed a special etiology of plague that includes Qi-based theories(Qi is considered to be the force that informs and animates all things in Daoism,thus,plague is also considered to be caused by specific and hazardous Qi.)and worm-based theories,forming a strategy of plague control that includes prevention before an epidemic,active treatment during the epidemic,and recovery after the epidemic;these developed plague prevention methods combine isolation,disinfection,and drug use.Additionally,it is the first to practice a primitive immunoprophylaxis method that uses tissues and secretions of infected persons and animals to infect healthy individuals to gain disease immunity.It has formed a plague treatment method mainly based on drug treatment and ritual treatment,supplemented by acupuncture and physical treatment.It has left behind many effective drugs and prescriptions for plague treatment,some of which have a wide clinical application.Hence,Daoist medicine has made great contributions to plague control in Chinese history.Its strategies,methods,medicines,and prescriptions for plague control still have considerable theoretical and application today,especially in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic.

From religious manual to herbal pharmacopoeia:a textual study of the formation and transformation of Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica

The earliest Ben Cao Jing(Classics of Materia Medica;25 C.E.–220 C.E.)appeared during the reign of the Han Dynasty(202 B.C.E.–220 C.E.);their origins are traceable to the religious group called Fang Xian Dao.In addition to their use as a medical reference,the Ben Cao Jing works were also used for religious purposes.Tao Hongjing(456 C.E.–536 C.E.),a famous doctor and Daoist(one member of the Chinese local religion,Daoism)of the Liang Dynasty(502 C.E.–557 C.E.),compiled the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu(Variorum of Classics of Materia Medica;456 C.E.–536 C.E.)based on the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing(Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica;25 C.E.–220 C.E.).During the compilation of this book,Tao made a radical medical revision to the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing,by reducing its religious contents while complementing its medical contents.After such revisions,the ancient Ben Cao Jing was transformed from a religious manual into an herbal pharmacopoeia.

Daoist theories and techniques of longevity and their influence on traditional Chinesemedicine

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has rich theories and techniques for health maintenance.Its cultural tradition of emphasizing health maintenance is not only related to its medical function of treating injuries and diseases and prolonging life span but also closely related to Daoism,which is the fundamental religious tenet of pursuing immortality in Chinese culture.As this paper reviews,the fanatical Daoist religious culture of pursuing immortality has influenced the formation of a medical culture in TCM that cares about longevity and values health and wellness.However,this health and wellness culture is more practical–it replaces immortality with longevity as the goal.The Daoist religious concept of longevity is preserved in the basic principles and ethical values of health care:it emphasizes the harmony and consistency of the spirit and the body.It turns a lifestyle of maintaining physical and spiritual health into the pursuit of an ideal state of life.As for the specific Daoist health techniques,there are various cases of inheritance,change or abandonment:TCM inherited most of the drugs and prescriptions from the Daoist longevity techniques based on natural medicines taking and formed a popular health culture of medicinal and dietary supplements;TCM also developed internal health techniques such as internal elixir and breathing practice from Daoist internal health maintenance techniques for physical health care and disease treatment;TCM did not completely accept recipe techniques such as inedia and sex manual from Daoism because they contradicted with its secularization concept,but their general value orientation of lightness and low desire also influenced its concept of health care.