Case Records as Medical Stories: A Song-dynasty Doctor’s Narration of His Own Medicine-Xu Shuwei (1080-1154)

The key point in studying or teaching the history of Chinese medicine is on the doctrines underlying it and on its perception of the body,physiology,pathology,and its treatment.Namely,there is often a tendency to focus on reading and analysing the classical canons and therapy-related texts including formularies and materia medica collections.However,focusing on these sources provides us with a one-sided presentation of Chinese medicine.These primary sources lack the clinical down-to-earth know-how that encompasses medical treatment,which are represented,for instance,in the clinical rounds of modern medical schools.Our traditional focus on the medical canons and formularies provides almost no clinical knowledge,leaving us with a one-sided narrative that ignores how medicine and healing are actually practiced in the field.This paper focuses on the latter aspect of medicine from a historical perspective.Using written and visual sources dating to the Song dynasty,clinical encounters between doctors and patients including their families are depicted based on case records recorded by a physician,members of the patient’s family,and bystanders.This array of case records or case stories will enable us to narrate the interaction between physicians and patients both from the clinical perspective and from the social interaction.This paper will also discuss visual depictions of the medical encounter to provide another perspective for narrating medicine during the Song dynasty.Medical case records and paintings depicting medical encounters are exemplary of the potential of Chinese primary sources for narrative medicine.

Reacting to Epidemics:The Innovative Imperial Public Health System during the Late Northern Song Dynasty

Song China was a period in which China experienced a great increase in its population.Concurrently,the Song dynasty also experienced a rise in the frequency of epidemics and two major wars with the Western Xia and Liao dynasties during the 1000s and 1040s.The consequences of these changes were exacerbated by the increased geographical mobility of certain social groups such as traders and examinees attending civil service examinations.Thus,casualties of wars,epidemics,or disease,especially of people whose families were far away and could not care for them were left without care and“their corpses often lay bare along the roads.”This new social environment created a need for general relief.The Northern Song government(960-1127 CE),especially during the reign of Emperor Huizong,established an innovative public health system to address this issue.The public health system included poorhouses,public hospitals,and pauper’s cemeteries.The first were more of charity organizations,whereas the latter two promoted public health by providing medical services for the poor and burial for those that nobody cared for.In terms of rationale behind these institutions,on the one hand,they constituted an attempt to get the poor and homeless off the streets while providing them relief or burial.On the other hand,it seems that Huizong’s deep concern with medicine propelled him to design and implement a comprehensive public health system oriented to prevent contagion and outbreak of epidemics.This article depicts the background,the organization,and the functions of the system.The article also discusses the conditions and reasons that gave rise to such a unique undertaking by the Northern Song government.

A Study on the“Social Behavior”of Zen Poetry Culture:A Case Study of the Sui and Tang Dynasties

During the Sui and Tang dynasties,Buddhism and Zen poetry underwent great development.Zen poetry is diverse in form,strong in personality,and high in achievement.Among the types of Zen poetry are poems,lyrics,and prose,some of which have social attributes closely related to the development of Chinese Buddhism.An analysis reveals that the viewpoints and information conveyed in these poems,lyrics,and prose are positively correlated with the attitudes of the emperors towards Buddhism.When the attitude of the emperor towards Buddhism reached its peak of positivity during the Tang dynasty,there was a change towards a negative correlation with the viewpoints expressed in poetry.

Analysis of Style of Rockery Building and Stone Stacking Technique in the Royal Garden of the Song Dynasty: A Case Study of Genyue Royal Garden

Rockery building and stone stacking is a technique commonly used in building of classical gardens.Its emergence allows the fairy thought of"one pond and three mountains"to be reflected in different classical gardens.In the Northern Song Dynasty,the style of rockery building and stone stacking in the royal garden was an artistic climax in the history of the garden,and the technique of rockery building and stone stacking in Genyue Royal Garden was considered as the beginning of specialization.Through sorting out the records of the royal gardens in the Song Dynasty,this paper summarized the content of studying the royal gardens of the Song Dynasty,and systematically sorted out the development history of the techniques and styles of the royal gardens of the Song Dynasty and applied them into construction of some gardens.

Research on County Sheriff Post Reduction and Reset in the Tang Dynasty

Counties of the prim ary political zone have had distinction of hierarchy from the Q in and H an dynasties.T he criteria to distinguish hierarchy included size of population,differences of taxes num ber,com plexity of adm inistrative affairs and im portance of geographic location.All of these w ere to facilitate the adm inistrative m anagem ent. After the establishm ent of T ang dynasty,m any system s of Sui dynasty w ere inherited and the inheritance had its ow n advantages and disadvantages. As direct official of the herdsm en,the county sheriffs( X ian W ei) had a fixed num ber in the early T ang dynasty w hile the num-ber w as reduced because of dow nfall of states and counties during the period of Rebellion of An Lushan and Shi Sim ing in the reign of Suzong and D aizong.In the late T ang dynasty,as econom ic developm ent w as becom ing stable gradually,the central governm ent m ade appropriate adjustm ents to the system of county officials once again.

Writing and Criticism on the Zen Buddhism in Zen Notes During the Song Dynasty

Zennotes in the Song Dynasty are based on the use of scattered essays to record trivial fragments of Zen Buddhistmonks’ daily life, including Hui Hong’s Lin Jian Lu, Da Hui Pu Jue Chan Shi Zong Men Wu Ku edited by DaoQian, Xiao Ying’s Luo Hu Ye Lu and Yun Wo Ji Tan, Dao Rong’s Cong Lin Sheng Shi, and Huan Wu’s Ku YaMan Lu. Through Zennotes, it is possible to learn more about the life of Zen Buddhist masters in the SongDynasty and the actual development of Zen Buddhism, which were seldom investigated in past studies. Firstly,this study explains the cultural environment generated by Zennotes and the creative development of Zennotes inthe Song Dynasty, and then discusses the main content of Zennotes. Zennotes highlight the characters through thedescription of specific events and make the images and characters of Zen Buddhist monks become vivid on paper.They are the most direct historical material for mastering Zen Buddhist monks in the Song Dynasty. Secondly,Zennotes in the Song Dynasty record anecdotes about Zen Buddhist monks and the literati talking about Zen atthat time, demonstrating the lively and witty interactions between the two. Lastly, the authors of Zennotes oftenrevealed their personal concerns about the growth and decline of temples in the narrative. Based on the above,Zennotes have the value of historical recordings of trivia, and they are first-hand historical materials forconstructing the history of Zen in the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Sixun and the Prosperous Astronomy in the Song Dynasty

Chinese astronomy reached its pinnacle in the Song Dynasty(960-1279)as culture continued to prosper to a new height.The invention of the“Taiping Armillary Sphere”by Zhang Sixun,who was from Bazhong in the Shu area(today’s Sichuan province),marked a milestone in the astronomical development in China.This article delves into the driving forces behind Zhang Sixun’s outstanding contributions to astronomy from the perspectives of the important role of astronomy in the politics of the Song Dynasty,the great attention the imperial court paid to astronomy,and the influence of the Shu culture,which centers on the belief“Tian Shu Zai Shu”(the rule of the universe is best observed in Shu).

A Study of the Effects of Family Precepts,Rules and Ethics on Children’s Education During the Tang Dynasty

From the perspectives of the prosperity of the Sui and Tang dynasties,the rise and fall of the aristocrats and the prevalence of the imperial examination,this paper studies the impact of family precepts,rules,and ethics on children’s education.I believe that an important feature of family precepts in the Tang Dynasty was the development of the cultural tradition of poetry and literature study within the family,which promoted virtues like loyalty,filial piety,diligence,frugality and modesty and had a profound influence on future generations.The rise and fall of Tang Dynasty families was closely related to family precepts,rules,ethics,and learning.Famous and respectable families often regarded these traits as important means to maintain the family’s status,which objectively promoted the development of family scholarship and the importance of children’s education in the Tang Dynasty.The concept of learning as a“carry-on treasure”has become a common belief among scholars and has played a positive role in educating Chinese society,enriching our culture,and keeping society in order.

The“Emperor’s Edict”and the Emperor’s power in the Southern Song Dynasty

“Emperor’s Edict”refers to the writing of emperor himself.In the context of serving as official document,it refers to the special writ issued by emperor for sake of administering national affairs.In the official document system of Song Dynasty,“Emperor’s Edict”had always been an attention of the scholars and officials at that time due to its unusual functions in terms of drafting,promulgation and power.The Southern Song Dynasty was generally conceived by academic circles as a period when the“Administration by Emperor’s Edict”was gradually phased out.We did observe,however,with“Emperor’s Edict”placed in historical panorama of the early years of Southern Song Dynasty,an ever-strengthened power and prowess of“Emperor’s Edict”as backlit by several historical incidents such as Emperor Gaozong’s controlling and manipulating by“Emperor’s Edict”of the national armies.It reflects the political truth of strengthened imperial power in the Southern Song Dynasty.Hence,we can have access to another facet of the politics of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Evolution Characteristics of Spatial Layout of Ancient Chinese Capitals: A Case Study of Sui,Tang and Northern Song Dynasties With Important Changes in the Historical Development of Feudal Society

Imperial city and outer city are the most important differentiation of the spatial structure of ancient Chinese capitals.The relationship between city and Guo changed from the original spatial structure mode of "respecting the west" and "sitting in the west and facing the east" to the spatial structure mode of "sitting in the north and facing the south" and the three outer cities in the east,south and west surrounding the imperial city after the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties,and gradually changed from the original "multi palace" system to the "single palace" system.Finally,a "heavy city" capital spatial structure with the outer city around the imperial city and the imperial city around the palace city,and the central axis of the chessboard format was formed.During the Tang and Song Dynasties,it was a period of great change in the history of feudal society in China.Through the investigation of the evolution characteristics of the spatial form of capital cities in the Tang and Song Dynasties,the track of the transformation of social ideology,political system,economic structure and many other fields in the Tang and Song Dynasties was made clear.

On the Creation Background and the Influence of Wei Zhuang’s Famous Poem:Lament of a Northwestern Woman

Lament of a Northwestern Woman(Qin Fu Yin),composed by Wei Zhuang after the Huangchao uprising,is a long poem that showcases the sufferings of the civilians and embodies the people’s character of the poem,which is the profound empathy and compassion of the poet towards the civilians’plight.The poem was written during the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty in the year Gengmao(883 AD).2023 is also the year Gengmao,so this poem has existed for a remarkable 1140 years.For over a millennium,this long poem remained submerged in history until the opening of the Dunhuang Grottoes at the turn of the 20th century.The deep compassion and commiseration towards the underprivileged masses conveyed in this long poem are reminiscent of Du Fu’s renowned“Three Poems of Separation.”Moreover,it is widely believed that this poem foretells the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

“Commercial Revolution” in the Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty has been known in history for its great commercial success due to a series of events in the dynasty.In order to explain the reasons for economic success,this paper attempts to use factors such as political stability,discovery of new rice species in the South,the introduction of paper money by merchants from Sichuan in the South of China,and the increase in iron production especially in the North.Specialisation of products is also discussed separately but into details.A further mention of characteristics of the internal and international trade is also highlighted in this paper.An introduction of how the Song dynasty was founded and its distinct political,social and cultural characteristics,are delved into.Also the separation of northern Song Dynasty from the southern Song dynasty will be discussed.The paper concludes with combined interpretations from the famous“Qing Ming Shag He Tu”painting.This painting gives a somewhat illustrated evidence of the vibrancy of the Song Dynasty’s commercialisation recorded in history.

Measurement of transient thickness between the body and graze layers of ancient porcelains using microprobe EDXRF technique

The oxide contents of TiO2, MnO, SrO and Fe2O3 in the body and graze layers of the Jiao-Tan-Xia (JTX) and Lao-Hu-Dong (LHD) porcelains in Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.) have been determined using an In- ternational Eagle-II μ-probe EDXRF spectrometer. The results show that the contents in the body are much different from those in the graze one. Therefore, the transient thickness (TT) between the body and graze layers can be meas- ured through determination of a distance of the drift change in the chemical contents. The TT average for the JTX porcelains is 161μm, while that for the LHD porcelains is 258μm, which are consistent with a range of 0.15-0.3mm in the Ru-Yao porcelains. The different TT is related to the variances in firing temperature and raw material for manu- facturing the respective porcelains.

Application of Garden Design Style in Tang Dynasty to the Design of Modern City Public Gardens: A Case Study of Tang Paradise

Public garden, as a type of Chinese classical garden, is an important historical heritage and cultural landscape of the current traditional city. However, under the background of modern urbanization, urban living environment is out of the traditional history and culture and facing such issue as cement jungle. In order to improve the living environment and make the city coordinate with the natural environment, the development of modern urban gardens needs inheritance and development of traditional garden practices. The planning and design methods with scientific guidance were studied in this paper through exploring the application of garden design style in Tang Dynasty in the design of modern city public gardens, so as to inherit the classical garden culture and create a city open space that meets the needs of contemporary citizens as well.

The Research on the Battle of Yanmen Pass

During the war between Liao Dynasty(907-1125)and Northern Song Dynasty(960-1127),there was a classic battle that happened in Yanmen Pass(located in today’s Dai County,Xinzhou,Shanxi Province,China).It was a well known battle of ancient China because a commander of the Song army named Yang Ye(?-986)was really famous in both classical Chinese fictions and Chinese war history.He is the early protagonist of a famous Chinese classic fiction named The Romance of the Yang family’s generals(written in the 16th century,Ming Dynasty of China).The story of his family also appears in other novels.Besides,in history,he was a general who was active in the early stages of the war between Liao Dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty.The battle of Yanmen Pass(980)was one of the most important battles of Yang’s military career.His combat style especially his cavalry tactic can be summarized through researching this battle.

Artistic Features of Gardens in Southern Song Dynasty

Based on the discussion of gardens in song dynasty,the artistic characteristics of gardens in southern song dynasty are analyzed from the four perspectives of poetry and painting style,stone piling and water designing,architectural form and plant cultivation.The gardens of southern song dynasty embody the regional and cultural characteristics of Jiangnan.The aesthetic appreciation of gardens infl uenced by the style of poetry and painting highlights the artistic characteristics of false or true complement,soft and elegant,and tends to be popularized.Mountain stones are stacked into peaks and waters are designed according to local conditions.The architectural forms are strewn at random,exquisite and elegant.Landscape plants present varying sceneries with changing view-points,and naming echo with scenes to enhance the artistic value of landscape.It is hoped that the status of garden art of southern song dynasty in the history of Chinese classical gardens can be evaluated more scientifi cally and objectively through the research,and some reliable theoretical basis can be provided for modern garden design.

The Silk Road:Boosting the Textile Industry in Tang Dynasty

At the height of the Tang Dynasty,trading on the Silk Road reached its peak,which brought opportunities for the development of the textile industry.The Silk Road broadened the domestic and foreign textiles market,influenced Han people’s aesthetic and consumption concepts,and promoted textile trading.The Silk Road expanded the categories of textile products and promoted trading and innovation.It facilitated the exchange of textile technology and formed a virtuous cycle of“export-development overseas-import”.The development of the textile industry relied on both traditional technology and foreign technology,which was reflected in the achievements in printing,dyeing,and brocade,and laid a superb technical foundation for the development of the textile industry later.