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Research by Region
China
Medicine, Religion and Society in Medieval China
The Dunhuang manuscripts and medicine
Two catalogues of the medical manuscripts from Dunhuang are available in Chinese. Both were compiled in the People's Republic of China, and take for granted a view of what counts as 'medical' which systematically excludes any text open to the charge of 'superstition'. And yet, in medieval China, medicine and religion were closely intertwined. This is clearly borne out by the existence of a department of exorcisms at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, and by the descriptions of various magico-religious practices which survive in the medical literature despite the effects of censorship. Examples of this are to be found in the work of Sun Simiao, the greatest acknowledged physician of the 7th Century. The aim of our project is to study medieval Chinese medicine in its social and religious context.
Since no general study of the Dunhuang medical manuscripts currently exists in any Western language, the initial phase of the project will be concerned with the presentation of the manuscripts. With the aid of the two existing catalogues, we will redefine the corpus and undertake a systematic classification of the manuscripts. In describing the manuscripts, we will focus on their significance from the point of view of the history of medicine and medical practices in medieval China, a period for which few medical sources are extant. This phase will lead to an initial publication.
The second phase of our research will involve specialised studies not only in the history of medicine and medical practices, but also the social, religious and local context of these practices. This will take us beyond the confines of the medical corpus in the exclusive sense of the term. This research will centre on three main themes:
1. History of medicine and medical practices
2. Medicine and religious and divinatory practices
3. Medicine, social phenomena and everyday life
1. History of medicine and medical practices
This will focus not only on widely attested practices but also on others, such as fumigations, ablutions and remedies to be inserted in the ear, which are less well documented in the Classical medical literature. Crucially, the new sources provided by the Dunhuang manuscripts will allow us to obtain a far clearer picture of methods of acupuncture and moxibustion, pulse diagnosis and drug remedies at this time. In particular, we will establish a systematic and analytical inventory of the remedies attested in the medical prescriptions and in the five botanical manuscripts.
2. Medicine and religious and divinatory practices
We will supplement the medical corpus, as previously defined, with calendars and almanachs, most of which make some mention of illnesses, as well as certain texts on divination. We will also include religious manuscripts of a pseudo-Tantric or Daoist character, which involve the use of astrological, exorcistic and religious practices to cure disease. Many of these are apocryphal texts influenced by Buddhism and Indian medicine. Texts of this kind, in conjunction with sources found among the medical manuscripts, should allow us to trace the influence of Indian medicine on the Chinese medicine of the period, a subject for which few primary sources are available apart from the Dunhuang manuscripts.
3. Medicine and everyday life
Lastly, our research will encompass documents such as letters and contracts, which may contain references to illnesses, the acquisition of remedies or other matters relevant to medicine. Documents of this nature will generate, in particular, research into medicine and everyday life.
These three topics cannot possibly be adequately explored in the 4 years at our disposal. There will be time to complete only a certain number of research projects. This will lead to a colloquium followed by a publication.
Research team
- Catherine Despeux, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), joint project leader on behalf of URA 1063 of the Centre Nationale de Recherches Scientifiques (CNRS) and the Chinese Studies Centre of INALCO.
- Donald Harper, Chicago University
- Elizabeth Hsü, School of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge
- Vivienne Lo, Lecturer, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL
- Marc Kalinowski, Director of Studies, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Section 5
- Christine Mollier, Researcher, CNRS
- Fang Lin, Library of Institut des Hautes Etudes Chinoises
- Georges Métailié, Director of Research, CNRS
- Wang Shumin, Research Fellow, Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing
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