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  • Dissemination and In?uence of Song O?cial Medical Book of Taiping Sheng Hui Fang in East Asia
Jounal : Chinese Medical Culture
Author : HAN Yi    
YEAR : 2023-10-15
Vol. : 18
No. : 5
Page : 403-417
Abstract : Taiping Sheng Hui Fang (《太平圣惠方》Taiping Holy Formulary for Universal Relief) was the ?rst o?cial medical formulary compiled by the Song government, and also was the earliest existing literature of its kind in the history of China. It represented the highest achievements in the development of medical theory, clinical medicine and formula knowledge in the early Song Dynasty. The book was actively disseminated in the Korean Peninsula and Japan by envoys, monks, businessmen, etc., and was highly valued by Korean physicians in Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties, and Japanese physicians of Heian, Kamakura and Edo Periods. After the book was introduced to the Korean Peninsula, there appeared a Korean print edition, but it was not passed down, and most of its contents was transcribed into the Yu Xiu Yi Fang Lei Ju (《御修医方类聚》Royal Compilation of Classi?ed Formulary). When the book was spread to Japan, not only was the Song edition handed down, but there also developed Japanese-printed edition on the 5th-year of Tianming Period and a large number of manuscripts, excerpts and photocopies afterwards. The bibliography books written by Korean and Japanese scholars recorded the author, catalogue, volume and editions of Taiping Sheng Hui Fang, and the medical books by Korean and Japanese physicians quoted from it extensively the knowledge regarding diseases and diagnosis of TCM internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics and ENT medicine, formulae, acupuncture and moxibustion and health preservation, all of which was widely used in disease treatment, drug production and medical education in Korea and Japan. Since the late Qing and the Republic of China, the Japanese manuscripts of Taiping Sheng Hui Fang have returned to China, supplementing the missing contents in the text of its Chinese counterpart, and playing an important role in the history of medical literature exchanges in East Asian.