Abstract
In this case Xu Shuwei discusses the consequences of incorrect diagnosis and treatment for a Cold Damage disorder. The other doctor in the case applied two drugs (minerals in this case) that are rather toxic, failing to affect the disorder and only complicating matters. He also applied a warming and drying formula that drove the pathogenic heat deeper into the body, causing internal damage and causing the disorder to settle in the intestine and bowels. Xu, after stepping in, applied a formula that he was the first to record. He may have obtained the formula from another physician or curer and used it in his clinic.
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Notes
- 1.
The text does not specify where the drainage took place.
- 2.
See Scheid et al. 2009, pp. 427–428. The character “xia 下,” which means “down” or “drain downward,” does not fit well here since this is not a purgative medicine.
- 3.
Apparently Xu was the first to record this powder. However, this formula is also mentioned in passim in the Northern Song Daoist formulary Immortals’ Recipes for Urgent Care 急救仙方 (author and exact time of compilation are unknown; see Zhongyi cihai, 2nd volume 中, p. 854).
Bibliography
Other Sources:
Scheid, Volker, Dan Bensky, Andrew Ellis, and Randall Barolet. 2009. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies. Seattle: Eastland Press.
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Goldschmidt, A. (2019). Case Number 54. In: Medical Practice in Twelfth-century China – A Translation of Xu Shuwei’s Ninety Discussions [Cases] on Cold Damage Disorders. Archimedes, vol 54. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06103-6_55
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