Abstract
In this case, Xu Shuwei discusses the differences between two of the most important formulas in the Treatise – the Major and Minor Bupleurum Decoctions. Major Bupleurum Decoction comprises of two chief herbs: Bupleurum (chai hu), which vents heat from the exterior, and Rhubarb Root and Rhizome (da huang), which drains it from the interior. This formula is based on two formulas: Minor Bupleurum Decoction (xiao chai hu tang) and Major Order-the-Qi Decoction (da cheng qi tang).
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Notes
- 1.
Bensky, Clacey, and Stöger 2004, p. 235.
- 2.
Bensky, Clacey, and Stöger 2004, p. 73.
- 3.
Yuliu 羽流, a literary designation for a Daoist priest.
- 4.
See Scheid et al. 2009, pp. 104–109.
- 5.
- 6.
A similar almost identical discussion appears in Xu’s Shanghan fawei lun, p. 47 (论用大黄药).
- 7.
Chinese formulas or prescriptions are composed of a number of drugs which are categorized hierarchically reflecting the imperial court and was titled accordingly: Monarch (君 jun), Minister (臣 chen), Assistant (佐 zuo), and Envoy (使 shi). Based on this categorization, the drug designated as monarch is usually the one perceived as the most efficacious in treating the principal symptom of the disease. The minister aids the monarch in treating the principal manifestation type but is also directed against secondary manifestations. The assistant reinforces the action of the monarch and the minister while eliminating their toxicity. The envoy facilitates and harmonizes the action of the three other types of drugs in the formula. Not to confuse with the above, here, Xu uses the nickname of the Rhubarb ‘general’.
- 8.
Wang Shuhe (~ third century CE, also known as Wang Xi 王熙) was a Palace Physician of the Wei dynasty (220–265). He authored a classical medical treatise, the Canon of the Pulse (Mai jing 脈經), as well as editing the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders. For further biographical information on Wang, for further information see He Shixi 1991, pp. 88–90; Li Jingwei et al., eds. 1988, p. 50; and Li Yun, ed. 2016, p. 43. This quotation actually comes from the Treatise (辨太陽病脈證治中, line 96), see Yu 1997, p. 51.
- 9.
Yao Sengyuan was a Northern Zhou physician. For further information see He Shixi 1991, pp. 194–197; Li Jingwei et al., eds. 1988, pp. 476–477; and Li Yun, ed. 2016, p. 855. This section appears verbatim in Shanghan fawei lun, 2:47.
- 10.
Xu is referring to Emperor Wu (r. 502–549) of the Liang dynasty.
- 11.
Overnight Food Accumulation refers to a disorder in Chinese medicine in which food stalls in the stomach and intestine systems and is not digested or transformed. See Zhongyi da cidian, 2nd ed., p. 1659.
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Goldschmidt, A. (2019). Case Number 13. 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_14
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