Abstract
In this case Xu tackles the task of differential diagnosis not based on the canonically-based manifestation types as in the previous case, but rather from the perspective of the patient’s symptoms. Xu uses this example to stress the importance of the fine observational skills essential in diagnosing cold damage disorders. The need for clear distinctions between symptoms, of course, is not unique to Cold Damage disorders, but this case provides us a glimpse into the thought processes of a physician and how he perceived the patient as a whole, on the one hand, and differentiated slight variations in symptoms to reach the correct diagnosis on the other. In order to make his presentation more engaging, Xu frames it in a brief dialogue between himself and another doctor discussing the issues in the diagnosis. In the dialogue, the other doctor is ignorant about Cold Damage disorders and their treatment. Xu often emphasizes that his contemporaries’ lack of familiarity with the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders.
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- 1.
In the version of this recorded in the Puji benshi fang (p. 142), we have the phrase ‘held captive by the invaders’ (kuo suo zhi 寇所执) instead of the name Zhang Yu 張遇. Therefore, I conclude that Zhang Yu was the leader of a Jurchen cavalry unit or a gang of bandits. Furthermore, this is a general reference to mounted army, probably the Jurchens. After 1127, the lower Yangzi River region was often the scene of fighting between Jurchen and Southern Song loyalist troops. Xu Shuwei lived in this area and probably seen captive soldiers.
- 2.
‘High breathing’ (xi gao息高) is a serious breathing difficulty, in which there is a severe shortness of breath and the mouth does not open completely. See Li Jingwei, et al. 2005, p. 1441.
- 3.
As mentioned in the Introduction, only 51 cases included a dedicated discussion 論 section, this is the first one without discussion.
Bibliography
Other Sources:
Li, Jingwei 李經緯 et al. 2005. Zhongyi da cidian 中医大辞典 [The Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicine]. Beijing: Renmin weisheng chubanshe (Second edition).
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Goldschmidt, A. (2019). Case Number 3. 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_4
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