Research On The Groups Of Authors Of Medical Books In Ming Dynasty

Medical books are an important carrier of academic inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine.The number of medical books compiled in Ming Dynasty is unprecedented,reaching more than 1000 kinds,which is unique in the world medical history of the same period.In addition to such world-famous works as Compendium of Materia Medica,many medical books of Ming Dynasty are still important references for medical treatment,scientific research and teaching of traditional Chinese medicine.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the medical books of Ming Dynasty in many aspects,not only for understanding the history of Ming Dynasty medicine,but also for the inheritance and development of modern Chinese medicine.However,for a long time,the academic circle has paid more attention to the research of individual physicians and their works,and the research on the whole author group,is absent.This paper attempts to classify the geographical,academic and social identities of the authors of medical books in Ming Dynasty,and to study the correlation between the groups of authors and the characteristics of the types of works.Based on the extensive collection of previous research results,this paper selects 812 kinds of Ming Dynasty medical books through the investigation and textual research of important bibliography literature,establishes "the existing Ming Dynasty medical book information database",extracts 442 medical book authors’ information,investigates their native place,educational background,social identity and other information one by one,establishes "the existing Ming Dynasty medical book author information database".The following studies were carried out.1.The types and age distribution of the existing medical books in Ming Dynasty were investigated.2.The authors are divided into three groups:professional physicians,part-time physicians and non-physicians.3.Research on the number,motivation,types,ways and influence of different groups of authors.The results are as follows:1.The existing types of medical books in Ming Dynasty include all the categories listed in the Zhongguo Zhongyi Guji Zongmu(中国中医古籍总目,General Catalogue of Chinese Ancient Books of traditional Chinese Medicine),and the number of them is mainly in clinical departments,prescription books,guidance of health preservation,materia medica and medical records.2.The number of medical books was small in the early years,slow growth in the middle years,rapid growth in the late years of Ming Dynasty,political turmoil and other factors had little influence on the output of medical books.Economic development and internal factors of medicine were the main driving forces to promote the output of medical books.3.The authors of medical books were mainly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,especially in Zhejiang,Jiangsu,Anhui and Jiangxi.According to the current regional order,the number of authors is as follows:Zhejiang(127),Jiangsu(95),Anhui(60),Jiangxi(37),Shanghai(17),Henan(17),Hubei(16),Fujian(15),Shandong(13),Hebei(7),Sichuan(7),Shaanxi(5),Hunan(5),Jin(4),Guangdong(3)and Guangxi 1 for Guizhou,1 for Yunnan,1 for Liaoning and 1 for Hainan.It is suggested that,compared with the scene of famous scholars in Hebei,Henan and Shandong in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties,the medical center of China moved southward in the Ming Dynasty and declined seriously in the north.4.This paper also investigates the academic background,that is,131 medical writers had a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations,including 68 Jinshi(Imperial Scholar),16 Juren(First-degree Scholar),4 Wuju and 43 Shengyuan(Certified Student).In a word,30%of the authors had a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations.5.The authors of medical books had multiple identities,among which 215 were professional physicians(including official physicians and folk physicians),accounting for 48.6%of the total;40 were part-time physicians(including other professions,such as official physicians and practitioners),accounting for 9%;187 were non physicians,accounting for 42.4%of the total.Among them,112 were officials,26 were scholars,10 were scholars,25 were monks and Taoists,6 were booksellers and 2 were seigniors.There are a large number of non-physicians among the authors of medical books.6.In terms of the number of medical books compiled,there are 1.96 professional physicians,2.5 part-time physicians and 1.6 non physicians per capita;there are 18 high-yield authors who compiled more than 6 medical books,including 11 professional physicians,3 part-time physicians and 4 non physicians.Two of the top three are part-time physicians.7.Professional physicians tended to write comprehensive works,typhoid fever and golden chamber,diagnostic methods,clinical departments,acupuncture and massage,basic theory books;their creative methods were mainly writing,and tended to be original,and they were the creators of medical knowledge in Ming Dynasty.Part time physicians tended to create medical theories,basic theories,medical classics,typhoid fever and golden chamber,while writing methods tend to process and interpret.Non-physicians tended to create health preservation and truth cultivation guide books,which were characterized by literature arrangement.8.Highly influential medical books were mainly written by professional physicians,and they were the absolute leader of medical text knowledge in Ming Dynasty.