Research On Fang Yizhi’s Medical Philosophy Thought

This article focuses on the study of the medical philosophical thought of Fang Yizhi(1611-1671)from two perspectives:"history" and "thought".In terms of the relationship between "history" and "thought",the evolution of "history" is also a manifestation of the relevance of "thought",so focusing on "history" is also aimed at focusing on "thought".Due to the focus on the two,the main issues in this article are also focused on the following two aspects:first,a detailed review and discussion of the connotation of Fang Yizhi’s medical philosophy itself;second,indicating the significance of Fang Yizhi’s medical philosophy for the integration of Neo-confucianism and medicine.From the perspective of historical development,since the interconnection of Neo-confucianism and medicine became a major trend in the development of medicine in the late Ming Dynasty(1368-1644),and the Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty(960-1279),as the pioneers of Confucianism,have always influenced the theoretical construction of later Confucianism and medicine.The ideological construction of Fang Yizhi,Wang Fuzhi(1619-1692),Huang Zongxi(1610-1695),and others is also a summary and integration of previous periods of Confucianism(in a broad sense).Therefore,the thought of the Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty has become the starting point of Confucianism and medicine.Among the Five Scholars,it was Cheng Hao(1032-1085),Cheng Yi(1033-1107)and Shao Yong(1011-1077)who had some thoughts on medical theory and body.Therefore,responding to Cheng Hao,Cheng Yi and Shao Yong’s understanding of the body was a very important issue to be addressed in the construction of Confucian medical thought in future generations.The first section of the first chapter focuses on exploring the understanding of body and medical theory of Er Cheng and Shao Yong,as well as the issues to be solved in their thoughts.The second section points out the historical characteristics of the communication between Confucianism and medicine of the wenbu school in the late Ming Dynasty,as well as the question that Fang Yizhi should respond to at this time,that is,to combine the thought of Confucianism and summarize the theories of the wenbu school based on the "Qi",in order to promote the deep integration of Confucianism and medicine.The second chapter clarifies the theoretical foundation of Fang Yizhi’s medical philosophy and points out that the Taiji is the realm of harmony of "one" and is smoothly integrated with the intersection of objects.The intersection of objects can symbolize the one of Taiji and "ji" as one,and the "numbers and images" are the approximate symbol of ji.As a result,Fang Yizhi formed an ideological structure that took "Taiji-image and number-and physics" as a whole,and from this overall structure led to the way of studying medical theory.Due to the large number of scattered and lost documents by Fang Yizhi,the most commonly seen discussions are on the study of qi,mai and cang xiang.The third chapter shows Fang Yizhi’s explanation of the formation of wuyun liuqi based on the emergence of Taiji.After Fang Yizh’s explanation,wuyun liuqi was integrated with the diagrams,images and numbers,which not only laid the ontological foundation for the existence of wuyun liuqi,but also gradually visualized it.In this way,Fang Yizhi not only refuted some incorrect ways of treating the wuyun liuqi,but also affirmed the value of it to a certain extent.The fourth chapter of this article combs Fang Yizhi’s thinking on the study of pulse.Fang Yizhi believes that venation is born at the "gate of life",unified in "zongqi",and the rendu,yingwei,and twenty-eight venation are breathed with the " zongqi",and the circulation of the venation corresponds to the rhythm of the Yi numbers and the heaven and the earth.Fang Yizhi excerpted the pulse thoughts of Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine,Li Zhongzi(1588-1655),Li Shizhen(1518-1593),and others,and laid the foundation for these theories with "the proper combination of square and circle",which greatly deepened the thinking depth of pulse theory.The fifth chapter is a discussion on the theory of viscera and prescription medicine.Regarding the generation of viscera,Fang Yizhi,on the one hand,cites the statement in Daozang,on the other hand,provides an explanation for the relationship of viscera with the interaction of wuyun liuqi,and gives a body that respects yang based on the principle of "yang governs yin,yang precedes yin,and then yang".Fang Yizhi also discussed the reasons for the "gain" and "loss" of the and the method of " restoring the middle"of viscera,and in the process of explaining the "theory of regulating fire",he examined the academic viewpoints of Zhu Danxi(1281-1358),Li Dongyuan(1180-1251),Liu Hejian(1110-1200)and others,which provided a lot of helpful thinking for repositioning the"junhuo" and "xianghuo".The sixth chapter focuses on the significance of Fang Yizhi’s medical philosophy thought for continuing the thought of the Chenghao,Chengyi and responding to various medical thoughts in the late Ming Dynasty.The first section explains the ideological characteristics of physicians’understanding of Taiji in the late Ming Dynasty,pointing out their ideological tendency to ignore the implicit meaning of " one thing,two bodies" and its meaning of "one invisible then two stop",and the idea of Fang Yizhi can make up for this deficiency.The second section explains Fang Yizhi’s understanding of "the mind as the master of the whole body" through his thought of "zongqi-the heart conceals the spirit",his deepening of the thoughts of Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine,Xunzi,and Shaoyong,and his response to the relationship between " the nature of mind" and" zhenyuan"-"mingmen".Of course,a detailed exploration of Fang Yizhi’s text can also lead to many interesting questions.For example,it can form a pharmaceutical atlas in the form of a "square circle" diagram with the "too much" and "too little" as the center of the ascending and descending movements of yin and yang of qi,such as Li Dongyuan’s medicinal formula,which can better reflect the meaning of Fang Yizhi’s statement that" when things are mutually exclusive,the symptoms of the disease are characterized by constant change".In addition,with the help of Fang Yizhi’s thought,we can better grasp the essential characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine thought,such as the " four diagnosis"or the observation of the sound,color,smell,and taste of things,as well as Fang Yizhi’s discussion of the intersection of characters.They all embody a unity in which " knowledge"and " action" are already present,and this " being" is a more primitive world than the physical causal world.In this sense,it can be considered that the thought of traditional Chinese medicine has a certain transcendence,that is,it highlights a primitive world of perception,and the exposure and understanding of this primitive world of perception is descriptive and interpretive.Therefore,Fang Yizhi’s thought can provide some enlightenment for the development of traditional Chinese medicine which based on the original,absorbing external factors,and moving towards the future.