On The Medical Literature In Historical Chronicles Of Prefecture And County Of Shanghai

Objective: Local chronicles researching,especially medical materials from old chronicles,can not only restore the overall appearance of local medical development,but also show the social background of local medical progress,so it has positive significance from academic to practical aspects.It can not only show the local contribution of medical development,but also inspire the prosperity and progress of today’s medicine science.Method: This article proposes the basic path of the research on medical materials of old chronicles.The research scope defined in this article is the medical data in the local chronicles compiled by the Prefecture and County(department)level units that existed before 1949 in the corresponding area of Shanghai today.The main research methods used are literature research and data analysis.Result: This article analyzes four main aspects,covering local physicians,local medical books,local medical institutions and local epidemic situation of Shanghai.There were 1117 local physicians in Shanghai local chronicles.They were resided by the distributions of epidemic,social economic development and population base at that time.Most of the recorded physicians in the old chronicles had high levels of diagnosis and treatment standards,and their medical ethics and style were noble too.There were two groups with distinctive characteristics among them,one was the world medical group,and the other was the official medical group.In addition to the high clinical level of the official medical group,the behavior of imperial physicians using medical management is also eye-catching.There were 427 local medical books seen in the old chronicles,but most of them are lost,and only 71 copies could be seen today.The local medical books covered various disciplines and reflected the higher theoretical level of Shanghai local physicians.Nearly half of the authors of those medical works were born in the various medical inheritance lineages recorded in the old chronicles.Shanghai local medical institutions included medical education institutions,medical service institutions,medical administration institutions and social welfare institutions that had a close relationship with medicine science.Those organizational forms of the above institutions were quite different in ancient from modern times.The exact year data of the local epidemic in Shanghai began in 1332 and ended in1932.During that period,there were 71 epidemic years.Most of them happened in summer and autumn;the focus of the epidemic was moving from the Huating County,to Shanghai County area and to the Shanghai County-Jiading County area.Predecessors’ understanding of the epidemic included those who objectively summarized the occurrence and spread of the epidemic,as well as conjectures and superstitions.Correspondingly,the measures to deal with the epidemic included active actions such as medical treatment and donation,as well as negative actions such as prayer,but there were also enlightened people who criticize prayer.Conclusion: The inheritance methods of the world medical community were diverse,showing an open and tolerant inheritance style overall.It suggested that today’s researchers should pay more attention to absorbing the ideological essence from the works of predecessors in the inheritance of academic schools,and also improve the theoretical thinking ability of the inheritors.Behind the changes in the organizational forms and business functions of medical institutions were the complex changes in the economy,politics,society,and humanities in Shanghai.The cognition and response of the predecessors would have a certain enlightening effect on the present.Therefore,it’s believed that the inheritance of genres lies in accumulation,the focus of epidemic prevention is to break superstition and insist on the supremacy of life;medicine must emphasize practical results and serve the society.This article combs the medical-related materials of the old chronicles of Shanghai County in general,but lacks a horizontal comparison with other regions.Therefore,the "Shanghai Contribution" of medical development is not very prominent,which s is the direction for further research in the future.