Research On The Background And Expanded Application Of "Treatise On Febrile Diseases" From The Perspective Of Scientific Practice

Objective:As one of the four great classics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),Treatise on Cold Damage has been highly valued throughout the entire history of the field of TCM.One after another,researchers from ancient to modern times have devoted to the literature research of the treatise,creating huge amounts of results and gave rise to the school of cold damage.However,an academic conundrum lies within the exuberance.Numerous studies manifested the value and charisma of the treatise,but most of them were based on the personal experience of researchers,which inevitably leads to academic dispute,causing the treatise difficult to learn.Furthermore,the atmosphere of ancient worship led to overvaluation of Zhang zhongjing and his treatise,compliments that do not accord with clinical reality was bestowed.This study aims for a solution for the malady within the academia of Treatise on Cold Damage.Methods:1.literature analysis method:This study analyzes the severity of divided opinions and irrational worship within the literature research of Treatise on Cold Damage by collecting the introspections put forward by modern scholars and the evaluation and annotations of the treatise made by ancient scholars.This study also analyzes the root cause of both phenomenons based on means of expression of the treatise.2.Inductive summary method:This study clarifies the general process of scientic research and the connotations of scientific spirit and scientific method by studying literature related to philosophy of science.Based on findings in philosophy of science,this study summarizes the key aspects that could demonstrate the scientificity of Treatise on Cold Damage,including the object of study,ideology,morality and research methods.3.Comparitive study method:This study compares the phenomenon of expanded application in modern science and the academia of Treatise on Cold Damage,revealing the scientificity behind the expansion of the treatise and indicating that the expansion process should follow the strict standards of scientific research.Conclusions:1.The root cause of the phenomenon of divided opinions and irrational worship of the literature study of Treatise on Cold Damage lies within the ambiguity and sketchiness of the contents in the treatise.The phenomenons could be solved by reconstructing the formation background of the treatise or the clinical research process of Zhang zhongjing.2.Cold damage disease is the main object of study of Treatise on Cold Damage,it holds the qualities of infectiousness,feverishness,gradualness and malignancy,and it should fall under acute infectious disease catagory in modern medicine.3.Zhang zhongjing was a brilliant scientist in ancient times,he has the basic qualities of a scientist,including a strong sense of social responsibility,the spirit of rational doubt and positivism.4.Scientific methods were applied intentionally by Zhang zhongjing,including observation,measurement,experimentation and induction,but the lack of a rigorous methodology of scientific research in ancient times indicates that limitation exists within Zhang zhongjing’s clinical research.5.Treatise on Cold Damage was originally created for treating the acute infectious disease that Zhang zhongjing was facing,doctors of later generations expanded the application of the treatise through its clinical manifestations,prescriptions and abstract concepts.Doctors are required to provide clinical evidence to prove the effectiveness of expanded application.6.The finitude of Zhang zhongjing could not support the idea of "govern all diseases with the six meridians" or "all therapeutic methods does not exceed zhongjing",they were the result of confusion between the research area of Zhang zhongjing and the expansion area of later generations.7.The expanded application of Treatise on Cold Damage could not support the notion that the treatise withstood clinical examination of doctors in later generations,it merely suggests the effectiveness of expansion itself.