"treatise On The Dose And Its Related Issues

In TCM treatment, whether a correct prescription is used or not plays a very important role in therapeutic effects and safety of patients. TCM professionals in every dynasty in China paid great attention to the dosage and compatibility of different herbs. But the standard of weights and measures has undergone a lot of changes in Chinese history. Generally, the older ones, especially those of Han Dynasty, are smaller than the present ones. So far, there has been no common agreement reached even after many textual researches. Furthermore, some professionals changed their measure standard when time changed but some other professionals maintained the old standard. This makes things evenmore confusing. So, in order to understand the composition and dosage of ancient prescriptions better, we have to learn moreabout the changing standard of weights, measures and steps different doctors took to deal with those changes. is written by Zhang Zhongjin, a famous doctor in late Eastern Han dynsty, on the basis of TCM classics like and in combination with his own experiences. This book, in which Zhangapply the TCM principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment decision, developed into the firstgreat works of clinical TCM and established many valuable therapies. So far, it is still called the origin of all TCM books and exerts great influences on TCM treatment.Dosage is a necessary part of any type of medical practice. There are clear criteria concerning dosage in every modern medical system. For modernization of TCM, dosage research proved to be of most importance. In this article, we will perform systematic researches on the dosage of prescriptions from , which are also called classic prescriptions, in order to apply them better in clinics. There are two focuses in this article. This article researchs the conversion of dosage in ancient and modern times in order to clarify the original dosages of prescriptions. In this way, doctors can still use the original dosages of old prescriptions even after so many years of changes.The original works of was written in Eastern Han Dynasty by Zhang Zhongjing. In this book, the dosage of herbs was described in different terms as "jin", "liang" and "zhu". Also such volume units as "ge", "sheng", "dou" and length unit as "chi" were used. Occasionally, even number units as "mei", "ge" and "fang cun bi" can be noticed as special terms for dosage. Among them, the units as "jin", "liang" and "zhu" are likely to obey the metrology of Eastern Han dynasty while the unit "liang" which is used now is from Qing Dynasty. So you can never measure the dosage of ancient prescription with the unit used now. In the circle of archaeology, it is believed that one "liang" by Han standard equals to about 13.6-15.6 grams. But this conclusion proved to be difficult for most doctors to accept. On the other hand, theory described in , written by Li Shizhen, a famous doctor of Ming Dynasty, was regarded as an common principle for dosage conversion. In this theory, Li believed that "one liang in ancient book equals to one qian conversed into measure standard we are using now, which is one tenth of liang." So, from then on, doctors take one liang in as 3 grams when calculating dosage. In Japan, a different method for dosage was used for . There, one liang is believed to be equals to 1.3-1.6 grams. These three methods differ greatly from each other and many disputes were aroused. So now the decision of dosage is still an issue to be researched.This research combined several methods to discuss the dosage issue. The first is to check the literatures. We probed into the sources of prescriptions from and possibility of prescriptions appeared before . We explored ancient literatures about metrology and the source together with the reliability of a special method of dosage measuring which described the weight of herb with numbers of millet that herb equaled. The second is to weight herbs which are dosed with number units so as to know the exact weight of each piece of herb. By this method, we discover that 5 pieces of Penellia ternata, described also as 20 zhu (24 zhu equals to 1 liang), weighted 10.02±0.74 grams. We also discover that 13 pieces of Belamcanda Chinesis (L.) DC., described also as 3 liang, weighted 10.745 grams. This conclusion is consistent with that of Yang Shaoyi which believed 1 ancient liang equals to 3 qian now and was close to the experience of Chen Xiuyuan of Qing Dynasty which made a similar declaration.To sum up, from this research we drew conclusions below:1 There is high reliability that one liang, according to Han standard, equals to 13.6～15.6 grams. But speaking of the dosage method used in , the possibility that Zhang Zhongjing edited prescriptions before Hart Dynasty into his book made it difficult to say whether the dosage method in his book followed the standard of Han Dynasty or some standard before that time.Conclusion we drew through literature checking and objective measuring is that 1 liang in equals to 10 grams. TCM doctors should not imply the dosage of through the conclusion of archaeology concerning metrology of Han Dynasty. But, the conclusion made by Japanese researchers declaring that 1 liang equals to 1.3～1.6 equals proved to be wrong in this research.2. Generally, methods introduced by different doctors as "1 ancient liang equals to i qian" or "1 liang in Han Dynasty equals to 7 grams for different balances used" are based on personal experiences, method of decocting, texture and producing area of herbs and prone to reach different conclusions. So all these results can only be referenced as personal opinions but not final conclusions of dosage.This article, with methods of literature checking and experiments, aims to apply references on original and relative dosages of in order to help doctors use them better in clinic.