On Epidemics In Song Dynasty In The South Yangtze River Regions

Its is believed in modern medicine that epidemic consists of a group of diseases caused by varieties of biological pathogens or pathogeny for short. However, in terms of traditional medicine, epidemic refers to illnesses that are feverish, prevailing, acutely infectious and extremely dangerous. In ancient literatures, it is generally defined as popular illnesses, diseases and plagues, ect. And on the whole, people in Song Dynasty also adopted the concept. But as in many cases, epidemic can not be accurately distinguished from popular diseases; therefore, they are generally called epidemic diseases or plagues. The south Yangtze river regions in Song Dynasty were obviously more frequently stricken by epidemics than other regions according the literatures, especially regions around the Taihu lake. Probably it is due to the dotted lakes, warm and humid climates, dense population and frequent flow of people as well as the comparatively more flourishing economy and chaos caused by wars, in which germs and virus are prone to reproduce. The high frequency of epidemics in those areas not only caused a great many deaths but also severely impacted the development of the local economy and social stability. So, No one was spared in the whole Song Dynasty from the top government to gentry, celebrities, doctors and common people; however, psychological wares and measures varied from class to class. But all the same, they played a certain role in controlling the spreading of the diseases to some extend. Those efforts of all classes promoted the medical development of Song Dynasty and have a significance of warning and reference on epidemic prevention and treatment for the generations afterward.