Tang Epidemic Disaster Prevention

Epidemic disaster has been existing accompanying with the development and progress of human beings, so relevant records about epidemic disaster has always mentioned in historical writings. How to handle the problem of epidemic disaster is not only meaning medical technology, but also a complicated social behavior. Epidemic disaster threatens the health of people, causes numerous deaths of people and livestock so that agricultural industry is destroyed someway and social order is disturbed, based on which the successive dynasties and the non-governmental organization both take some preventive treatments. The Tang Dynasty is considered as a vitally important stage in Chinese feudalism history, which has made some progress in some degree in some aspects, in a open-minded atmosphere, but for the solution of epidemic disaster, the government and non-governmental organization are different and have their own features.This thesis refers the official and non-governmental preventive treatments as an entry point to study how the Tang Dynasty deals with epidemic disaster. There are3main parts for the thesis:the first part is the prevalence of the Tang Dynasty epidemic disaster, which specifically explains the demarcation of epidemic disaster, statistics of the successive epidemic disaster of the Tang Dynasty and the features and reason in the Tang Dynasty. The second part is the precautions and treatment, which is explained from the aspect of medical system, law and decree, medical treatment capability to synthesize and analyze the prevention methods of epidemic disaster from the government. The third part is the preventive treatment of epidemic disaster from the non-governmental organization, which is expounded from the aspects of folk doctors, Buddhism, Taoism and sorcery.This thesis holds that the level of preventive treatment for epidemic in the Tang Dynasty has been increased. The official medicine science is developed and medical system is impeccable; many medicine science turn up from civilians, and folk-customs is a part of preventive treatment custom. But the preventive treatments of epidemic disaster in the Tang Dynasty are impaired by political reasons, making little sense for civilians, so the treatment is always not on time which functions a little. The resource of non-government is jagged so that civilians get help from Buddhism, Taoism and sorcery which makes that mental salvations are more that realistic epidemic treatments. The people from the Tang Dynasty receive few medical services, so facing epidemic disaster; they are always submitted to the will of heaven.