The marriage of Chinese Imperial Medicine and China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences:privilege and benefits for the people

Editor Group of

Chinese and English contranstive vocabulary:Jingsheng Zhai:The studio of esteemed excellence;Jianfu Gong:The palace of established happiness;Yuanming Yuan:Old summer palace;Tai Yi Ling:Chief imperial physician;Shiji:the Grand Historian;Tai Yi Yuan:Imperial medical academy;Tai Yi Shu:Imperial medical office;Tai Yi Ju:Imperial medical bureau;Taiyiju Fang:Formulary of the imperial medical bureau;Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang:Formulary to benefit the people from the pharmaceutical bureau of the Taiping reign;Yuyaoyuan Fang:Formulary of the imperial pharmacy;Bencao Gangmu:Compendium of materia medica;Wengtonghe Riji:Diaries of Wengtonghe;Yizong Jinjian:Golden mirror of medicine.

On September 27,2019,the Palace Museum and China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences held a signing ceremony of strategic cooperation atJingsheng Zhai(The studio of esteemed excellence) in the garden ofJianfu Gong(The palace of established happiness) at the Palace Museum.

This cooperation will focus on the vast collection of cultural relics on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)in the Palace Museum and represents a joint venture into the scientific study of TCM cultural relics from the court of the Qing dynasty of China (1636 C.E.-1912 C.E.)[1].

Tai Yi Ling (Chief imperial physician)was recorded in the Records ofShiji(the Grand Historian)(Figure1a)[2,3].The famous doctor Bian Que died in 310 B.C.E,who’s exact death details are unclear until now.But there is a thought that he was assassinated by Li Xi,who was a chief imperial physician in the state of Qin,and the reason of the murder was jealousy[3].

The name of theTai Yi Yuan(Imperial medical academy) originated from the Jin dynasty of China(1115 C.E.-1234 C.E.),and was inherited from theTai Yi Shu(Imperial medical office)andTai Yi Ju(Imperial medical bureau) of the Tang (618 C.E.-907 C.E.) and Song dynasties of China (960 C.E.-1279 C.E.).Between 1078 C.E.and 1085 C.E.of the Song dynasty,the imperial medical bureau collated and published its formula blueprints under the titleTaiyiju Fang(Formulary of the imperial medical bureau).After several rounds of revision and supplementation,the text was eventually finalized after final additions were made between 1225 C.E.and 1227 C.E.as well as 1241 C.E.and 1252 C.E.,becoming the current popularized version known asTaiping Huimin Hejiju Fang(Formulary to benefit the people from the pharmaceutical bureau of the Taiping reign)(Figure1b)[4].The medical classics namedYuyaoyuan Fang(Formulary of the imperial pharmacy) of the Yuan dynasty (1279 C.E.-1368 C.E.) was revised and edited by Xu Guozhen and others usingYuyaoyuan Fang(Formulary of the imperial pharmacy) (Figure1c) of the Jin dynasty as base text.It was finalized in 1267 C.E.and is an important material for studying the medical formulae of the courts of the Jin and Yuan dynasties(1271 C.E.-1368 C.E.)[5].

Imperial medical academies were established in all subsequent dynasties [2].The Imperial medical academy of the Ming dynasty of China (1368 C.E.-1644 C.E.) was a central institution that managed the diagnosis and pharmacy services of the court and nobility [6].Li Shizhen,a famous medical scientist in ancient China,was appointed an official at the imperial medical academy in Beijing at 27 years old.In 1549 C.E.,the 28thyear of Jiajing emperor of the Ming dyansty,Li Shizhen resigned from his position at the imperial medical academy at the age of 32 and returned to Ganzhou city of China.He wrote the medical classics namedBencaoGangmu(Compendium of materia medica) in his later years(Figure1d)[7].

Figure2 Emperors during the Qing dynasty(1636 C.E.-1912 C.E.)

During the Qing dynasty of China (1636 C.E.-1912 C.E.),the imperial medical academy was part of the imperial household department of the central bureaucracy.Gaozong emperor (also named Qianlong)(Figure2c)of the Qing dynasty,lived until the ripe old age of 89 years at a time when the average age of the population was only 33 years [8,9].In the early Qing dynasty,smallpox epidemics caused a large death toll.The Kangxi emperor (Figure2a) survived despite contracting smallpox,which left behind pitted scars.The Yongzheng emperor (Figure2b) pointed out in an imperial edict issued on April 8,1725 C.E.:“It appears that those with limited sons in Manchuria and Mongolia are mostly cases of early death caused by smallpox [10].” The Yongzheng emperor himself suddenly developed symptoms on October 7,1735 C.E.and died in theYuanming Yuan(Old summer palace)the next day [11].In 1820 C.E.,the Jiaqing emperor(Figure2d) suddenly became seriously ill while hunting at the Rehe palace and died on the same night[12].The Tongzhi emperor (Figure2e) died when he was only 19 years old and was recorded in the ancient book entitledWengtonghe Riji(Diaries of Wengtonghe)as having a “red and dry face,and extremely dense smallpox” [13].In reality,a large number of imperial physicians served the royal household in the Qing imperial palace.Up to 391 imperial physicians were recorded in the book entitledA Study of Qing Medical Archivesto have participated in the diagnosis and treatment of the royal household in the Qing court[14].During the Qing dynasty,the team of imperial physicians included Han medical officials,as well as Manchurian,Mongolian,Lama,and Western doctors.The level of health care they provided was also the most advanced in China at the time [15].In 1742 C.E.,Qing officials compiled the medical claassics entitledYizong Jinjian(Golden mirror of medicine),which later became the official textbook used by the imperial medical academy and private medical practitioners for the study of medicine[16].

On September 28,2019,The Lancetpublished an online article entitled “10 years of health-care reform in China:progress and gaps in Universal Health Coverage.”The article pointed out that the government health care expenditure in China increased from USD 359 billion to USD 1.52 trillion from 2008 to 2017.In the last decade,China has made substantial progress in improving equal access to health care services and enhancing its financial protection,especially for individuals of a low socioeconomic status[17].

Citation:

Editor Group of Traditional Medicine Research.The marriage of Chinese Imperial Medicine and China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences:privilege and benefits for the people.Traditional Medicine Research 2020,5(5):295-298.