Melody's Musings

Chinese philosophy has influenced Chinese medicine in a variety of ways.  From the use of the oracle-bones during the early Chinese dynasties- to the ordered rituals of Confucianism which allowed one to obtain “goodness,” to Daoism, which is focused on purifying spirit.  These rituals and ideas shaped many of the ethics of Chinese medicine, as well as some of the core principles about where disease comes from and how to treat it. 

 “Much useful evidence can be gleaned from the oracle-bone inscriptions.  Historical details of matters of daily concern to the Shang Kings can be learned from them which can not be gathered from other sources.  Numerous inscriptions record questions about the harvest-- whether, for example, it would be gathered in a specific place-- and record the theft by a certain fang, a term which appears to have designated groups on the periphery of the Shang who did not accept the Shang’s claim to be the only legitimate authority and who were often the subject of Shang attack” (Yates, 1997).

“It is possible that one of the uses of oracle-bone divinations was to  create a consensus as well as validate a decision.  The reading of the cracks must have involved considerable debate among participants of the rite, especially since the answers, whether positive or negative, were not apparent from the cracks themselves as they appeared when the heat was applied to the bone.  Diviners, and possibly the shamans who assisted the king in his oracle-taking, most likely came from lineages allied to him by marriage, and so it was through the collective participation in the rite that bureaucratic decisions were made.  Perhaps this was part of the religious heritage of the bureaucrats of imperial times, for they too were assistants to the emperor in keeping the cosmos in harmony” (Yates, 1997).

At the time of the use of oracle-bones, Chinese medicine was largely rooted in shamanism. From the use of the oracle bones as a way of divining the future in order to validate decisions, we can see that there is a belief in some sort of a greater scheme with which the people of the Shang dynasty were trying to live in harmony with. 

We also see the evidence for where the philosophy of the outside environment affecting the lives of the people and vice versa.  All of this was done to keep the cosmos in harmony and thus to allow the Shang people to live harmoniously.  This idea of “as within, so without” carries through in the modern incarnation of Traditional Chinese Medicine which is practiced today- though it is worded differently. The macrocosm is a mirror of the microcosm and vice versa. 

“Confucian theories on morality and ethics, with ‘goodness’ as the core and ‘rites’ as the norm, served as ‘key notes’ of the traditional medical ethics of China.  The viewpoints of Confucianism on benevolence and material interests, on good and evil, on kindheartedness, and on character cultivation were all inherited by the medical workers and thus became prominent in Chinese traditional medical ethics.  Hence, it is clear that the medical profession have long shared common goals in terms of ethics” (Guo, 1996).

“In ancient China, medicine was called ‘the craft of benevolence’ or ‘the craft of saints’, representing the hope that physicians would act by the Confucian concept of ‘benevolence’ and practice medicine by the teachings of Confucian saints.  Various rules and regulations of medical ethics contained instructions such as: ‘Be benevolent and Confucian’ and ‘First know the logic of Confucianism and then the logic of the medicine’” (Guo, 1996).

“Confucius formulated a unique system with ‘goodness’ as the nuclear core formed by ‘rites’ and advocated for the idea of ‘guiding the people by moral force and keeping order among them by ritual’.  Goodness as the highest moral standard in Confucianism has dual meanings: an intense concentration of Confucius’s ‘political thinking’, representing Confucius’s hope that the ruling class may ‘rule by benevolence’, and the high realm of Confucius’s moral cultivation, showing his hope that the people may be ‘benevolent’” (Guo, 1996). 

The modern equivalent to the Confucian ethics of Chinese Medicine might be the hippocratic oath- in particular this portion: “I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017). 

In this portion of the hippocratic oath, there is reference to abstaining from bad behaviors which one might relate to practicing ‘goodness’ and ‘benevolence’ from the Confucian ideals.  There is also reference to a ‘system of regimen’, which one might relate back to the idea of Confucian ‘ritual’.  In addition, there is the guideline of practicing to the best of one’s ability for the benefit of one’s patients, which can be related back to the Confucian ideal of holding life’s value in high esteem.

“In terms of classical Chinese medicine, there is some overlap between the two traditions, but little research has been done on this topic.  We do know, however, that Daoists such as Ge Hong, Sun Simiao, and Tao Hongjing made major contributions to Chinese medicine.  They were Daoists and, in the case of Sun and Tao, Chinese medical practitioners” (Komjathy, 2013).

“If you observe the precepts of the Dao, you will accumulate good deeds that will become merit and accumulate essence that will become spirit(s).  When your spirit(s) achieve transcendent longevity, they will become your personal treasures” (Reiter, 2007).   This statement relating to Daoism actually is similar to the Confucian idea of acting out ‘benevolence’ in order to achieve ‘goodness’.  In fact, both of these bring to mind the colloquialized term in modern western culture “fake it until you make it.”  There is this idea that just acting something out on the physical plane can change the internal environment.  That even if you aren’t ‘good’, by doing ‘good’ things you can become ‘good’.  It’s also reminiscent of the idea of the external environment affecting the body and vice versa.  By acting out the ritual of ‘benevolent’ acts, one might in fact affect the environment around them and thus create more ‘benevolence’ and harmony throughout the cosmos. 

I think it's interesting how many of these core ideas which are so old have resurfaced in other cultures around the world and embedded themselves into many different practices from Medicine to Magic.

References:

Guo, Z. (1995). Chinese Confucian culture and the medical ethical tradition. Journal of Medical Ethics,21(4), 239-246. doi:10.1136/jme.21.4.239

Komjathy, L., Ph.D. (2013). Common Misconceptions About Daoism. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/files/9781441168733_commonmisconceptions_daoisttradition.pdf

Reiter, F. (2007). Purposes, Means and Convictions in Daoism: a Berlin Symposium. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, O.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. (2017, April 25). Hippocratic oath. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hippocratic-oath

Yates, R. D. (1997). The City-State in Ancient China. In The archaeology of city-states : cross-cultural approaches (pp. 80-81). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. doi:http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v3922/pdfs/yates.pdf