A Small Grass for Curing Doctors

宝辉Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJul 2024

2.8

Word count: 17K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

A treatise on medical theory. Written by Bao Hui in 1901 during the Qing dynasty. The author points out that the Jin and Yuan schools each erred in their approaches to the treatment of cold, warm, and epidemic diseases, and therefore carefully reflected on these matters. He summarizes 18 key issues and analyzes them one by one. The writing is concise and the reasoning clear. The appended "Youyi Zhilue" records medical discussions between the author and his teachers and friends.

Editor's review

Yiyi Xiaocao is a medical discourse work written by Bao Hui in 1901 during the Qing dynasty. The title, meaning "healing the healers," implies an intent to correct errors and remedy abuses. Dissatisfied with the Jin-Yuan physicians' partiality in treating cold, warm, and epidemic diseases, the author carefully reflected and summarized eighteen key issues for analysis one by one, in concise language with clear reasoning, reflecting Qing physicians' spirit of reflection on warm and epidemic patterns. The appended Youyi Zhilue presents medical discussions in the form of questions and answers between teacher and friends, preserving the immediacy of scholarly discussion and offering a glimpse of the custom of physicians debating and questioning one another at the time. The book is short but distinguished by its clear problem consciousness: rather than laying out formulas and drugs, it first identifies biases in treatment methods and then establishes balanced views. Readers should follow the main thread of "the three diseases of cold, warmth, and epidemic," observing how the author points out predecessors' errors and justifies his own views, and note the argumentative style of teacher-student exchange in the questions and answers, which is helpful for understanding the writing and reasoning habits of traditional medical discourse.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers interested in Qing medical discourse and the evolution of warm disease theory
Readers with basic Chinese medicine knowledge who want to understand debates over cold, warm, and epidemic pattern differentiation and treatment
Chinese medicine enthusiasts who enjoy short medical essays and question-and-answer formats and prefer reflective reading

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no exposure to Chinese medicine terminology who need systematic textbooks
Readers expecting a complete formulary and clinical practice guide
Those seeking only quick folk remedies and unwilling to examine medical theory in depth

Reading tips

Read the eighteen analyses first, summarizing the targets of the author's criticism and his positions one by one, then read the appended questions and answers.
Compare the book's views on treating cold, warm, and epidemic diseases with representative works of warm disease theory, noting similarities and differences.
Read the appended Youyi Zhilue slowly, paying attention to the logic of questioning and rebuttal in the teacher-friend dialogue.
After reading, write a short review of about one hundred words stating which argument you most agree with or most doubt.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
序
自序
游艺志略自序
精义汇通
六经提纲
六字真言
六气便解
医经补正
治病法解一
治病法解二
素问摘要
三证合参
说寒
说温
风温
湿温
说疫
辨证
治法
指南
审脉
附∶游艺志略

FAQ

What does the title "Yiyi Xiaocao" mean?

"Yiyi" can be understood as healing physicians' biases, that is, correcting errors in physicians' understanding and treatment methods; "xiaocao" indicates brevity and self-deprecation. Together they roughly express the author's self-positioning as using short essays to analyze medical theory and remedy biases. The specific meaning should still be understood in light of the original preface and postscript.

What do the eighteen analyses in the book mainly discuss?

According to the source, the author addresses the treatment of cold, warm, and epidemic diseases, pointing out that the Jin-Yuan physicians each had biases, and therefore carefully reflected and summarized eighteen key issues for analysis. The core is reviewing predecessors' errors in treatment and stating his own views, rather than broadly discussing all diseases. Readers may regard it as a topical short treatise on differentiating and treating cold, warm, and epidemic diseases.

What is the content of the appended Youyi Zhilue?

According to the source, the appendix consists of medical questions and answers between the author and his teacher and friends, belonging to scholarly discussion writing. It preserves the context of teacher-student exchange and can help readers understand how the author's views formed, as well as how physicians of the time discussed medical theory; it is suitable for reading alongside the main text.

Can someone without a Chinese medicine background understand this book?

It is quite difficult. The book involves treatment methods for cold, warm, and epidemic diseases and the doctrines of the Jin-Yuan physicians, requiring some Chinese medicine terminology and medical history background. Without any foundation, readers should first study introductory textbooks on basic Chinese medicine theory and warm disease theory before reading this book, so as to understand what the author is criticizing and avoid misreading.

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About the author

宝辉 Author

Bao Hui's biographical details remain unverifiable, as public information is limited: all that is known is that a single medical work, Yi Yi Xiao Cao (roughly, A Small Grass for Healing the Healers), has come down under this name. Judging from the title, "healing the healers" may carry the sense of correcting the failings of physicians, suggesting the author was concerned with abuses in the medical practice of his time; "small grass" often denotes a concise, practical piece, akin to a physician's incidental notes or an introductory manual. The book therefore likely belongs to traditional medicine, written in a brief, practical and cautionary style rather than as elaborate theoretical exposition. Since the author's nationality, dates, courtesy name and medical career are unrecorded, neither a biographical outline nor an academic lineage can be drawn, and the work's contents and transmission await further verification. What can be confirmed is that Bao Hui left a mark through Yi Yi Xiao Cao, classified under medicine and serving as the main clue to his medical views.