Gujin Yiche

怀远上海世界书局1936

No rating yet

Chapters: 40
Series: Zhenben Yishu Jicheng

Summary

The Comprehensive Medical Understanding of Ancient and Modern Times is a four-volume medical work written by Huai Yuan (courtesy name Baoqi), a physician of the Qing Dynasty from Yunjian (present-day Songjiang, Shanghai). Also known as Medical Understanding, the book took shape over more than twenty years and underwent numerous revisions before its completion in 1808, the wuchen year of the Jiaqing reign. Huai Yuan studied Confucianism in his youth, abandoned it for medicine in his prime, and carried on his family's medical tradition, practicing for nearly thirty years. The work is guided by the principle that "prescriptions should not be adhered to rigidly, yet methods must not be discarded," advocating that clinical practice requires flexible adaptation rather than rigid adherence to established formulas. Volume One is devoted to cold damage disorders, covering dual contraction, greater yang, yang brightness and lesser yang, the three yin, triple burner, yin patterns, yin deficiency, and internal damage, and proceeding to exterior and interior, heat patterns, tongue diagnosis (with an appendix on diagnosing black tongue from the Jinjing Lu and its treatment methods), chest bind, mania and delirious speech, blood stasis, macules and papules, jaundice, vomiting of roundworms, reversal patterns, unresolved sweating and purgation, spontaneous diarrhea, the four qi, and food and qi stagnation, with appendices on deteriorating conditions and lingering toxin, with particular emphasis on differentiating deficiency and excess. Volumes Two and Three address miscellaneous disorders, from wind stroke, consumption, blood patterns, cough, vomiting, malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, dysphagia, swelling and distention, accumulations, atrophy and bi syndrome, wasting-thirst, asthma, beriberi, block patterns, hernia, and urinary and fecal obstruction, to head wind, dizziness, sinusitis, diseases of the ears, eyes, mouth, and teeth, as well as scrofula, lung disorders, breast disorders, abdominal pain, and abscesses and sores. Volume Four covers gynecology, discussing menstrual regulation, vaginal discharge, pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and the postpartum period, concluding with appendices on the "five major diseases" (heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney) and "medical precepts" on the physician's character, conduct, clarity of reasoning, responsiveness, and decision-making. The book is lucid in structure and comprehensive yet focused, and has been reprinted multiple times, including in the Collection of Rare Medical Books compiled by Qiu Jisheng.

Editor's review

这是一部被长期低估的清代临证好书。怀远由儒入医，行医近三十年才动笔，全书“历二十余载，揣摩经验，凡几易稿始就”，因此少有文人医书的空泛，多是“取所尝疗治多疑难而已效者”的实录。它最大的价值有三：一是伤寒部分删繁就简，独举大纲，把表里之外尤重“虚实”二字的辨证思路讲得极清楚，可作读《伤寒论》的辅助；二是杂症部分以他症相较，反复提醒误诊之弊，痿痹之辨等小节尤见功力；三是卷末“五大病”与“医箴”，把医者的心术、品行、明理、应机讲得恳切，是清代医德文献中不多见的好文字。本次介绍依据的是《珍本医书集成》所收四卷本，该丛书1936年由上海世界书局排印，后经上海科学技术出版社、中国中医药出版社等多次影印重刊，是学界通行底本。需要提醒的是，本书文辞为清人医话笔法，方药剂量与今制不同，古籍原文不宜直接照搬施用。

Who it's for

A good fit for

已通读《伤寒论》《金匮要略》，想看清人如何以虚实为纲梳理伤寒的中医学习者
从事中医内科、妇科临证，需要参考清代医案与辨证思路的执业医师
研究清代医学史、医德伦理与《珍本医书集成》版本流传的学者与研究生
中医文献、古籍整理方向的学生，可用作繁体医籍阅读训练材料

Not a good fit for

零基础的中医爱好者，书中术语密集、无现代注解，入门者难以自立
希望照着古方自行抓药治病、寻求速成偏方的读者
只想读白话科普、不接受文言文与医案体例的普通读者

Reading tips

先读卷首两篇序与凡例，弄清作者“方不可执，法不可废”的立场，再进入正文，理解会更顺。
卷一伤寒可与《伤寒论》原文对照阅读，重点看怀远如何在表里之外辨别虚实，做读书笔记逐条比对。
卷二、卷三杂症不必求全，按自己临床或考试涉及的病证选读，注意书中“引他症以相较”的鉴别思路。
卷四“医箴”篇幅短而分量重，可单独抽出反复读，并配合现代医学伦理讨论作延伸思考。
若嫌原文艰涩，可先读校注、白话译本打底，再回到《珍本医书集成》影印本核对原文。
书中方药剂量属旧制，切勿自行照方服用，须经专业中医师辨证加减。

About the publisher

上海世界书局

Shanghai World Book Company is a publishing house. Public information is limited, and basic details such as its English name, founding year, and location have not been confirmed. According to the holdings in the database, the house currently has two titles, the representative works being The Complete Biography of Nian Gengyao and Anecdotes of Nian Gengyao. Both center on the Qing dynasty figure Nian Gengyao: the former focuses on biographical narrative, while the latter collects related anecdotes. Its publishing direction therefore appears to concentrate on biography and historical subjects, commonly classified under general biography. The author credited in the database is World Book Company, which may reflect an editorial approach organized under the house name. At present it is difficult to judge its series structure or overall author resources, but it can be confirmed that the house has devoted attention to biographical works on historical figures.

Preface One
Preface Two
Editorial Note
Volume One: Cold Damage - On the Treatise on Cold Damage
On Dual Contraction
Appendix: On the Differences Between the Shaoyin and Taiyang Patterns and Between the Taiyang and Shaoyin Pulses in the Four Diagnostic Methods
On Taiyang
On Yangming and Shaoyang
On the Three Yin
On the Triple Burner
On Yin Patterns
On Yin Deficiency
On Internal Damage
On Exterior Patterns
On Interior Patterns
On Heat Patterns
On the Tongue (with an Appendix on Diagnosing Black Tongue from the Jinjing Lu)
On Chest Bind
On Manic Speech and Delirium
Blood Stagnation
Macules and Papules
Papules (Appendix)
Jaundice
Vomiting Roundworms
Syncope
Perspiration and Purgation Without Resolution
Spontaneous Diarrhea
On the Four Qi
Food Accumulation and Qi Stagnation
Appendix: Deteriorated Patterns
Appendix: Residual Toxins
Volume Two: Miscellaneous Disorders - On Wind Stroke
On Consumptive Exhaustion
Blood Patterns
Cough
Vomiting
Malaria
On Dysentery
On Diarrhea
On Cholera

FAQ

《古今医彻》的作者和成书年代是什么？

作者为清代医家怀远，字抱奇，云间（今上海松江）人，生卒年不详。他少习儒术，壮年弃儒从医，以家学济世近三十年，历时二十余年著成此书，今多认为成书于清嘉庆戊辰年（1808）。少数资料记作乾隆年间，学界一般以1808年为准。

这本书一共几卷，各卷讲什么？

通行本为四卷。卷一专论伤寒，从两感证到夹症、坏症、遗毒；卷二、卷三为杂症，自中风至眼、耳、口、鼻、痹、痈等三十余种病证；卷四为女科，论调经、带证、胎前产后，末附“五大病”与“医箴”。

现在能买到的版本是哪一个？

最通行的是裘吉生辑《珍本医书集成》所收四卷本，1936年由上海世界书局排印，此后上海科学技术出版社（1985年影印）、中国中医药出版社（1999、2012年）等多次重刊。另有电子版流传，具体以版权页为准。

“医彻”这个书名是什么意思？

“彻”有贯通、透彻之意。作者自序称要让伤寒“独举大纲，晓畅厥义”，把历代医家的成说贯通辨析、讲透道理，故名“医彻”，后世也简称《医彻》。

书中的方剂现在还能直接照用吗？

不宜直接照搬。书中方药为清代度量与炮制体系，剂量、药材规格与今日不同，且强调“有可遵守者，有宜变通者，在临时裁酌”。应作为辨证思路参考，实际用药须由执业中医师据患者情况加减。

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

怀远 Author

Huaiyuan, whose biographical details are unavailable—including nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name—has only limited publicly accessible information. He is currently known for a single work, Gu Jin Yi Che (A Thorough Study of Medicine Ancient and Modern), commonly classified under medicine. In this book the author builds on the transmission of traditional medical learning and its clinical usefulness, organizing and connecting medical theory and therapeutic methods from ancient and modern sources. The word che in the title suggests a determination to probe medical principles thoroughly and achieve a comprehensive understanding. The writing is clear and practical in organization, making it convenient for readers to consult by category and to use as a clinical reference. Owing to the limited sources, Huaiyuan's personal experience, scholarly lineage, and the circumstances of the book's composition cannot be examined in detail. Nevertheless, the selection and arrangement of materials in Gu Jin Yi Che show that he valued the systematization of earlier experience and paid attention to the connection between medical theory and actual diagnosis and treatment, devoting considerable effort to integrating ancient and modern medical knowledge. The book can thus serve as a reader for understanding the organization of traditional medical literature and clinical approaches, and its influence and value lie mainly in the preservation and dissemination of medical knowledge.