Methods for Treating Phlegm and Scrofula

李子毅Tibet People's Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

2.6

Word count: 7.1K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

In my childhood, I saw those in our village afflicted with this illness coming to our door daily to appeal for help. My late father, Yuquan, possessed the hands and eyes of a healer; he diagnosed the condition and applied treatment, and they were cured within the set time—too many to count. For the poor who could not afford to buy medicines, my father always prepared remedies in pouches and gave them freely, never seeking repayment. Thus those near and far afflicted with phlegm complaints all had something to rely on and were not afraid. In the Bingxu year of the Guangxu reign, my father passed away. At that time my grandmother was still living, and she once said to me: 'Our family's treatment of phlegm complaints began with your great-grandfather. After Yuanfeng fell ill with this condition, he sought a physician from Hunan; the doctor stayed at our home, and within a few months he was cured, and thus received the transmission. Your grandfather and your father both knew this art, relieving people in urgent need and broadening the gate of charity. Why do you not take the established methods and study them? This too would carry on the work of our forebears.' I respectfully obeyed, and applying the methods in treatment, I found none without efficacy.

Editor's review

This book traces the author's family tradition of treating phlegm-related ailments across several generations: his great-grandfather Yuanfeng fell ill, sought a physician, received the transmission, and thereafter his grandfather and father successively practiced the art, relieving people in urgent need. The author emphasizes that applying the methods yielded efficacy in every case. Its value lies not in grand theory but in showing how traditional external-medicine conditions were transmitted in folk medical practice: experience passed from patient to physician, then continued through family instruction, accompanied by the charitable practice of dispensing medicine without seeking repayment. The text is markedly autobiographical and retrospective, letting readers see how a physician narrates the legitimacy and continuity of his own technical lineage. It is best read as a document of medical social history and of Chinese medical transmission, with attention to its ethics and lineage views; the formulas therein should not be used directly in modern clinical practice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of Chinese medical history and literature, interested in folk external-medicine lineages
Readers of medical social history who want to understand traditional physician-family transmission
Students at Chinese medicine colleges, as supplementary reading on medical ethics and mentorship
Cultural readers interested in ancient charitable medical practice

Not a good fit for

Clinical readers seeking modern diagnostic and treatment plans for phlegm-related ailments
Beginners without classical Chinese who need vernacular explanation
Readers seeking systematic surgical textbook knowledge; this book is experiential narrative

Reading tips

Begin with the autobiographical section, tracing the author's three-generation medical lineage and key figures.
Note expressions such as 'diagnosing the condition and applying treatment' and 'cured within the set time,' and consider the features of ancient efficacy narratives.
Read alongside materials on the history of Chinese external medicine, distinguishing family experience from the medical theory of the time.
Treat specific formulas as documentary knowledge only; they cannot replace modern standard diagnosis and treatment.

About the publisher

Tibet People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1971

Tibet People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for collating Tibetan and Chinese ancient texts and publishing traditional culture. Judging from the books in its catalogue, its publishing focuses on medicine, Eastern philosophy, classics, and ancient poetry. It offers traditional Chinese medical and health-preserving works such as the Compendium of Materia Medica, Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold, and Principles of Correct Diet, as well as canonical and philosophical texts including the Book of Changes, Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, Annotated Edition of the Erya, and Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals, along with historical and geographical works such as The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores. Its authors include figures such as Li Shizhen, Sun Simiao, King Wen of Zhou, Zuo Qiuming, Guo Pu, Dong Zhongshu, Hu Sihui, and Ma Huan. The house emphasizes the collation and republication of ancient texts, balancing scholarship and accessibility, and has developed its own strengths in transmitting Tibetan and Chinese cultural classics. Public information is limited, so other publishing details are omitted here.

版权信息
自序
痰总论
痰鉴别法
外治法门
内治法门
风痰主治方
热痰主治方
气痰主治方
瘰主治方
筋主治方
痰主治方
瘰消核丸
禁用须知、灯火
饮食类
服药类
宜食物品
痰医案
附杨梅验方
附喉蛾捷诀

FAQ

What does 'tanli' in the title mean?

'Tanli' is a disease name in traditional medical texts, mostly associated with external sores and ulcers; its exact referent is not entirely consistent across different sources. The preface centers on the family's experience treating such conditions, and readers should understand its meaning in light of Chinese external-medicine history rather than simply equating it with a modern diagnosis.

Is this book a formulary or a case-record collection?

Judging from the preface, it is closer to a topical medical work with autobiographical family-lineage narrative, telling how the author's family treated tanli over generations, how they practiced, and how they helped others, and claiming that applying the methods was often efficacious. It is not organized as a systematic formulary or case-by-case record; readers should focus on its transmission narrative and medical ethics.

Can someone without classical Chinese read it?

The text is a classical Chinese self-account. Though not extremely difficult, it involves medical terminology and ancient forms of address, so readers without classical Chinese will find it hard going. It is advisable first to use an annotated edition or introductory guide to grasp the general meaning, then read the original; if only an overview is sought, one may first read modern research on Chinese medical transmission literature.

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About the author

李子毅 Author

Very little biographical information about Li Ziyi has survived, and the available public sources are limited; his native place, dates of birth and death, and medical training cannot be reliably ascertained. What can be confirmed is that one work by him is held in the collection, Tan Li Famen (Methods for Phlegm and Pestilential Diseases), which is classified under medicine. Judging from the title, the work is a medical monograph discussing phlegm patterns and pestilential diseases. Works of this kind in traditional Chinese medical literature generally summarize clinical experience and pattern-based treatment, and usually devote attention to analyzing causes and mechanisms, selecting formulas and drugs, and differentiating patterns. Because this is the only extant title, it is difficult to make further judgments about Li Ziyi's intellectual background or the overall shape of his writings, and it would be inappropriate to speculate about his teachers or medical career. As his transmitted work, Tan Li Famen remains the main basis for understanding his medical views and offers some reference value for the study of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to related disorders.