Medical Essays by Zhang Taiyan

Name: Medical Essays by Zhang Taiyan
ISBN: 9787117071932

Zhang Binglin (Zhang Taiyan)People's Medical Publishing House2006

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Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 38
Series: Reprint Series of Famous Modern Chinese Medicine Masters (Second Series)
ISBN: 9787117071932

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Summary

Medical Essays by Zhang Taiyan is a work on traditional Chinese medicine by Zhang Taiyan, a master of modern Chinese classical studies and a late representative of the Qiantang medical school. Originally titled New Essays on Sudden Illnesses, it was first published in 1938, collated and reset in 1957, and reprinted in 2006 in the second series of the People's Medical Publishing House's Reprint Series of Famous Modern Chinese Medicine Masters. The book contains 38 essays in three broad categories: first, discussions of theoretical medical questions, such as the argument that the five viscera have no fixed correspondence to the five phases, the process by which the old theory of the meridians developed, and the argument that the sanjiao is the lymphatic glands; second, discussions of the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and syndromes, including taiyang disease, yangming disease, shaoyang disease, warm diseases, latent summerheat, cholera, plague, tetanic disease, malaria, and beriberi, together with treatment methods and formulas; third, textual research on classical medical texts and ancient weights and measures, such as discussions of the Suwen and Lingshu, the origin and development of the Shanghan Lun and the relative merits of its commentators, the argument that the Zhongzang Jing came from Song times, and ancient and modern weights and measures. Zhang Taiyan examined medical classics with the eye of a textual scholar and advocated a critical attitude of "discarding the flaws and keeping the gems." He criticized the school that rearranged the text on the theory of misplaced bamboo slips, held that Wang Shuhe did not disorder the Shanghan Lun, and stressed the value of Wang Shuhe's commentary. The book is broadly documented and rigorously argued; though brief, it is an important reference work for modern scholars studying Chinese medicine. This edition follows the 1957 collated text, correcting only individual redundant and erroneous characters.

Editor's review

这是一本“薄而重”的书：全书仅七万字，却出自近代国学泰斗之手，被中医文献界视为近代学者谈医的典范之作。章太炎并非以临床家身份谈医，而是以经学家、考据家的方法读医书：他把《素问》《灵枢》《伤寒论》《中藏经》放回文献流传的脉络中考量真伪与编次，又用当时的新知识（如淋巴腺、微生物）去回应旧有的三焦、六气、伤寒病因之说。因此这本书的价值不在于提供成套方剂，而在于示范一种“如何读医书”的方法：先辨文本，再论病证，最后落到治法。书中“论五脏附五行无定说”“论三焦即淋巴腺”“论《中藏经》出于宋人”“论古今权量”等篇，至今仍常被中医文献研究与医史研究引用。此版为2006年人民卫生出版社“现代著名老中医名著重刊丛书”第二辑成员，一仍1957年校勘本原貌，只订正个别衍文讹字，并附《金匮玉函经》校录，简体横排，便于现代读者阅读与检索。

Who it's for

A good fit for

中医文献、医史研究者，尤其是关注《伤寒论》版本与注家问题的人
中医院校师生，可用作中医经典研读与学术史课程的补充读物
对近代学术史、国学与科学思潮有兴趣的文史读者
具有一定古文阅读能力、想学习“考据式读医书”方法的中医从业者

Not a good fit for

希望直接获得辨证处方、临床套路的中医初学者
古文基础薄弱、缺乏《内经》《伤寒论》基本概念的普通读者
只想读轻松科普、追求故事性与趣味性的休闲读者

Reading tips

先读“论《伤寒论》原来及注家优劣”“论《素问》《灵枢》”等文献考证篇，建立全书的方法论框架。
读病症各篇时，手边备一本《伤寒论》与《素问》原文，对照章氏所引条文逐一核看。
遇到“肠窒扶斯”“淋巴腺”等近代译名，注意其时代语境，不必以今日术语苛求。
全书38篇不必顺序通读，可按“理论—病证—文献”三类分组，每次读三五篇并做摘记。

About the publisher

People's Medical Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Founded in 1953, the People's Medical Publishing House is an important institution in China's medical publishing field, with publishing directions covering medical textbooks, academic monographs, medical journals, and popular science books. Its collection contains 2,503 titles, mainly classified under medicine. Representative works include the Complete Book of Chinese Nutrition Science (2nd Edition, 2 volumes), Guide to Clinical Practice with Medical Records, the Golden Mirror of Medicine (Volume 1), Chinese Medical Imaging: Head and Neck Volume (3rd Edition), and the Essentials of the Golden Cabinet from the Collected Clinical Chinese Medicine Must-Read Series (Collector's Edition), spanning both modern medicine and classical Chinese medical texts. Representative authors include Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou, Ye Tianshi, Su Li, Wu Qian, Zheng Jinsheng, Wang Zhenchang, and Xian Junfang, covering fields such as nutrition, Chinese medicine, and medical imaging. With a publishing approach that balances textbooks and academic monographs, the press has established the "Renwei" brand.

1. On the Five Viscera Having No Fixed Correspondence to the Five Phases
2. On the Process of the Old Theory of the Meridians
3. On the Sanjiao Being the Lymphatic Glands
4. On Taiyang Disease Not Referring Exclusively to Taiyang
5. On Yangming Disease Being Warm-Heat Disease
6. On Yangming Disease Being Divided by Stomach and Intestines Rather Than by Meridian and Fu-Organ
7. On the Recklessness of Medication in Treating Warm Diseases
8. On More Than Ten Methods and Thirteen Formulas for Treating Warm Diseases
9. Miscellaneous Discussion of Wind-Stroke, Cold Damage, and Warm Diseases and of Physicians' One-Sided Preferences
10. On the Groundlessness of the Latent Summerheat Theory
11. On Typhoid Fever Being Taiyang Heat Stagnating in the Interior Along the Meridian, with Treatment Methods
12. On Shaoyang Disease Belonging to the Heart and Not the Kidney
13. Diagnosing Heat and Cold Syndromes of Shaoyang
14. On Jueyang and Jue Syndromes and Their Return to Heat
15. On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexual-Excess Cold Damage
16. Miscellaneous Discussion of Warm Diseases
17. Refuting the Six Qi's Victory and Revival and Discussing the Similarities and Differences Between Heat Disease and Summerheat Disease
18. On Body Temperature Not Always Rising and Falling in Uniformity Inside and Outside During Illness
19. On Microorganisms Not Being the Cause of Cold Damage and Heat Disease
20. On Various Syndromes and Treatments of Sudden Illness Invading the Lungs
21. On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Yang Toxin and Warm Toxin Syndromes
22. On Intestinal Slip
23. On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cholera
24. On the Similarities and Differences Among Dry Cholera, Cold Hernia, and Visceral Binding
25. On Plague Being Yin Toxin, with Treatment Methods
26. On Acute Miliary Tuberculosis Syndromes
27. On Tetanic Disease
28. On Great Jue and Corpse Jue Differing from Wind-Stroke
29. On Lily Disease and Mania
30. On Fox Confusion and Pestilence
31. On Malaria Not Having a Single Cause
32. On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Beriberi
33. On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Amputation Cold Damage
34. On the Suwen and Lingshu
35. On the Materia Medica Not Beginning with Ziyi
36. On the Origin of the Shanghan Lun and the Relative Merits of Its Commentators (with a Collated Record of the Jinkui Yuhan Jing)
37. On the Zhongzang Jing Coming from Song Times
38. On Ancient and Modern Weights and Measures

FAQ

《章太炎医论》和《猝病新论》是同一本书吗？

是。此书原名《猝病新论》，1938年首次出版，后经校勘整理并沿用《章太炎医论》之名，由人民卫生出版社多次再版，内容主体为同38篇论文。

这本书是讲临床开方的吗？

不是以方书形式编写。全书38篇以医理商讨、病证辨析和古籍考证为主，虽有“论治温十余法十三方”等治法讨论，但重心在学术辨析而非临床处方手册。

这个2006年版依据什么底本？

据出版说明，此版属“现代著名老中医名著重刊丛书”第二辑，仍宗1957年校勘本原貌，仅对个别衍文、讹字加以修正，其余从旧未改。

书中的“论三焦即淋巴腺”等说法今天还成立吗？

这些是章太炎借近代解剖生理知识比附中医概念的尝试，属特定时代的学术探索，今日多视为医史与学术史材料，阅读时宜作历史理解而非直接采信。

没有中医基础能读吗？

可以读，但难度较大。书中大量引用《素问》《伤寒论》原文并讨论注家异同，建议先具备中医经典的基本概念和一定古文功底，再配合注释本阅读。

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About the author

Zhang Binglin (Zhang Taiyan) Author · Chinese · 1869–1936

Zhang Binglin (Zhang Taiyan, 1869–1936), style name Taiyan, was a native of Yuhang, Zhejiang. A democratic revolutionary, thinker, and master of Chinese classical learning in the late Qing and early Republican era, he edited the Min Bao, the official newspaper of the Tongmenghui, and was known both for his revolutionary stance and his deep scholarly attainments. His research spanned the classics, history, philology, and the various schools of thought. His works include Qiu Shu, Guogu Lunheng, Wenshi, and Xin Fangyan, written in an archaic, rigorous style that combines polemical force with solid textual scholarship. He lectured and wrote for many years, and his students included Huang Kan, Qian Xuantong, and Lu Xun, giving him a profound influence on modern scholarship and literature. This library holds 24 of his works, covering classics, Eastern philosophy, literary appreciation, and culture, including public-domain editions of Guogu Lunheng and Qiu Shu as well as lectures on national learning and academic history, offering readers different angles on his thought and prose style.