When it comes to traditional Chinese medicine health preservation, many people think it is both ancient and mysterious, and it seems to have nothing to do with our lives. And this concept of traditional Chinese medicine health preservation seems to have nothing to do with infants and young children. Today, we will unveil the mystery of infant health care, absorb the most essence of nutrition from the extensive and profound theory of pediatrics of traditional Chinese medicine, so that children can lay a solid foundation for a healthy life through the health care of traditional Chinese medicine.
History of Pediatrics in China
Nowadays, Western medicine is mainstream medicine, so most parents of children choose Western medicine as their first choice when their children get sick. Western medicine has a clear distinction between internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and gynecology, so when a child is sick, they go to see pediatrics, while traditional Chinese medicine does not have such a clear division of specialties. Is there a history of traditional Chinese medicine that specifically focuses on pediatrics? Now let's trace the history of traditional Chinese medicine pediatrics.
Traditional Chinese Medicine pediatrics is divided into "family" history: medical skills are divided into many categories, totaling thirteen disciplines. Among them, there is the Da Fang Mai, which is designed for adults to see a doctor. For adults, there is also the Fang Mai, which is specifically designed for children to see a doctor.
In Chinese history, the true differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine began in the Tang Dynasty. Prior to this, the internal medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics departments of traditional Chinese medicine were mixed together because their principles and basic treatment principles were the same. So this doctor may be both an internal medicine doctor, who can treat gynecological diseases and is also good at pediatrics. Among the famous doctors in ancient times, there were many such doctors.
Below is a general introduction to the history of traditional Chinese medicine pediatrics.
The earliest pediatrician in China
Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period: The famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Bian Que.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a very famous doctor named Bian Que. The original name of Bian Que was Qin Yue Ren. At that time, doctors with high medical skills were collectively referred to as "Bian Que". This Qin Yue Ren had very high medical skills, and later the name Bian Que became increasingly widespread. According to historical records, Bian Que traveled around various countries. Doctors at that time were different from doctors today. In ancient times, there was a type of doctor who traveled around and stayed at the patient's home, treating their illness and then going to another place.
At that time, the profession of a doctor was about traveling and seeking medical treatment at the same time. After traveling throughout the country, Bian Que summarized many medical skills and wrote a book in his later years. Bianque went to different countries to seek medical treatment for different groups of people. He went to Qin mainly to treat pediatric diseases. Because the Qin people attach great importance to children, if the Qin king wants to unify the six states, he must make his citizens strong, so he pays great attention to the healthy growth of children. When Bianque arrived in Handan, she was treated for vaginal diseases. The so-called vaginal diseases refer to the veins below the veins, which is a gynecological disease. Because Handan belongs to the land of Yan and Zhao, it values beauty and women.
Bianque went to Luoyang to treat the illnesses of the elderly. Because Luoyang belonged to the former Zhou Dynasty, people in the Zhou Dynasty paid great attention to etiquette and respected the elderly. From Bian Que's experience, it can be seen that he treats different groups of people. But some people still say that Bian Que was the earliest pediatrician.
The History of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Qin, Han, and Jin Dynasties
Furthermore, during the Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties, some medical books specifically recorded pediatrics.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties:
Sun Simiao's "Qian Jin Fang"
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, some places began to establish pediatric clinics, which included a specialized department for treating children's illnesses. At this time, a group of famous doctors also emerged. For example, Chao Yuanfang in the Sui Dynasty and Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty. As we all know, Sun Simiao is revered as the "King of Medicine" in our medical field. He wrote two works, one is "Qian Jin Fang" and the other is "Qian Jin Yi Fang". Because each doctor values different things, Sun Simiao placed his most important medical content at the beginning of the book. In the "Qian Jin Fang", the first outline listed is in terms of diseases. Gynecology ranks first, followed by pediatrics, and he places great emphasis on women and children. The ancients called women and children the formula for women, children, and infants. Sun Simiao listed obstetrics and pediatrics as the top priority in his "Qian Jin Fang", indicating that he attaches great importance to pediatrics.
Later on, Wang Tao of the Tang Dynasty wrote a book called "Secret Essentials of Outer Taiwan", which also included a special section on pediatrics. These sections were dedicated to discussing pediatrics by some famous doctors at that time, proving that pediatrics was already highly valued at that time. Going further into the Song Dynasty, because it was a very stable period, and the emperor of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to the organization of literature, such as the well-known "Song Ben Shang Han Lun" and "Tai Ping Hui Min He Ci Ju Fang", which were compiled during the Song Dynasty.
Qian Yi
The Song Dynasty also produced a very famous physician named Qian Yi. Qian Yi, a medical expert, has a groundbreaking significance in the history of traditional Chinese medicine pediatrics. He wrote a book called "Direct Formula for Pediatric Medicine Syndrome", which specifically discusses diseases in pediatrics. This book has a great influence on the development of pediatrics. The original inventor of Liuwei Dihuang Pill was Qian Yi. He wrote in the "Direct Formula for Pediatric Medicine Diagnosis": "Children have the phenomenon of five delays and five softs, which are all manifestations of kidney deficiency. The five delays and five softs are mainly manifested in delayed speech, delayed tooth extraction, delayed fontanelle closure... This indicates poor bone development. Because traditional Chinese medicine believes that the kidney governs the bone and generates marrow. Poor bone development, slow growth, and limited growth are mainly caused by insufficient kidney qi.
So Qian Yi invented Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, which replenished kidney qi, and the child's development became faster and normal. Because children have a pure yang body and abundant yang energy, there is no need to use medicines such as cinnamon and aconite in them. Before Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, there was a formula called Ba Wei Di Huang Wan, which was invented by Zhang Zhongjing in "Jin Kui Yao Lue" and is now known as Jin Kui Shen Qi Wan. This Shen Qi Wan contains two ingredients that nourish kidney yang, which children do not need. Qian Yi removed the two ingredients and became Liu Wei Di Huang Wan.
The earliest pediatric work in China, the Craniopharyngeal Classic
The Craniopharyngeal Classic is one of the earliest existing specialized books in pediatrics. The title of the book is derived from the meaning that the skull and fontanelle of a child are not closed at birth, also known as the "Shiwu Skull and fontanelle Classic". When we look through the most famous Qing Dynasty "Siku Quanshu", we find that there is a summary of the "Cranial fontanelle Sutra" with the following text: "The Cranial fontanelle Sutra, consisting of two volumes, was not written by a famous author. There is no other biography in the world, and only the" Yongle Encyclopedia "contains its book. Looking at historical records throughout history, there is no such name from the" Tang Yiwen Zhi "to the" Song Yiwen Zhi ", and only the" Shi Wu Cranial fontanelle Sutra ", consisting of two volumes
The title of the book is derived from the meaning that the skull and fontanelle of a newborn child are not closed. Also known as the "Shiwu Cranial fontanelle Scripture". Two volumes (one in three volumes). The legend of "Shi Wu" during the reign of King Mu of Zhou (written by Wei Xun in the Eastern Han Dynasty). After the Ming Dynasty, the original book was lost, and what is now preserved is the incomplete version of the Siku Quanshu, which was compiled from the Yongle Encyclopedia. It can be seen that the book we currently know about, the "Cranial fontanelle Classic," may have been written by a shaman during the late Tang and early Song dynasties. The meaning of "cranial fontanelle" is: "The person with cranial fontanelle is called the cranial fontanelle of the yin-yang transformation of heaven and earth, hence the name
Pure Yang Body ": The earliest viewpoint that proposed children as" pure Yang Body "was that" children under the age of three are called pure Yang, and their vitality has not dissipated ".
The core content and principles of traditional Chinese medicine health preservation
The core content and principles of traditional Chinese medicine health preservation involve the most basic methodology of traditional Chinese medicine. Firstly, traditional Chinese medicine is a macro concept that considers whether the physical and mental health of the human body is balanced from a holistic perspective. Therefore, the biggest characteristic of traditional Chinese medicine is the holistic view, which includes the whole body as a whole. Secondly, place humans in nature, because humans are a part of nature, and in nature, humans and nature are harmonious and integrated as a whole. In addition, there is harmony between people, including mentality, which is the holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine.
Secondly, another core concept of traditional Chinese medicine is balance. This balance is not only the balance of yin and yang in humans, but also the balance of qi in the five organs, as well as the balance between body and mind. This is the concept of balance, which can basically cover most of the content of traditional Chinese medicine concepts with overall balance.
Chinese herbal preparations: soup, pill, powder, ointment, pill
When a child is sick, there are generally several treatment methods used by ancient doctors:
The first one is taking medication. Ancient Chinese medicine had special requirements for pediatric medicine.
1. It cannot be particularly bitter. Because it's too bitter, children don't like to drink.
2. The dosage should not be too large. Most of them are in the amount of one yuan or a few cents, and they are very light. Because children's organs are delicate, heavy and strong medicines cannot be used.
3. The medicinal properties should not be particularly biased. If the medicinal properties are biased and the child's body cannot tolerate it, it is called a "bully drug". Medications like Fuzi are rare in pediatric medicine.
Of course, ancient people also divided this traditional Chinese medicine into many types. Some were directly boiled into soup, some were made into small pills and fed to children, and there were also powders that were powdered and consumed with water. There is also a paste, which is made by boiling these medicines, concentrating them, and then adding honey and other ingredients to refine them into a creamy paste. Like syrup drugs.
These are the pills, powders, ointments, and pills of traditional Chinese medicine, which have continued to this day. Another way is to mix this medicine with this food, that is, after the medicine is beaten into powder, it is mixed into glutinous rice and flour, steamed into cakes, and made into something like Dim sum. This kind of thing was especially popular in the Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a famous recipe called Jianpi Bazhen Cake, which was made for the physical health of the crown princes. This type of food is delicious and sweet, which children love to eat and can nourish their digestive system.
Disclaimer: This article is a sharing of health knowledge. The drugs, prescriptions, acupuncture and moxibustion and other treatment and health preserving methods mentioned in this article should be applied under the guidance of professional doctors, and should not be applied by yourself. We are not responsible for any issues arising from improper use.