22 Chinese Horse Medicine: Texts and Illustrations

22 ChineseHorseMedicine:TextsandIllustrations Paul D. Buell, Timothy May and David Ramey* The domesticated horse appeared early in China. It was cauterisation are clearly not treatments of choice in the used to draw chariots no later than Shang times (late 2nd qmys. These remained herbal. Already the qmys shows the millennium), and for riding during the mid-Zhou (after the influence of the theoretical system developed earlier for 6th century bce), in imitation of China’s pastoral enemies, human patients, including the key concept of Qi 氣, the then pressing upon the Middle Kingdom.1 Nonetheless, in resident Yang 陽 energy and motive force pervading the spite of its importance for maintaining mounted armies body according to the Chinese medical system, although and other uses of the horse, China was late to develop references to Qi remain a very minor tradition in the qmys. a specialised horse medicine. Veterinarians are among The qmys was written during the Toba Wei 魏 dynasty those medical officials mentioned in the Zhouli 周禮 (386–535), a period not only of foreign rule in China, but (Rituals of the Zhou). This is a work of early Han 漢 times.2 also of great foreign influence, especially through the There are also hints of specialised knowledge of horses in medium of Buddhism. This may be the source of some of other sources (e.g., the Bo Le 伯樂 tradition found in the the new ideas in the qmys. Its bleeding and cauterisation, Zhuangzi 莊子),3 but there are no actual texts until much for example, are differently applied compared to what we later. The most important Chinese works date only from know of the human medicine of the time.7 In fact the closest the Ming 明 dynasty (1368–1644). equivalents of the bleeding and cauterisation of the qmys must be sought in Greece and Rome, where such treatments had a far longer history than in China.8 Texts Shortly after the time of the qmys (early 6th century), references to specialised veterinary texts begin to appear in The earliest surviving veterinary texts of any sort in China our sources. Several are mentioned in early bibliographies, are a few stray horse recipes found among Dunhuang 敦煌 including that accompanying the Suishu 隋書, the official documents. These are largely from Qin 秦 (255–206 bce) history of the Sui 隋 dynasty (580–618). It was written in and Han 漢 (206 bce–220 ce) times.4 In them, treatment Tang 唐 times. Unfortunately, none of these early texts is overwhelmingly herbal. This parallels the main focus of appear to have survived, except perhaps as fragments in Chinese medicine for humans down to the present. Later, later documents.9 Veterinary information does continue the popular sixth-century manual Qimin yaoshu 齊民要 to occur in passing in other sources that do survive, in- 術 (Essential Arts to Assist the People) (hereafter qmys), cluding a Northern Song 宋 (960–1125) military manual,10 included its own selection of veterinary recipes.5 They were but information in them is limited. A Northern Song date not just for horses, but for a variety of other animals as well. is claimed for a treatise on camel medicine, but this text In these early texts, clear development is evident. The only survives in a late, extensively edited form,11 and as qmys, for example, calls not just for herbal treatment but such is an unreliable guide to Song practice. By contrast, a also for a specialised bleeding and cauterisation. This late 14th-century compilation does contain genuine works is a first for Chinese veterinary medicine although not, from earlier times. This is the Simu anji ji 司牧安驥集 apparently, for humans.6 Be that as it may, bleeding and (Collections for Pacifying Stallions when Administering Flocks) (hereafter smajj), published in 1384. Judging from * All images courtesy of David Ramey. internal evidence, most of its components are apparently 1 For an introduction to the horse in China, see Cooke (ed.) 2000. 2 von den Driesch and Peters 2000, p. 59. 7 The cauterisation called for in Qimin yaoshu recipes, for exam- 3 Wang Shishun et al. (eds) 1983. ple, had little or nothing to do with moxa-cautery, the indige- 4 See Xie Guihua 2005. nous tradition of cauterisation already established in China. It 5 See the full translation of the horse portions of the veterinary seems to represent something entirely novel, and probably an texts in Ramey and Buell 2001. introduction from somewhere else. 6 All this depends upon when the texts currently making up the 8 See Buell, May and Ramey 2010. Huangdi neijing 黃帝內經 (Yellow Thearch’s Inner Canon) were 9 See the discussion in Zhou Jiezheng 1960. written. A Han date is claimed but existing versions go back no 10 See von den Driesch and Peters 2003, p. 60. farther than Song or Tang. On bleeding in these texts, see Epler 11 Discussion in Franke 1997. We do not share Franke’s views on the 1980. early dating of this text. Paul D. Buell, Timothy May, and David Ramey - 9789004366183 Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 04:58:37AM via free access 316 buell, may and ramey from the 11th and 12th centuries, but some may be later. detailed discussion of a variety of topics: horse physiogno- In particular, some show the signs of the developed cor- my; horse whorl lore, a kind of divination based upon close respondence theory that first came to fruition in human examination of the configurations assumed by a horse’s medicine during late Song, Jin 金 (1125–1234) and Yuan 元 hair that is also found outside of China;16 horse diagnosis (1260–1369) times. Most smajj texts are probably northern and physiology; horse pathology, including a considera- in origin (China was disunited at the time) although some, tion of the eye diseases of the horse; taboo and propitious probably those added last, may have been Southern Song days for treatment; correspondences; and a huge section, (1125–1279).12 comprising all of books 3 and 4, on specific conditions From roughly the same period comes a more signif icant and the treatments preferred for them. At the end of the work, the first surviving monograph devoted exclusively book, there is also a detailed listing of herbal medicines to horse medicine, the Xinbian jicheng mayi fang 新編集 and preparations and their specific applications. 成馬醫方, (Newly Printed and Collected Recipes for Horse The Ming edition apparently became rare, the case Medicine), which, although written in Chinese, is actually today too, and in the 18th century, an entirely new edition a Korean work. It was first published in 1399.13 was made of the yhlmj. This edition is still in general use. Despite these important early efforts, the most sig- Editions based on this new edition have continued to be nificant works in the genera of horse medicine date only made down to the present, each, as a rule, with changes to from the Ming 明 dynasty (1368–1644). Among them is suit different times, making the use of the most modern the Yuan Heng liaoma ji 元亨療馬集 (Yuan and Heng’s editions of the text problematical at best. The 18th-century Collection for Treating Horses) (hereafter yhlmj), first reworking was by Guo Huaixi 郭懷西 and was published in published under that title in 1608. The existing version is 1732 in his collection Xinke zhushi ma niu tuo jing daquan supposedly the work of two brothers, horse specialists with 新刻注釋馬牛駝經大全 (Newly Printed and Annotated long experience. In fact, this is not likely to have been the Horse, Ox, and Camel Classics). case. As the Korean scholar Kang Myun Hee 姜冕熙 has Another major horse text of the Ming period is the shown, the yhlmj is actually a new edition of an earlier Xinke ma shu 新刻馬書, (Newly Printed Horse Book), from text, the Liaoma ji 療馬集 (Collection for Treating Horses), 1594. It is by the Ming literatus Yang Shiqiao 楊時喬 (d. now lost. It lacked any reference to two brothers Yuan and 1609), who is also the author of a treatise on Ming horse Heng.14 Although emphasised in the preface to the 1608 management, the Mazheng ji 馬政記 (Record of the Horse edition, this fraternal tradition is also suspect because the Administration). The latter work is mostly devoted to two characters Yuan 元 and Heng 亨 can also be taken official pronouncements. This is not the case with Yang’s as a reference to the Qian 乾 chapter of the Yijing 易經 ‘Horse Book’. It is in 13 books and does not come down to (Book of Changes).15 In any case, the existing yhlmj has us complete. The text is highly literary and is replete with clearly been compiled from a variety of existing sources. quotations from classical sources and copies out whole In this respect it is like the older smajj, although editors documents in some cases. Topics discussed include phys- have made the material in the yhlmj fit more seamlessly iognomy and general aspects of judging horses, general than is the case with the heterogeneous material in the methods for treatment, correspondence theory (the fullest earlier collection. discussion of this in the traditional veterinary literature), Spurious attribution notwithstanding, the yhlmj is an physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and bleeding and cauter- extraordinarily rich work. It is in six books and includes isation, with some consideration of specific pathologies. Book 12 is lost and book 13 is in fragments only; the latter 12 For further analysis and discussion, see Buell, May and Ramey deals with the treatment of donkeys.

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