Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.33

Language: English

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Traditional Chinese “herbalism” witnessed extensive development in the Tang Dynasty. Sun Simiao quoted the theory of the great Indian doctor ‘Jīvaka’ in Volume I in *Qian jin yi fang* (*Supplement to Invaluable Prescriptions for Ready Reference*) that “all things under heaven are medicines.” Undoubtedly, the thought that all things were medicines largely broadened the vision of doctors. Many Indian medicines entered China, and Indian studies on herbs were translated into Chinese. During the Tang period, Indian Master Dharmacandra (called Fa Yue in Chinese) “was proficient in Tripitaka and had good knowledge of medicine.” Volume XIV of Yuan Zhao’s *Zhenyan xin ding shi jiao mu lu* (*Catalogue of Buddhist Teachings Newly Established in the Zhenyuan Era*) records that Dharmacandra arrived in Chang’an in the 20th year of Kaiyuan Reign (732 CE), “offered astrology, medical prescriptions, palm-leaf scriptures, herbals and sutras as tributes. His disciple, Monk Li Yan translated *Fang yao* (*Prescriptions*) and *Ben cao* (*Herbals*) sutras with his master, for the emperor.” This was because properties of Hu medicines were little known in China, and the medical circles especially needed to know the characters of these foreign medicines, judge their authenticity, compare them with local medicines, and add them to the daily used medical books.

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A large quantity of medicines were recorded and applied in Chinese medicine from Su Jing’s *Xin xiu ben cao* (*Newly Revised Materia Medica*), Chen Cangqi’s *Ben cao shi yi* (*Compendium of Materia Medica*), Zheng Qian’s *Hu ben cao* (*Hu Materia Medica*) in the Tang Dynasty, Li Xun’s *Hai yao ben cao* (*Overseas Materia Medica*) in the Five Dynasties, Su Song’s *Ben cao tu jing* (*Illustrated Classics of Materia Medica*) and Tang Shenwei’s *Zheng lei ben cao* (*Classified Materia Medica*) in the Song Dynasty to Li Shizhen’s *Ben cao gang mu* (*Compendium of Materia Medica* in the Ming Dynasty. India’s ‘piperis longi’, ‘haritaki’, ‘terminalia billerica’, asafoetida, amlaphala, borneol oil, litharge, refined sugar, rhinoceros horn, radix curcumae, sal ammoniac, logwood, birthwort root, dipterocarpaceae, mastic, spica nardi and various kinds of aromatic drugs, were widely used in traditional Chinese herbal and prescription classics and some of them became common traditional Chinese medicines without foreign colourings. From the Han dynasty, the trade in medicine between India and China had continued without any interruption. This provided necessary material foundations for the development of India-China exchanges in medical sciences.

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A large quantity of Indian medical prescriptions and skills (such as Indian massage methods and ophthalmological gold needle techniques etc) were preserved in Sun Simiao’s *Bei ji qian jin yao fang* (*Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency*) and *Qianjin yi fang* (*Supplement to Invaluable Prescriptions for Ready Reference*), Wang Tao’s *Wai tai mi yao fang* (*Medical Secrets from the Royal Library*), Tanba Yasuyori’s (Japan) *Ji xin fang* (*Essence of Medical Prescriptions*) and in several other works written by Chinese physicians of later generations. They have preserved innumerable Indian medical prescriptions and methods of treatment (for example, India’s method for anesthesia and golden needle for ophthalmology). These provide an important testimony to exchanges in the medical field between India and China. Knowledge of Indian medicines also spread to China through Persia and Arabia. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, Sanlejiang (three forces liquid) syrup “via Persia” originated from three fruit medicines (‘harītakī’, ‘terminalia billerica’ and ‘amlaphala’) in India. There were multiple Indian medicines and prescriptions in the Islamic medicine book named *Hui hui yao fang* (*Prescriptions of Hui*) which was translated in the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. Particular attention must also be paid to the exchanges in medical sciences through a third country providing the bridge.