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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t4: Works

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t4

Language
English

Works

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Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency

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Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency was a famous work of traditional Chinese medicine in the Tang Dynasty. The author was the famous Tang medical scientist, Sun Simiao. The book reflected the tendency of traditional Chinese medicine to absorb knowledge of Indian medicine and Buddhism.

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Sun Simiao collected medical books from different schools and massive folk prescriptions in successive

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‘*Beiji Qianjing Yaofang*’ (*Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency*)

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dynasties, learned from sutras extensively, deleted complicated contents, absorbed advantages of various schools, and compiled the book in the third year of Yonghui period (652). The book’s name came from the sentence that “importance was attached to human life, it valued a thousand pieces of gold and virtues exceeded relief in a region so it was named”. *Valuable prescriptions for Emergency* had 30 volumes, dividing into 232 sections, covered over 5,200 prescriptions and had rich collections and profound contents which was a great medical work in the nature of encyclopedia and made outstanding contributions to the development of traditional Chinese medicine for later generations.

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Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency had important clinical values and it has been circulated, copied and issued for thousands of years which was carved and printed for over 30 times. The book has different versions, volumes and words differ slightly and it is divided into three great systems: the official carved version revised by Medical Book Revision Bureau of the Northern Song Dynasty, the manuscript of the Tang Dynasty which wasn’t revised by courtiers of the Song Dynasty and the version of *Orthodox Taoist Scriptures* in the Ming Dynasty. The books has also other names like *Newly Carved Valuable Prescriptions of Saint Sun*, *Authentic Valuable Prescriptions*, *Valuable Prescriptions of King Medicine* (combined issue of *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions*) etc.

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Sun Simiao “was good at talking about theories of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and various schools of thoughts and was proficient in explaining classics” so *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* “collected widely and deleted complicated contents” and quoted deep knowledge from Buddhist and Indian medicine. “Virtues of a great doctor” in its Volume 1 Preface Case proposed that “all people shall be equal including the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the beautiful and the ugly, the resentful and kind-hearted friends, Chinese and foreigners, the wise and the stupid, who shall be treated as close relatives in terms of treatment with diseases”. It showed influences of the Buddhist concept of mercy. In the matter of theory of causes of disease, the *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency*, absorbed the theories of “body being composed of the four elements including earth, water, fire and wind” as well as “404 diseases” of Indian Buddhist medicine. Replacing “101 diseases being caused by one great abnormity” with the theories of “Qi” and “spirit” of traditional Chinese medicine, Sun Simiao writes that the “abnormity of one Qi leads to 101 diseases, 404 diseases are caused by action of the four spirits”, which reflected his acceptance of foreign medical knowledge.

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*Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* also contained some prescriptions using Indian medicines. Its Volume 12 of *Gallbladder* had the section on “Pills and Powders for 10,000 Diseases” and recorded 13 prescriptions, among which “Jivaka Pill for Ten Thousand Diseases” was the most representative medicine. The pill for 10,000 diseases “had mainly bezoar, so it was also named bezoar pill; it was named Jivaka pill because of the good doctor Jivaka”. Jivaka was a famous doctor recorded in Indian *sutra* using his name to name a medical prescription showed that Sun Simiao knew about Indian medical thoughts and Jivaka prescriptions to some extents, and absorbed them. Volume 27 of *Cultivation of Temperament* in *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* collected “Indian massage which was a Brahman method”. This was a relatively rare Indian massage method in Chinese literature. On one hand, Buddhist thoughts and Indian medicine had active effects on Sun Simiao’s knowledge structure and clinical thinking which made him one of the main driving forces in the change of medical knowledge in traditional Chinese medicine history. On the other hand, the foreign knowledge further enlarged its influences on China because of the collection in his work.

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*(Chen Ming)*

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Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions

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Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions It was a famous traditional Chinese medicine book in the Tang Dynasty. The author was the excellent medical scientist Sun Simiao in the Sui and Tang Dynasty. The book was as important as *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* to study India-China medical culture exchange in the period of the Six Dynasties as well as the Sui and Tang Dynasty.

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After Sun Simiao compiled *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* in the third year of Yonghui Period of Emperor Gao in the Tang Dynasty (652 CE), he was worried about omissions, so he collected secret prescriptions for another 30 years, including *Treatise on Febrile Diseases* of Zhang Zhongjing, combined clinical experience of dozens of years and compiled *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions*. The two books were an excellent match like flying birds so that readers could cure diseases, keep healthy and benefit greatly. *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* also had 30 volumes, supplemented over 2,000 ancient prescriptions which weren’t collected in *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency*. The part of *Medicine Record* in the preface of the book collected over 800 medicines and greatly enriched materia medica knowledge in the Tang Dynasty.

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Sun Simiao absorbed medical knowledge from Indian Buddhism actively and held a positive attitude towards the famous doctor Jivaka in the era of Buddha. He accepted Jivaka’s theory that “all things were medicines”. “Section II Medicine Names” in volume I of “Outline of Medicine Record” of *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* wrote that “the great Indian doctor Jivaka said that all things under the heaven were panaceas. Everything was a medicine. The one who knew this was a great doctor.” This medical thought that “all things were medicines” broadened Sun Simiao’s vision and widened the scope of herbalism, and had great significance. Under the influence of this thought, Sun Simiao absorbed a lot of folk or foreign medicines. Compared with *Newly Revised Materia Medica*, *Valuable Prescriptions for Emergency* and *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* had 680 more kinds of medicines, medicine species were enriched greatly and the thought had played an active role in promoting development of materia medica in later generations.

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Sun Simiao also paid attention to a combination of Indian and Chinese medical principles. Volume 21 “Jīvaka’s Curing Malignant Diseases” of *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* pointed out that “there were 404 disease winds. Generally speaking, there were five types, ie they were caused by five winds. Every hundreds of disease is related to five internal organs, and each internal organ may cause 81 kinds of diseases altogether 404 diseases. Every disease shall be treated with the category well known.” The sayings that “there were four hundred and four kinds of disease winds” and “each internal organ had 81 kinds in terms of the five internal organs”, reflected that Sun Simiao tried to combine the Indian medical theory of “404 diseases” with inherent theories of traditional Chinese medicine (such as the theory of

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‘Qianjin Yifang’ (Supplement to Valuable Prescription)

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five elements and the concept of viscera pathology) and further enriched the traditional Chinese medical pathological theories. *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* kept many prescriptions named after Jīvaka. As early as in 1936, Fan Xingzhun pointed out in the paper, *Study on Prescriptions in the Western Regions* that “acute conjunctivitis prescription” and “prescription curing acute conjunctivitis” in volume 11 of *Children’s Eye Diseases* of *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions*, “prescription taking calamus” and “Jīvaka soup – the prescription for extreme deficiency, cold wind, weakness and colourlessness ” in volume 12 of Cultivation of Temperament, “sulfur grundum simmering – the prescription for flaccidity of lower limbs and cold caused by deficiency” in volume 17 Apoplexia Part II, “honey simmering – the prescription for consumptive thirst”, “goat spinal cord simmering – the prescription for consumptive thirst, dry mouth and throat moistening” and “honey simmering – the prescription for thirsts” in volume 19 *Miscellaneous Diseases*, “Ajanta medicine – the prescription for diseases which can be helpful for look and cure diseases after taking for a long time in the recuperating way”, “prescription of asafoetida pill”, “prescription of kuhseng and nitrel liquor”, “prescription of great white paste”, “prescription of great black paste”, “prescription of great white paste”, “prescription of immersion soup”, “innocence pill for one hundred fears”, “prescription curing ten leprosy diseases” and “magic prescription curing leprosy” in volume 21 *Ten Thousand Diseases* and “prescription of the great doctor Jīvaka curing 10,000 diseases of viscera, tonifying and prolonging life” in volume 22 *Flying and Refining* came from Indian prescriptions. As for “the prescription taking calamus”, Sun Simiao clearly recorded that “Indian Tripitaka Dharma Master Varmanmiti from Rajagrha City, Magadha Kingdom became was an envoy of Tujue in the 8ᵗʰ year of Daye Period and it was translated by the Great Virtue Master of Luozhou and Master Ju in Pure Land Temple on July 23, the sixth year of Wude Period. Master Ju was Master Xing Ju in the early the Tang Dynasty. The source of “immersing method in liquor” attached to “the prescription of kuhseng and nitrel liquor” was “from *Treatise on Prescriptions of Jīvaka: Method Curing Moderate Gale*”. *Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* kept many Indian prescriptions and used much more prescriptions of Indian medicines including asafoetida, especially flavour prescriptions including lavender.

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*Supplement to Valuable Prescriptions* also collected medical mantras with Indian Tantric colour, such as “spell eliminating ghosts” in volume 13 and “method of forbidden order for harmonious family” in volume 30 of *Forbidden Sutra*, Part II, which showed that Sun Simiao absorbed knowledge of Indian medicine and religion. Although Jīvaka’s medical prescriptions under the pen of Sun Simiao has source factors of Indian medical science, they had not been pure Indian prescriptions. A lot of elements of traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist medicine had been added, which showed the tendency of combining Chinese medical science with Indian medical science in the Tang Dynasty.

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(*Chen Ming*)

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Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library

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*Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* is the most important collection of the large medical and pharmaceutical books during the Tang Dynasty. Compiled by Wang Tao (670-755 CE or 690-756 CE) during the 11ᵗʰ year of Tianbao period (752 CE), the book treasures a large collection of knowledge on ancient medical science and Buddhism of India, an embodiment of great influence of Indian medicine on China before the Tang Dynasty.

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With 40 volumes and 1,104 categories in total, *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* always probes into the causes and development of a disease and then recommends the appropriate prescriptions. It is based on *General Treatise on the Cause and Symptoms of Diseases* by Chao Yuanfang and *Essential Recipes for Emergent Use* by Sun Simiao and records a total of more than 6,000 effective prescriptions, all classified into proper categories and covering a wide range of areas. The book quotes lots of ancient classic prescriptions and writings by influential people in history "from the period of patron of agriculture all the way down to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the book almost contains everything that is valuable and precious to medical science". It collects an enormous number of ancient prescriptions with reasonable and unique interpretation and analysis, and compared with *Essential Recipes for Emergent Use* which is divided

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into two volumes, *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* seems more precise and convincing by clearly showing the origin of quotations, by which, people view it as a mirror of classic historical books. As a result of treasuring many medical literature before the Tang Dynasty with clear annotation of origin of quotations, the book provides so much convenience for scholars in later generations to trace the source, and thus be able to outline a clear and accurate picture of development of medical science from Han to Tang Dynasty, and it can be viewed as one of the three valuable collections for us to explore the medical, social and literature history of the Tang Dynasty. In 1069, a re-proofreading and re-printing job was carried out by Cheng Yandao but unfortunately it was not done perfectly. So Lu Xinyuan in Qing Dynasty wrote the book *The Correction and Complementation to Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* and in Japan, there is the photo-offset copy of Song Dynasty edition by Seikado Bunko Library. As of now, the checking and annotating version of *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* by Gao Wenzhu is the most popular one.

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Wang Tao made good use of collection of books in Hong Wen Library (created in Tang Dynasty) and widely collected the ancient and current discourses on prescriptions. A lot of books on which the quotations of *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* were based were lost and therefore, this book is the only way for people to understand how those lost books had absorbed the outside culture and how they were transformed. *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* recorded immense information on outside medical science, the most important part of which is the 21ˢᵗ volume *Tianzhu Scriptures on Eye Preface One*, written by a Longshang Taoist priest whose surname is Xie, living at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the most prosperous period of Tang. It's said that Xie acquired knowledge from a Serindia monk in Qizhou (now Jinan City, Shandong Province). *Tianzhu Scriptures on Eye* is a miniature of ophthalmology knowledge in India including the Four Element Theory of Buddhism and traditional technique for couching cataracts which is not merely the very important and valuable historical materials for later generations to understand the Indian ophthalmology knowledge but also boasts essential clinical value for today's ophthalmic medical practice. *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* quotes so many things from *Jinxiao Prescriptions* which are basically the effective time-honoured one from the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang period. Among them, the Brahmin monk therapy for diseases caused by wind, therapy for heat-toxicity by alchemical medicine and disease that hands and feet are unable to coordinate, *Alternanthera Sessilis Cream* which originally belongs to Brahmin's prescriptions and Liaosan, 50-year Red Eye and Bingtaichi prescription in *Essential Prescriptions Compiled by Cui Zhiti* which are strictly based on medicine in west regions of Tang as well as the Gentiana Macrophylla Cow Milk Soup in *Xu Renze’s Prescriptions* are all the best examples of outside prescriptions transmitting and gaining popularity in China during the Tang Dynasty. Several prescriptions in *Jinxiao Prescriptions* include some drugs which obviously are foreign drugs such as the He Lile, Persian verdigris, sweet basil, arrowhead, and long pepper. Most of the prescriptions we see in *Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library* are similar with those in *Yajur* (Life) Veda classics of India, representing the great influence of ancient Indian medicine on traditional Chinese medicine in Tang Dynasty.

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(*Chen Ming*)

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Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Ophthalmology

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It was a kind of ophthalmology work named after Bodhisattva Nagarjuna in the Middle Ages and the author was unknown. It was similar to *Indian Sutra and Shastra on Ophthalmology* quoted from the *Medical Secrets from the Royal Library* written by Wang Tao in the Tang Dynasty and the name of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s *Sutra on Ophthalmology* reflected the historical fact that ancient Indian ophthalmology knowledge was popular in China.

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Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s *Sutra on Ophthalmology* was one volume of *Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Ophthalmology* recorded in the books such as *Chongwen Overall Catalogue* and *Reading Record in Chief’s Residence*, etc., *Reading Record in Chief’s Residence* said that, “Buddhist sutra of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna can cure eye diseases. According to its statement, it integrates prescriptions which can treat with seventy two eye diseases”. The book described causes and treatment methods of eye diseases and explained the couching methods in detail. The original *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Ophthalmology* was lost and some contents were quoted in Volume 64 and 65 of *Collection of Prescriptions* compiled by Kim Yemong of North Korea in the Ming Dynasty. The ophthalmology works such as *Nagarjuna’s Treatise*, *Longmu’s Treatise* and *Nagarjuna’s Overall Treatise on Secret Ophthalmology* etc were named after Nagarjuna by later generations.

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Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, as a medical scientist, was a character different from Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, the Mahayana founder in the history of Buddhism. Volume 34 of *Confucian Classics Records III* of *Book of the Sui Dynasty* recorded dozens of names of medical books of India and the Western Regions including four volumes of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Prescriptions*, two volumes of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Flavour Methods* and one volume of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Healthy Methods*. Chinese medical books in *Catalogue of Books Seen in Japan* were introduced from China, the medical books named after Bodhisattva Nagarjuna included one volume of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Flavor Methods*, one volume of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Sutra on Ophthalmology*, one volume of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Seal Methods*, and one volume of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Secrets of Bodhisattva Asvaghosa* (written by Shramana Shanti, and some versions claimed that it was “written by Shramana Bohdi”), in which some Indian medical elements were included. These classics may be copied and compiled by Chinese monks or foreign sutra translators according to some contents in Indian Buddhist sutras. *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Flavor Methods* shall be Volume nine of Fei Changfang’s *Records of Three Treasures throughout Successive Generations* and one volume (Common Fifty Methods) of *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Flavor Methods* quoted in Volume four of Dao Xuan’s *Buddhist Catalogue of the Great Tang Dynasty* was translated by Indian Tripitaka Dharma Master Ratnamati in the period of Emperor of Liang. Volume 26 of *Prescriptions of Medical Heart* written by Japanese Yasuyori Tanbo (912-995 CE) quoted two entries of *Nagarjuna’s Prescriptions* which were witch ways for respect and love between men and women rather than flavor methods. *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Flavour Methods* shall be the same as that in *Book of the Sui Dynasty: Confucian Classics Records*. It shall be related to *Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s Seal Treatise on Five Sciences* quoted in Book II of *Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Five Sciences*. *Catalogue of Books Seen in Japan* also compiled similar *Secrets of Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Five Sciences* and *Nagarjuna’s Methods to Leave Seal*.

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*Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Ophthalmology* was relatively famous in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi

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The Treatise on Ophthalmology

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wrote in the poem *Eye Disease* that “*Nagarjuna’s Treatise* is spread on desk and semen cassiae torae is stored in a box. No prescriptions are helpful in the world, and gold needle operation will be a try.” This is an example of “gold needle operation” (couching) in *Nagarjuna’s Treatise on Ophthalmology* which was popular in the society. There were Indian monks who were good at curing eye diseases with gold needle in the Tang Dynasty, for example, Liu Yuxi’s *For Oculist Brahman Monk* described that “the master is good at gold needle operation, why does he think about ways of enlightenment.” In 2012, Indian scholar Vijaya Jayant Deshpande published *Restoring the Dragon's Vision – Nagarjuna and Medieval Chinese Ophthalmology* with the Chinese scholar Doctor Fan Jiawei from Hong Kong in Chinese Culture Center of City University of Hong Kong, and translated Nagarjuna’s expositions on ophthalmology in ancient Chinese literature into English which is another good example of modern India-China medical exchange.

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(*Chen Ming*)

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Sutra of Buddhist Medicine

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Buddhist sutras for medical knowledge in ancient India was translated in the Three Kingdoms period. Its full name is Dharma Sutra of Buddhist Medicine and there are also other translated names including Buddhist Medical Classic and Dharma Medical Classic. It had one volume in total and the translators were Zhu Luan, a Buddhist monk of India and Zhiyue of Yuezhi who came to Wu in the Three Kingdoms Period. The *Sutra* had exerted certain influence on the medical theory in ancient China.

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The *Sutra of Buddhist Medicine* has short contents. Baochang and Zhisheng, scholars of Buddhism Catalogue, thought that it was, in fact, selected and translated from a long Buddhist text instead of a complete *sutra* and that it should be an abbreviated sutra. The *Sutra of Buddhist Medicine*, from the perspective of Buddhist medical knowledge, explained the basic theory of Buddhist medicine in ancient India including theories like Four Discordance (earth, water, fire and wind), Si Bai Si Bing, Diseases and Diets in Four Seasons, Ten Causes of Falling Ill, Nine Causes of Dying, Four Kinds of Foods, Six Causes of Vegetarianism, Five Crimes of Eating Too Much and Various Kinds of Pains. It embodied the fundamental view of primitive Buddhism in India on physical and mental health as well as protection against diseases. It stated in the *sutra* that the human body is composed of four elements including earth, water, fire and wind and once the four elements are in disorder, a disease will come. In addition, seasonal variation, improper diet as well as bad psychological status and living habits will in company with growth and decline of the four elements, throw internal mechanism of human body into disorder thus causing diseases. Four Discordance, *Si Bai Si Bing*, the essential theories in the sutra, have exerted certain influence on medical concepts in ancient China to some extent. Some scholars thought that there were Yin-Yang and Five Elements as well as Taoism regimen in the *sutra*. So, it was an apocrypha, in which the contents were obtained from Taoism scriptures and the contained information was inaccurate.

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(*Chen Ming*)

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Bower Manuscript

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Bower Manuscript is a Sanskrit text found in Kuqa, Sinkiang in 6^th^ century CE. It has seven remaining volumes in which the medical contents showed us the achievements of ancient India and the influence on Chinese medicine.

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This batch of manuscripts was derived from an ancient site near Kuqa, Xinjiang in 1889 and was obtained by Hamilton Bower, Lieutenant of British Forces, the next year. Without a title, the original manuscript was generally called *The Bower Manuscript* by the Academia for convenience. The original volume was later collected by the Bodleian Library of Oxford University. A F Rudolf Hoernle (1841-1918) spent more than 20 years in working on a research on it and published three books in which board charts, translation, transliteration, preface and annotations are included. Lore Sander thought that *The Bower Manuscript* which was written in the *pattra*-leaf brich bark was a product of Kashmir. The language used was Sanskrit, mixed with some folk adage. In addition, it was copied in the Gupta period in which the typeface style of Mathura and Rajasthan-Malawi are included. It is supposed to have been written in the later period of Gupta Dynasty (about 320-550) in India, namely in the beginning or middle period of the 6^th^ century. However, there is another possibility that it was brought to Xinjiang by the Buddhists who transmitted the Indian culture.

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For *The Bower Manuscript*, much significance was attached to its medical contents. It is not the only material of Indian medicine copied in Sanskrit, but also a demonstration for the medical achievements of ancient India. There were three volumes of medical content in which the first one is a remaining chapter with five leaves, 132 odes in total and no title. It directly starts from a kalpa for making up a

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[Figure: Cover of Bower Manuscript. English version]

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prescription, in which miraculous medicinal benefits of garlic were described including the origin of garlic, the name and nature of the item, Garlic Festival, as well as the prescription of garlic and other medicines and their effects. The next section of the manuscript seemed like a small tantra, which composed of illogical sections including emphasis on digestive ability, methods for obtaining a good memory, instructions for pharmaceutics, all kinds of prescriptions, methods for curing eye disease, usage of sticking plasters on face, eyewash and methods for controlling alopecia and maintaining the black colour of hair as well as methods for curing cough and other diseases. The second volume of *The Bower Manuscript* is *Nàvanàtaka* (also translated as *Jingzhi*) which was relatively complete with 32 leaves, 1,119 odes in total. It was a practical medical formulary which was compiled based on various kinds of effective prescriptions for immortals recorded in medical books and its introductory title is *Nàvanātaka*. Belonging to another medical tradition in ancient India namely hand-me-down apart from “Agnive ÷ a” and “Bheóa”, *Nàvanãtaka* covers all aspects of internal medicine. There were previously 16 volumes in *Nàvanãtaka* but now only 14 exist which illustrate the use of medical butter, medical oil, enema, tonic, medical gruel, aphrodisiac, collyria, hair lotion, neochebulinic acid, trogopterus dung and Whiteflower Leadword Root as well as prescriptions for pediatrics, pregnant women, praying for children and longevity. However, pestilence, hydrargyrum and opium were not mentioned. A basic framework for life, Veda in India, has emerged in *The Bower Manuscript*. For example, it described the Sanye Theory, the role of digestion in health, terms for diseases as well as the diversity of drug preparation. The third volume is the remaining one of an ancient medical book or dispensatory. There are missing contents both in the beginning and

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end, with four leaves and 72 odes in total. Viewing from its contents, the arrangement, approximately for the first three chapters within the second volume, was relatively disorderly. The forms of medical herbs covered by it were: oiling agent, powders, smearing agent, butter agent, pills and syrups.

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The Bower Manuscript is obviously related to Buddhism. At that time, Buddhism, with a wide coverage, was at its booming period and the Canon of Medicine in Central Asia and Xinjiang was absolutely to be influenced by Buddhism. Those books and records for medicine were probably written by Buddhists or their followers. The academic significance of *The Bower Manuscript* lies, at least, in three aspects: It recorded the names of many ancient famous doctors and their prescriptions which enabled people to gain a more intuitive understanding of the medical achievements in India. Being a foreign culture, it exerted influence on medical science, not only to Xinjiang but also to other nationalities. It helped save some historical data of ancient India which can be used for discussing the folk-customs significant to folk life and medical treatment. The medical prescriptions in *The Bower Manuscript* were collected from medical books in India such as *Caraka Samhita*, *Pilu Samhita*, and *Susruta Samhita* etc while other contents were probably from some *kalpas* and tantras of even earlier times. *The Bower Manuscript* is characterised by selected prescriptions, an elaborate selection for basic health and curing special diseases. Like the *Jivaka-pustaka* and *Siddhasara*, *The Bower Manuscript* also plays an important role in researches on inland Chinese medicine, ancient Xinjiang medicine as well as extra-territorial medicine and it is also of great significance to the comparative study of Chinese and Western medicine.

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The fourth and fifth volume of *The Bower Manuscript* is relatively short and the contents are related to the kalpa called *Pà ÷ aka-kevalã* which is a kind of Geomancy for predicting the future by dicing. There are 64 kinds of dicing methods in the fourth volume while the fifth volume is a remaining chapter about the dicing. The sixth volume, together with the seventh volume, is a volume of Dhàraõã scriptures including incantation used for those hurt by snakes and other demons. The name of the scripture is *Mahàmàyårã Vidyàràj¤ã*.

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Starting from *The Bower Manuscript*, the discovery of these ancient manuscripts directly stimulated M A Stein. In 1990, he began his first exploration to the Western Regions, which initiated an international wave of archaeological exploration to this area. It was the wave of large-scale investigation, exploration and cultural relic collection that eventually enabled Dunhuang Studies and Turpan Studies to be the international knowledge branches attracting much attention in the 20thcentury.

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*(Chen Ming)*

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Siddhasàra

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*Siddhasàra* is a very important classic medical literature laying special emphasis on clinical knowledge which was written by Ravigupta in mid-7th century CE in India. The book is available in several versions of the Chinese Northwest ancient languages and contemporary Chinese and is well known as one of the representative writings on Ayurveda medicine which has been widely spread into the East.

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*Siddhasàra* is the Sanskrit name of the book, also known as *Xi Tan Suo Luo* by transliteration in Chinese. The full name of this book can also be *Vaidyàka-Siddhasàra* which means Medical Achievements Essence in Chinese. Ravigupta, the writer, is the son of Durgagupta, a famous veterinarian proficient in treating horse's disease and the brother of Devagupta. There is, however, very little information about him.

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*Siddhasàra* is the selection of medical prescriptions featuring medical treatise. It carefully collects those effective prescriptions from a range of medical books and is divided into 31 chapters in accordance with the newest methods of edition and arrangement at its time. The first four chapters of which mainly focus on traditional theories, thus making the book a great Canon of Medicine. The second and third chapters talk about the nature and effect of a variety of drugs, which is similar to the herbalism writings of the Chinese traditional medicine. From the fifth to the 30th chapter, based on different symptoms, the causes and categories of various diseases and the prescriptions in particular are presented. The last chapter can be regarded as a supplementary instruction of different medical methods which allows the book to be a giant medical masterpiece. The whole book introduces the treatment of a wide variety of diseases concerning internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics and gynecology and so on.

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The contribution that *Siddhasàra* has made is its unique and special method of edition and arrangement. Its structure, in the history of India medicine, can be viewed as a turning point. Before this book, *Caraka-saühità*, a monograph focussing on internal medicine and *Suúruta-samhitā* and *Aùñàïga-hçdya-saïhità*, monographs on surgery are all books arranging their contents in line with Aùñàïga, the traditional classification method of Ayurvedic medicine. After *Siddhasàra*, *Màdhava-Nidàna* or

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[Figure: Cover of Chen Ming's 'Indian medical Classics' in Sanskrit (Research on Siddhasara)]

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*Màdhava Nidànam*, written by Màdhavakara or Màdhava in short, was not divided into different segments but only composed of 70 chapters, each of which mainly probes into various prescriptions and therapies for just one disease. And such an arrangement thus became the editing standard for the medical literature of later generations in India.

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*Siddhasàra* treasures a large number of valuable clinical prescriptions, however, if as far as the transmission and communication of the Indian ancient medical culture is concerned, its significance is of more importance. The book was translated into Tibetan in the 9^th^ century, into Khotanese in the 10^th^ century and into Uighur in the 13^th^ century. Some of its contents were also spread in Arabia around the end of the 9^th^ century or the beginning of the 10^th^ century. The Khotanese version *Siddhasàra* (Ch ii 002 or P.2892v) was found in the Dunhuang cave for preserving the Buddhist *sutras* which was the longest manuscript in Khotanese that existed. Compared to *Siddhasàra* in Sanskrit, the Khotanese and Tibetan versions have both been added with quite a few of new information which means there were some annotations about the original work after it was introduced in some places such as Tibet, Kingdom of Khotan and Dunhuang for the sake of easier understanding of new knowledge. In the meantime, there is another possibility that other books in Serindia (ancient Xinjiang province and the Middle East region) or some local things were also added.

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There are some prescriptions in *Siddhasàra*, which could also be found in *The Bower Manuscript*, a medical writing in the 6^th^ century unearthed in Kuqa, Xinjiang province of China, in *Jāvaka-pustaka*, a bilingual canon of medicine in both Sanskrit and Khotanese unearthed at the same time with the Dunhuang cave for preserving Buddhist *sutras* and in *Prescriptions of Miscellaneous Diseases* written in Uighur script of Turpan and *rGyud-bzhi* which had been passed down through generations as well as in some Chinese ancient medical writings uncovered in Serindia. And even the Ghent Azalea Leaf Powder in Kharoùñhì, one of the earliest fragmentary prescriptions known currently, can also be seen in *Siddhasàra*. Just like the *Bower Manuscript*, *Siddhasàra* has also been transmitted throughout the culture circle around Serindia in the ethnic minorities' language and the Ghent Azalea Leaf Powder is just a good example. *Siddhasàra*, along with many other Indian medical masterpieces, has greatly enriched medical science of the Middle Ancient Times across Serindia and meanwhile, polished it with the distinct characteristics of Indian medical science. *The Indian Canon of Medicine in Sanskrit-Siddhasàra* (Zhonghua Book Company, 2002) written by Chen Ming, firstly translated *Siddhasàra* into Chinese, thus offering a window for people to explore and study ancient medical history of India.

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*(Chen Ming)*

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Jivaka Pustaka

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The *Jāvaka-Pustaka* is a book for medical prescription written in medieval Khotanese and Sanskrit discovered in a Dunhuang cave for preserving Buddhist Sutra. *Jāvaka-Pustaka* was discovered by A Stein in Dunhuang and was later collected by the library in London-India Affairs, (now it is collected by the Collection Department of East-India Affairs in British Library). There it is numbered Ch.ii 003 (the new number is IOL Khot 87-110). *Jāvaka-Pustaka* reflected the influence of Veda medicine in India to medicine in Xinjiang regions of China.

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*Jāvaka-Pustaka* is a classical Indian medical work. Along with *Siddham* as a symbol, it includes, at least, four parts of medical literature and is characterised by the best collections of medical prescriptions. There are 91 existing prescriptions in *Jāvaka-Pustaka* and these prescriptions are divided into four forms: “Agada Prescription”, “Butter Prescription”, “Oil Prescription” and “Powder Prescription”. In *Jāvaka-Pustaka*, the prescription is arranged in accordance with different forms of the medicament and medical theory is not involved. The Sanskrit edition of *Jāvaka-pustaka* is the original text while the Khotan edition is its translation. However, one edition is not directly correlated to the other and sometimes there are gaps and omissions in contents.

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*Jīvaka-Pustaka* is the product of Indian medical culture and there are many prescriptions which can be sourced from Veda Literature in early times; it is, at the same time, an example for Khotan to learn from Indian Medicine. When *Jīvaka-Pustaka* was translated into Khotan, they incorporated the original knowledge form their own medical practice as well as the local medical knowledge into the translation, which was equipped with “creative compositions”. *Jīvaka-pustaka* in Khotan is, in fact, not a faithful translation to the original Sanskrit edition. The main changes, as compared to the Sanskrit edition, in Khotan were: There were more functions for a certain kind of prescription and a certain kind of prescription was composed of different medicaments. There were more medicaments for composition of one certain kind of prescription. There were more names for these prescriptions, the medicaments were in different forms, there were specialised explanations for collective noun of medicaments and there were detailed descriptions for the process of pharmacy. The indigenous dose unit was used and typical Buddhist medical terms such as “Si Bai Si Bing” were mentioned. *Jīvaka-Pustaka* is one of the products for exchange and blending of Vedic medicine in India and indigenous medicine in the Kingdom of Khotan.

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(*Chen Ming*)

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Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists

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*Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists* is a great medical book compiled in the Tang Dynasty and unearthed in the Jiaohe Ruins, Turpan, Xinjiang province, with only some fragmented pieces left today. Now collected by the Berlin National Museum, Oriental Division, numbered as Ch.3725v, these fragmented pieces bear the distinct traces of Indian Buddhist knowledge that has been deeply integrated into Chinese medical literature.

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*Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists*, if judged by its contents, has something to do with *Ba Zhu* (Дх09888, front and back), and also fragmented pieces collected in *Dunhuang Documents collected by Soviet Union* and *Prescription for Heartache Caused by Ghosts* (Дх09170, front and back). The front of the fragmented pieces of *Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists* is the Study of Jīvaka on *Internal Five Organs* and these pieces have six lines in total. The first line is *Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists Volume One* while the other five describe the situation at the beginning of the creation of the earth and heaven in the genesis mythology of Buddhism when everyone lived with joy and happiness with the blessing of gods and all living creatures immersed themselves in the bliss of five desires with plants and natural things as their food; kings were honest and just and people were not worried about life, senility, illness and death. This is what the very beginning of the world looked like in the genesis mythology of Buddhism, similar with the creation myths in *The Medium Works of Hinayana Sutra (Volume 39)*, *Scripture of the Origin of*

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[Figure: *Fragments of Classics on Medicine*’ from Turfan now in Russia]

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*Brahman Brahmin (Volume II)*, *Abhidharma Theory on the Creation of the World* and *Shunzheng Theory*.

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*Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists (Volume I)* cannot be found in ancient medical and historical booklist of past dynasties thus being viewed as a valuable unique copy. It is the selected works of medical prescriptions, collecting the essentials of a great variety of medical books and documents. The Ch.3725v Fragmented Pieces is only the foreword of the book which can be regarded as the introduction of Buddhist medicine in the broad sense.

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The name of the book is similar with those of *Bibliography of Chronicles of the Sui Dynasty* and *Collection of Important Prescriptions by Famous Medical Scientists in Western Regions* in meaning which implied the real nature of the literature itself. It shows, at that time, there were various medical books featuring diverse characteristics in the Western Regions whose contents were transcribed or assembled from the medical works of previous dynasties. In effect, regardless of “*Essentials of Prescriptions*” or “*Collection of Important Prescriptions*”, both can be viewed as the accurate translation of the word *samgraha* in *Astanga-samgraha*, a giant medical masterpiece in India in the 7ᵗʰ century. *Essentials of Prescriptions by Various Medical Scientists*, *Collection of Important Prescriptions by Famous Medical Scientists in Western Regions* and *Astanga-samgraha* all boast similar nature, representing the close relationship between the Indian and Western medical science as well as the great influence of translation of the Indian medical literature on the development of the traditional Chinese medicine.

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