Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.s2.t4.45

v1.c6.s2.t4.45

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.