The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine

by Ilza Veith (Translator), Linda L. Barnes (Foreword by)

Overview

The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine has become a landmark in the history of Chinese civilization. Written in the form of a dialogue in which the emperor seeks information from his minister Ch’I-Po on questions of health and the art of healing, it is the oldest known document in Chinese medicine. Ilza Veith’s extensive introduction and monumental translation, first published in 1949, make available the historical and philosophical foundations of traditional practices that have seen a dynamic revival in China and throughout the West. A new foreword by Linda L. Barnes places the translation in its historic contexts, underlining its significance to the Western world’s understanding of Chinese medical practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520288263
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	12/15/2015
Edition description:	First Edition, Reissue, Translated by Ilza Veith. Foreword by Linda L. Barnes
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ilza Veith (1912–2013) was Assistant Professor in History of Medicine at the University of Chicago and later Professor of History of Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

Linda L. Barnes is Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and in the Graduate Division of Religious Studies at Boston University. She is the author of Needles, Herbs, Gods, and Ghosts: China, Healing, and the West to 1848 and coeditor of Chinese Medicine and Healing: An Illustrated History.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Analysis of the Huang Ti Net Ching Su Wên 1

Examination of its Age and Authorship 4

The Philosophical Foundations 9

Tao 10

The Theory of Tao Applied to the Net Ching 12

Yin and Yang 13

The Theory of Yin and Yang Applied to the Net Ching 15

The Five Elements and the System of Numbers 18

The Celestial Stems 24

Anatomical and Physiological Concepts 25

Diagnosis 42

Diseases of the Net Ching 49

Therapeutic Concepts 53

Acupuncture and Moxibustion 58

Appendix I Chapter 103 of the Ssu-k'u Ch'üan-shu 77

Appendix II Preface of the Commentator Wang Ping (762 A.D.) 81

Appendix III Preface of Kao Pao-hêng and Lin I (1078 A.D.) 87

Bibliography 91

Translation of the Net Ching: Chapters 1-34 95

Editorial Reviews

The most important theoretical text in the huge corpus of traditional Chinese medical literature.

Science

The translations are fluent, and Dr. Veith's introductory portion illuminating; the numerous well-reproduced illustrations provide a vivid appeal not attainable by words alone.

Journal of the American Medical Association