1. The Compilation of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”
In the preface of the “Shang Han Lun” by Zhang Zhongjing, it states: “Drawing from numerous sources, compiling the nine volumes of the “Suwen”… to create the “Shang Han and Miscellaneous Diseases” in sixteen volumes.” Based on this, it is generally believed that the current “Shang Han Lun” consists of 10 volumes, with 6 volumes preserved for miscellaneous diseases, and the abbreviated 3-volume version is the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. However, due to the limited historical records regarding the compilation of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” compared to the “Shang Han Lun”, it is difficult to draw a simple conclusion. The original preface of the “Shang Han Lun” contains the term “miscellaneous diseases” but does not mention “Jin Kui”. The phrase “to create the “Shang Han and Miscellaneous Diseases” in sixteen volumes” refers to the combination of the Shang Han and miscellaneous diseases, but the number of volumes for each at that time is unclear. The number of volumes in books often changes during transmission; thus, the current 10 volumes of the “Shang Han Lun” cannot be assumed to be the same as the original 10 volumes, and this conclusion is based on a high level of trust in the “Zhongjing Preface”. Therefore, the process of the compilation of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” must be examined based on historical facts. The title “Jin Kui Yao Lue” first appeared in official history, found in the “Song History: Arts and Literature” compiled during the Yuan Dynasty: “The “Jin Kui Yao Lue” consists of three volumes, authored by Zhang Zhongjing, compiled by Wang Shuhe.” Prior to this, the title was not found in official histories such as the “Sui Shu” and the new and old “Tang Shu”, nor in various documents from the Tang and Five Dynasties. Of course, the books recorded in the “Song History” were also subject to the government’s editing and publication, so the correct dating of the compilation of this book should not trace back to before the Northern Song Dynasty. Its transmission process and content sources can be examined through various clues. 2. Records Before the Song Dynasty In the existing literature, the “Mai Jing” (Pulse Classic) from the late 3rd century and the “Jia Yi Jing” (Classic of the Simple and the Complex) from the same period contain texts corresponding to the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. However, these may have been added by later generations and cannot be confirmed as original texts. The most reliable early record is the “Xiao Pin Fang” (Small Formulas) by Chen Yanzhi, compiled between 454 and 473 AD. This book was brought back to Japan by an envoy during the Sui Dynasty and is the only existing manuscript from the Kamakura period in Japan, preserved in the Tokyo Zun Jing Ge Library. The preserved portion is the first half of volume 1, and aside from marginal notes, there are no later additions, preserving the original text to a large extent. The book contains formulas, medicinal ingredients, and treatment clauses that are the same as or very similar to those in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. Moreover, in the preface, Chen Yanzhi lists literature that clearly states, “Zhang Zhongjing’s formulas for Shang Han consist of nine volumes, and Zhang Zhongjing’s miscellaneous formulas consist of eight volumes.” The “Xiao Pin Fang” contains prescriptions similar to those in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”; although it cannot be immediately determined that they are derived from the two books mentioned in Chen Yanzhi’s preface, it is undoubtedly true that in the latter half of the 5th century, the “Xiao Pin Fang” contained parts of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. In the early 7th century, the “Zhu Bing Yuan Hou Lun” (Treatise on the Origins of Various Diseases) contains phrases similar to those in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” such as “(Zhang) Zhongjing said”. The “Sui Shu: Jing Ji Zhi” records that “Zhang Zhongjing’s formulas for women’s diseases” consisted of two volumes, indicating that at that time, books related to women’s diseases by Zhongjing were circulated individually. In the mid-7th century, the “Qian Jin Fang” (Thousand Golds Formulas) volume 10 mentions similar titles, clauses, and prescriptions to those in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, such as for lily disease, fox disease, and jaundice. The general discussion in volume 26 may originally have been the preface to the “Five Flavors of Dietary Therapy” written by Zhongjing, and its various discussions also contain “dietary prohibitions” that are nearly identical to those in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. About a hundred years after the “Qian Jin Fang”, the “Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang” (Secret Essentials of the Outer Platform) (752) contains many quotations from the “(Zhang) Zhongjing Shang Han Lun” 18 volumes. Additionally, according to the “Tang Hui Yao”, the medical officer examination subjects submitted in 760 included “Zhang Zhongjing’s Shang Han Lun”. This book must be related to the “(Zhang) Zhongjing Shang Han Lun” 18 volumes cited in the “Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang”. The “Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang” does not fully quote the 18-volume version; based on the cited volumes, the first 10 volumes correspond to the current “Shang Han Lun”, and the last 8 volumes correspond to the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. The cited clauses include 11 of the 25 articles in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, indicating that the “(Zhang) Zhongjing Shang Han Lun” circulating at that time contained content very close to the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, although the order of the articles differs, making it impossible to confirm a direct transmission relationship. Furthermore, the unique content of the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, such as “miscellaneous treatment formulas” and “dietary prohibitions”, is not found in the “(Zhang) Zhongjing Shang Han Lun”, and the content collected in the “Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang” is only derived from the “Zhongjing (formulas)” or indirectly from the “Zhang Wenzhong (formulas)” that quote the “Zhongjing (formulas)”. Therefore, the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue” does not directly originate from the Tang “(Zhang) Zhongjing Shang Han Lun” 18 volumes. In the preface of the “Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang”, Ge Hong states: “The secret essentials of the Jin Kui Green Order and Yellow Substance formulas, recently compiled into a thousand volumes… totaling a hundred volumes, named “Yu Han”… I now extract its essentials to create the “Zhou Hou Jiu Zu” in three volumes.” Similar texts are also found in the “Bao Pu Zi Nei Pian: Miscellaneous Responses”, so it cannot be simply judged as a forgery. Moreover, the “Jin Shu: Ge Hong Zhuan” records that he authored “Jin Kui Yao Fang” in a hundred volumes and “Zhou Hou Yao Ji Fang” in four volumes, suggesting that the hundred-volume “Yu Han” was later referred to as the “Jin Kui Yao Fang” in a hundred volumes. This hundred-volume version has not been preserved, and the current text of the “Zhou Hou Fang” contains significant differences in terminology; the hundred-volume version is referred to as “Da Fang” while the three-volume version is referred to as “Xiao Fang”, which confirms the existence of the hundred-volume version. The “Yi Xin Fang” volume 26 also quotes texts from the “Jin Kui Lu”, some of which are suspected to originally belong to Ge Hong. Additionally, the text of Ge Hong in the “Zhou Hou Fang” and in the “Bao Pu Zi” contains prescriptions such as Qing Long, Bai Hu, and Jian Zhong, which are the same as those of Zhongjing. The later editions by Deng Zhen and Wu Qian of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” have a preface that closely resembles Ge Hong’s preface. The current “Jin Kui Yao Lue” is an abbreviated version that includes parts of the Shang Han, also known as Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang”. Based on the above, it is highly likely that Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” originated from Ge Hong’s hundred-volume system. In summary, the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue” is difficult to conclude as directly originating from the miscellaneous disease section of the “Shang Han Za Bing Lun” 16 volumes from the early 3rd century; its title can be traced back to the early 4th century, and some content can be traced back to the latter half of the 5th century. Through a complex transmission process, the current version of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” was produced, which is Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” in three volumes. 2. The Editing and Publication by the Northern Song Government The sources of the content of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” can be traced back to the latter half of the 5th century. If we do not consider the content, we can conclude that it is a publication that emerged during the Northern Song period, meaning that the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” was born through the Song revision. This is clearly stated in the prefaces by Gao Baoheng, Sun Qi, and Lin Yi, who were officials in the Northern Song government’s medical book editing bureau. A thorough reading of the prefaces reveals: ① The base text of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” was the three volumes of Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” discovered by Wang Zhu in the government library. According to the “Song History” biography, Wang Zhu participated in the compilation of the catalog of the government library’s collection, “Chongwen Zongmu” (commanded in 1034, completed in 1041). This book was what he saw at that time, and it is indeed recorded in the “Chongwen Zongmu Jishi” as “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue three volumes, authored by Zhang Zhongjing”. ② The original text contained discussions and formulas on Shang Han, miscellaneous diseases, and dietary prohibitions, but there were abbreviations, omissions, and insect damage, and the prescriptions and treatment clauses were scattered in various places, which may have caused inconvenience during use due to missing certain texts. ③ When Lin Yi and others edited this book, they had already edited the “Shang Han Lun”, so they deleted the Shang Han section from the upper volume, recompiled the middle and lower two volumes, collected the abbreviated and omitted content from various medical books that quoted Zhongjing’s lost texts, or included them in the “supplementary formulas”. The supplementary formulas can be seen 13 times in the later Wu Qian version, originating from the “Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang”, “Qian Jin Fang”, “Qian Jin Yi Fang”, and other supplements, totaling at least 33 formulas. ④ After reorganization, compilation, and editing, a new book “Jin Kui Yao Lue” consisting of 3 volumes, 25 articles, and 262 formulas was produced. As recorded in the preface, the current version of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” is a significantly revised version by Lin Yi and others, recompiled as a treatment book for Zhongjing’s miscellaneous diseases, which can be referred to as a “compilation and restoration version”. Regardless of its content, the correct expression of the time of compilation of the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue” should be during the Song revision period. The complex establishment and compilation process of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” should draw the reader’s attention. In the past, misunderstandings have arisen due to a lack of understanding of the Song revision. For example, some have believed that the language of many treatment clauses exhibits characteristics of later generations, and the unit of medicinal quantity uses “fen” (a unit of measurement), leading them to think that these are all later additions and should be attributed to explanations outside the content. In fact, this part of the content is still essentially the text of Zhang Zhongjing, but it is the inevitable result of the changes that occurred during the various stages of quoting Zhongjing’s texts in different books before the compilation of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. Another example is the prescription for the Eight Flavor Pill, which is recorded in the Song revision version as “Cui’s”, leading some to mistakenly believe it is a prescription from after Zhongjing or that Zhongjing quoted Cui’s Eight Flavor Pill. In reality, it is a prescription from the “Cui’s (Zuan Yao) Fang” book, which was noted as “Cui’s” during the Song revision, meaning that the Song officials reprinted it in the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” as a supplementary formula to fill in the missing text discovered by Wang Zhu. 4. Versions After the Song Dynasty The three volumes of Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” discovered by Wang Zhu in the Northern Song government library no longer exist; currently, only the three-volume system of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” revised by the Song remains. Its ancestor was a large-character edition published by the Northern Song government, and the publication date is not recorded in the various versions of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” known in the past. Later research found that as the time of participation in the editing progressed, Lin Yi and others were promoted year by year. The Japanese scholar Okawashi compared the known publication years of other Chinese medical books with the characters involved in the editing and speculated that the large-character edition was published in the third year of the Zhi Ping era (1066). Additionally, from the small-character edition of the “Mai Jing” (Pulse Classic), it is known that starting from the first year of the Shao Sheng era (1094), the National Academy published a small-character edition within a few years. Since the large-character and small-character editions of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” published by the Northern Song government have both been lost, the exact publication year is unclear. However, according to the newly discovered Wu Qian version, it is recorded that the large-character edition was published on March 19 of the third year of the Zhi Ping era, proving Okawashi’s correctness. It is also known that the small-character edition was published in June of the third year of the Shao Sheng era (1096). According to my investigation, including the Japanese version, there are more than 60 existing versions of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, including reprints, facsimiles, and those included in the complete book, all derived from five versions published during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Currently, a completely different Wu Qian version has been discovered, but no versions from the Li Dynasty of Korea or the Vietnamese dynasty have been seen. Below, I will briefly describe the origins, relationships, and characteristics of the five versions of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties that became the ancestral texts for later generations, as well as the Wu Qian version. 4.1 The Large-Character Edition System refers to the book published by the Northern Song government as a gift to the emperor, as each character is as large as a coin. Its size is approximately equivalent to a large B4 format, with only about 400 characters carved on each leaf of the large-character scripture, so each volume has many leaves, and the number of printing blocks and paper used is also large, which can be understood as a high-priced luxury edition for government use. If it is a medical book needed by the public, it would be a slightly smaller B5 format, with nearly 600 characters per leaf, a cheap small-character edition published by the relevant government agency after the completion of the large-character edition, and some were reprinted during the Southern Song Dynasty. Regardless of whether the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” is a large-character or small-character edition, the Song version has not been preserved. The ancient versions that exist today, including the five versions of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, belong to the large-character edition system, while the Wu Qian version belongs to the small-character edition system. That is, all previously used versions of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” except for the Wu Qian version belong to the large-character edition system. 4.1.1 The Yuan Edition by Deng Zhen This version consists of three volumes, bound into two books. The first book contains Deng Zhen’s preface (2 leaves), the Song officials’ preface (with a small preface) (1 leaf), a directory (20 leaves), and volume one (29 leaves). The second book contains volume two (26 leaves) and volume three (20 leaves). Its preservation status is unclear; this version was discovered by one of the authors, Zhen Liu Cheng, and is uniquely housed in the Peking University Library. According to Deng Zhen’s preface, he obtained the long-unavailable “Jin Kui Fang Lun” from the Qiu family in Fuzhou, Fujian, and published it. The original preface was written in the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1340), but the Peking University version has leaves 3 and 4 of volume one that are slightly larger, and the font shows that it was newly carved during the Ming Jiajing period, possibly due to the original printing blocks being damaged. To be accurate, this version is a Yuan edition published after the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty, and a Ming Jiajing period reprint. The last leaf of volume one has a note by Yang Shoujing: “The Jin Kui Yao Lue is the best book for physicians, yet scholars are indifferent, and few have it. Now I have obtained the ancient book from Mr. Zhu, and although my old eyes are dim, I have made an effort to transcribe it. Written on the third day of the eighth month in the 28th year of Hongwu, completed on the 25th day of the same month. I was 73 years old, Wu Qian Jing Chang.” This note is written in the same hand as this text, indicating that this version is the original manuscript by Wu Qian (Jing Chang). The various seals on the book also support this, and Jing Chang should be his courtesy name. It can be calculated that Wu Qian was born in the third year of the Yuan Zhizhi era (1323) and was a figure between the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The 73-year-old Wu Qian transcribed it over 23 days, correcting errors and binding it, finishing on the 11th of September. From the seal “Wu Qian Jing Chang / Lan Shi Mi Cang / Yi Shu Yao Fang / Zhi Ci Yin Zhang”, it seems that Wu was either a physician or someone knowledgeable in medicine. Regarding Wu Qian or Wu Jing Chang, there are historical records of others with the same name but with differing dates, but no relevant information about Wu Qian has been found to date. The person who owned the ancient book, Zhu Junshi, is also not well-known. Including Wu Qian, this version has 15 seals, indicating that the original book was first collected by the 13th son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yun Xiang, and later passed through various collectors during the late Qing and early Republic periods, ultimately being housed in the Shanghai Library established in 1952. This book uniquely records the Northern Song small-character edition of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” and, of course, the base text that Wu Qian transcribed was also from Mr. Zhu’s collection of ancient books, which belongs to the Northern Song small-character edition system. I compared the Wu Qian version with the Deng Zhen version and found that the differences between the two exceed the level of textual differences between versions, indicating that it is indeed another system of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”. For example, the Wu Qian version is titled “Jin Kui Yao Lue Fang”, while the prefaces by Lin Yi and others are titled the same; the small preface of the Wu Qian version is named “Jin Kui Yao Lue Fang Xu”, distinguishing it from Lin Yi’s “Corrected Jin Kui Yao Lue Fang Xu”. The Wu Qian version does not have a general directory of article titles or prescriptions; each volume only records the titles of the articles included. The main text places the miscellaneous treatment section at the end of volume two, while volume three only contains sections on women’s diseases and dietary prohibitions. Volume one begins with “The question is, how does the skilled practitioner treat the unillness…” and contains 398 characters as a general discussion, followed by the directory of volume one, the first article, and other content. Each article title in the book has a double line of small characters indicating the number of discussions, evidence, and formulas, which have been redefined. The expression style of the articles in the Wu Qian version is uniform, and in some cases, Lin Yi’s annotations or those of others have been deleted or moved into the text as scripture. Some articles have added phrases like “The Master said” or “The question is”, which enhance the reasoning of the text. In addition, the various features unique to the Wu Qian version can be seen as characteristics of the Northern Song small-character edition. Research results indicate that the Northern Song government did not simply reprint the large-character edition as a small-character edition but implemented a second large-scale revision before publication. It has been known that there are two versions of medical books revised during the Song, large-character and small-character editions, but the historical fact that the small-character edition underwent a second large-scale revision has not been known, as no examples of both systems of books have been preserved simultaneously. In the future, for other types of medical books revised during the Song, the relationship between the large-character and small-character editions must also be considered. According to the small-character edition’s record, it is known that based on the request of Hanlin Medical Officer Ren Zhongyan, in June 1094, it was approved to publish the “Jin Kui Yao Lue Fang” and four other books as small-character editions, which were published by the National Academy in June 1096. The titles listed in the National Academy’s records only include those related to publication, funding, and supervision, so it can be inferred that the participants only undertook the publication task, and they would not have been able to revise five medical books in two years. At that time, the editing bureau that had corrected the large-character edition no longer existed, and the revision work would not have been the responsibility of Lin Yi and others, so it is likely that it was undertaken by the Hanlin Medical Officer Ren Zhongyan mentioned in the record, but this conclusion is limited to speculation. Regardless, it is precisely because they undertook the tasks of a government institution that they could modify Lin Yi’s prefaces and even boldly revise the scriptures on a large scale. In summary, the research confirms: 1. The existing “Jin Kui Yao Lue” cannot be conclusively determined to directly originate from the miscellaneous disease section of the “Shang Han Za Bing Lun” 16 volumes from the early 3rd century; its title can be traced back to the early 4th century, and some content can be traced back to the latter half of the 5th century. At the same time, through a complex transmission process, the current version of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” was produced, which is Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” in three volumes. 2. Lin Yi and others, based on the three volumes of Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” discovered by Wang Zhu, made significant revisions, compilations, and corrections, resulting in the current version of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue”, which is a “compilation and restoration version” completed as a treatment book for Zhongjing’s miscellaneous diseases. Regardless of its content, the correct expression of the time of compilation of the current “Jin Kui Yao Lue” should be during the Song revision period. 3. The three volumes of Zhongjing’s “Jin Kui Yu Han Yao Lue Fang” discovered by Wang Zhu, the large-character edition of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” edited by Lin Yi and others in 1066, the small-character edition published by the National Academy in 1096, and other Song versions are all now lost. 4. Among the existing ancient texts, the five versions of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties belong to the large-character edition system, of which four Ming versions are derived from the Yuan Deng Zhen version, while the Ming Wu Qian manuscript belongs to the small-character edition system, with only one copy currently existing. 5. By comparing the Deng Zhen version and the Wu Qian version, it was found that the Northern Song government did not simply reprint the large-character edition as a small-character edition but implemented a second large-scale revision. This historical fact suggests that in the future, the relationship between the large-character and small-character editions of other medical books revised during the Song must also be considered. (Authors: Zhen Liu Cheng, Liang Yong Xuan, Duan Yi Shan, Zou Xi Li. Originally published in the “Chinese Journal of Medical History” Volume 36, Issue 6)
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