Yī zhǐ xùyú 醫旨緒餘
Threads-and-Remainders of Medical Meaning by 孫一奎 (Sūn Yīkuí, zì Wényuán, hào Dōngsù / Shēngshēng zǐ, ca. 1522–1619, of Xiūníng, 明)
About the work
Sūn Yīkuí’s theoretical-supplementary discussions, in 2 juan, originally appended to the Chìshuǐ yuánzhū (KR3e0076) and now separately catalogued. The work elucidates the Tàijí — yīnyáng — Wǔxíng (Five Phase) cosmological-medical foundations as embodied in the human body: distinguishing zàngfǔ form-and-substance, hand-and-foot channel-orientations, upper-and-lower zōngqì / yíngqì / wèiqì (ancestor-, nutritive-, and protective-qì), and the foundational structures of Sānjiāo (Triple Burner), Bāoluò (Pericardium), Mìngmén (Gate of Life), Xiànghuǒ (junior-fire), and the channel-correspondences. Sūn cites the Huángtíng jīng 黃庭經 to refute Dānxī’s identification of xiànghuǒ with the right-kidney, and cites the Màijué kānwù (KR3e0065) to refute the Sānyīn fāng (KR3e0041)‘s identification of the Triple Burner as a fat-membrane. He distinguishes Yē fǔ (esophageal-blockage) from Fǎnwèi (anti-stomach reverse) as separate conditions; he distinguishes Diān, Kuáng, and Xián (epilepsy / mania / convulsion). His balanced assessment of the various JīnYuánMíng schools — that Zhāng Jī excels not only in cold-damage; Liú Wánsù not only in fire; Zhāng Cóngzhèng’s attack-method should not be dismissed; Lǐ Gǎo’s contribution is not only in internal-damage; Zhū Zhènhēng’s yīn-deficiency doctrine should not be flogged; Wáng Lǚ’s (Yīngníngshēng) contribution is also lasting — is praised by the SKQS editors as “the millennial balanced argument”.
Tiyao
Yī zhǐ xùyú, 2 juan, by Sūn Yīkuí of the Míng. The work elucidates the Tàijí — yīnyáng — Wǔxíng principles as embodied in the human body, distinguishing zàngfǔ form-and-substance, hand-and-foot channels, upper-and-lower zōngqì, yíngqì, wèiqì, Sānjiāo, Bāoluò, Mìngmén, xiànghuǒ, and the channel-correspondences. He cites the Huángtíng jīng to verify [the error of] Dānxī’s identification of xiànghuǒ with the right-kidney; cites the Màijué kānwù to refute the Sānyīn fāng’s claim that the Triple Burner has a fat-membrane form. He divides Yē fǔ (throat-blockage) and Fǎnwèi (anti-stomach) as two conditions; distinguishes Diān, Kuáng, and Xián — all clearly with original insight.
His assessment of the various authorities’ strengths and weaknesses: that Zhòngjǐng [Zhāng Jī] does not merely excel in cold-damage; that [Liú] Shǒuzhēn does not exclusively shine in fire-treatment; that Dàirén [Zhāng Cóngzhèng] should not be derided for his attack-method; that Dōngyuán [Lǐ Gǎo] should not be ranked solely on internal-damage; that the yáng cháng yǒu yú yīn cháng bù zú doctrine cannot be used to disparage Dānxī; and that Yīngníngshēng’s [Wáng Lǚ’s] art also will not perish. This is truly the millennium-balanced argument.
The original recension was appended together with the Yī àn to the Chìshuǐ yuánzhū; today they are separately catalogued.
(Respectfully verified, 3rd month of Qiánlóng 44 [1779]. Chief Compilers Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì; Chief Collator Lù Fèichí.)
Abstract
Composition window: 1584–1596, the same Wànlì period as the Chìshuǐ yuánzhū (KR3e0076).
The work’s significance:
(a) The cosmological-medical theoretical foundation: Sūn’s exposition of Tàijí, Wǔxíng, and YīnYáng in their bearing on human anatomy and physiology represents one of the more sophisticated late-Míng cosmological-medical syntheses, integrating Neo-Confucian metaphysics with classical Chinese medical concepts.
(b) The balanced reading of the JīnYuán schools: Sūn’s “the millennium-balanced argument” — a fair-and-honest assessment of each JīnYuán master’s strengths beyond his school-identifying focus — is methodologically careful and historically informed. The position is one of the more attractive late-Míng medical-historiographical contributions.
(c) The philological corrections of school-positions: Sūn’s corrections of Dānxī’s xiànghuǒ / right-kidney identification and the Sānyīn fāng’s Triple-Burner-as-fat-membrane interpretation, drawing on Huángtíng jīng and Màijué kānwù respectively, illustrate the integration of Daoist-Confucian-medical philological method.
(d) The differential-diagnosis sharpness: the Yē fǔ / Fǎnwèi and Diān / Kuáng / Xián distinctions are useful late-Míng systematic clarifications of disease-categories that had been confused in earlier literature.
The catalog meta dynasty 明 is correct.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western translation of this specific work.
- See KR3e0076 for principal references on Sūn Yīkuí.
- Mǎ Jìxīng 馬繼興, Zhōng-yī wénxiàn xué 中醫文獻學, Shànghǎi: Shànghǎi Kēxué Jìshù Chūbǎnshè, 1990 (entry on the Yī zhǐ xù-yú).
Other points of interest
The “millennium-balanced argument” 千古持平之論 SKQS editor characterization is one of the more generous mid-Qīng appraisals of any late-Míng medical work. Sūn’s commitment to fair assessment across school-lines stands in contrast to the often-polemical character of late-imperial Chinese medical-doctrinal writing, and represents one of the more methodologically attractive late-Míng scholarly positions.