Yòukē zhézhōng 幼科折衷
Eclectic Synthesis of Paediatrics by 秦昌遇 Qín Chāngyù (撰)
About the work
A two-juǎn late-Míng paediatric treatise by 秦昌遇 Qín Chāngyù (zì Jǐngmíng 景明), conventionally dated to c. 1641 (late Chóngzhēn). The work’s title, zhézhōng 折衷 (eclectic balancing), articulates Qín’s methodological position: prior paediatric works are characterised by partial biases — toward liáng 涼 or rè 熱 (cooling or warming), toward bǔ 補 or gōng 攻 (tonifying or attacking) — and Qín undertakes to balance their strengths against their weaknesses. The work treats more than fifty common paediatric clinical entities, each presented as a seven-character mnemonic verse and pulse-method, followed by Nèijīng citations and excerpts from the principal predecessor authorities, and concluding with prescription. Companion to Qín’s separate Dòuzhěn zhézhōng 痘疹折衷 (smallpox-and-eruptive-fever Eclectic Synthesis) and Nèikē zhézhōng 內科折衷 (internal medicine Eclectic Synthesis).
Prefaces
The received front-matter consists of fùlù liùqì zhī tú 附錄六氣之圖 (Appended Diagrams of the Six Qi) — diagrammatic-mnemonic verses on the yùnqì 運氣 (cosmological cyclical) calendar: Dàhán 大寒 (Great Cold solar term) as the start of the juéyīn 厥陰 qi, chūnfēn 春分 as the jūnhuǒ 君火 (sovereign-fire) of èrzhī qì 二之氣 (second qi), and so forth through the six annual qi. The author’s preface is not present in this fragment of the front-matter.
Abstract
The Yòukē zhézhōng is one of the principal mid-late Míng paediatric treatises in the eclectic-synthesis tradition. Its therapeutic frame integrates 錢乙 Qián Yǐ’s zàngfǔ paediatric doctrine, 劉完素 Liú Wánsù’s huǒrè 火熱 (fire-heat) emphasis, 李東垣 Lǐ Dōngyuán’s píwèi 脾胃 supplementation doctrine, 朱丹溪 Zhū Dānxī’s zīyīn jiànghuǒ 滋陰降火 (nourishing-yin, lowering-fire) approach, and the 張景岳 Zhāng Jǐngyuè wēnbǔ 溫補 (warming-supplementation) doctrine. The two juǎn cover (without the dòuzhěn smallpox-eruption material, which Qín reserved for a separate volume): paediatric general theory (zǒnglùn), jīngfēng 驚風 and xián 癇, gān 疳, Shānghán paediatric variants, nüè 瘧, lì 痢, tùxiè 吐瀉, késòu, chuǎn 喘, the liùyín 六淫 external-pathogen disorders, and miscellaneous disorders including paediatric ophthalmology, kǒuchǐshé disorders, fùtòng abdominal pain, and shuǐzhǒng. Each disorder is opened by a seven-character verse-mnemonic and pulse-pattern, then Nèijīng citation, then the principal predecessor authority quotations, then Qín’s own zhézhōng (balanced-synthesis) treatment recommendation. The work circulated only in manuscript during the late Míng and Qīng with substantial inter-witness variation; the modern critical edition (李凌空 Lǐ Língkōng ed., Zhōngyī gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2016, ISBN 9787513233354) is based on the Qīng manuscript held by the Library of the Zhōngguó zhōngyī kēxuéyuàn 中國中醫科學院 (China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences). The work’s general clinical reputation is for píngzhèng 平正 (moderation) and balance, comparable to 沈金鰲 Shěn Jīn’áo’s Yòukē shìmí (KR3ej004) a century later.
Translations and research
- 李凌空 Lǐ Língkōng (ed.), Yòukē zhézhōng jiàozhù 幼科折衷校注 in the Zhōngguó gǔ-yījí zhěnglǐ cóngshū 中國古醫籍整理叢書. Beijing: Zhōngyī gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2016.
- 熊秉真 Xióng Bǐngzhēn (Hsiung Ping-chen), A Tender Voyage. Stanford UP, 2005 — context for late-Míng eclectic paediatric synthesis.
- No substantial English translation located.