Yè Tiānshì yīàn 葉天氏醫案
Medical Case Records of Yè Tiānshì (Three-Master Compilation) by 葉桂 Yè Guì (Tiānshì 天士, 1666–1745) — bùyī 布衣 (“commoner”), 薛雪 Xuē Xuě (Shēngbái 生白, 1681–1770) — zhēngjūn 徵君 (“summoned recluse”), and 繆宜亭 Miù Yítíng (jìnshì), as compiled by 吳金壽 Wú Jīnshòu (Zǐyīn 子音, fl. 1830s) of Yīnghú 鶯湖.
About the work
A single-juǎn Sūzhōu sānjiā (three-master) casebook combining cases of Yè Tiānshì, Xuē Shēngbái, and Miù Yítíng — substantially overlapping in concept with KR3ep020 Sānjiā yīàn hékè by the same compiler Wú Jīnshòu, and possibly representing an alternate manuscript-transmission of the same compilation.
Prefaces
The hxwd _000.txt opens with the Lùxù 陸序 by an unnamed Lù-surnamed preface-writer (presumably 陸以湉 Lù Yǐtián, c. 1801–1865, or a similar JiāngZhè literatus). The preface is composed in extended parallel-prose (四六駢文) and is rhetorically elaborate, opening with a description of the “sānjiā” — Yè Tiānshì as “bùyī” 布衣 (“commoner”), Xuē Shēngbái as “zhēngjūn” 徵君 (“imperial-summons recluse”), and Miù Yítíng as “jìnshì” 進士 (degree-holder) — and then develops a sustained literary defense of medical-canonical recovery against the loss of texts to “termites and copyists.” The colophon-section concludes with a description of Wú Jīnshòu of Yīnghú 鶯湖 (Wújiāng 吳江) as the hékè (combined-printing) editor.
Abstract
The three physicians grouped here represent the Sūzhōu Yè-school core circle:
- Yè Guì 葉桂 (Tiānshì, 1666–1745) — founder of the wēnbìng school proper.
- Xuē Xuě 薛雪 (Shēngbái, 1681–1770) — Yè’s Sūzhōu colleague (and reputed rival), author of 濕熱病篇 Shīrè bìng piān, the foundational text on shīrè (damp-heat) diseases; his casebook is KR3ep035 Sǎoyèzhuāng yīàn and KR3ep103 Yīpiáo yīàn.
- Miù Yítíng 繆宜亭 — Sūzhōu Yè-school jìnshì / scholar-physician of obscure biography.
The composition window 1700–1800 reflects the combined active dates of the three physicians plus an early-nineteenth-century editorial assembly.
Wú Jīnshòu 吳金壽 (zì Zǐyīn 子音), of Yīnghú (a literary name for Wújiāng 吳江) was active in the 1830s. The preface signature cíyīn Wúzǐ Yīn xiānshēng 鶯湖吳子音先生 confirms his role as compiler.
Translations and research
Hanson, Marta. 2011. Speaking of Epidemics in Chinese Medicine. Routledge — substantial coverage of all three masters.