Forgotten Disease: Illnesses Transformed in Chinese Medicine

245 Pages·2017·1.9 MB·English

by  Hilary A. Smith

Forgotten Disease
This page intentionally left blank
StudieS of the Weatherhead eaSt
aSian inStitute, Columbia u niverS ity
The Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia
University were inaugurated in 1962 to bring to a wider public the
results of significant new research on modern and contemporary East
Asia.
A complete list of titles is available online at weai.columbia.edu/
publications/studies-weai/.
This page intentionally left blank
Forgotten Disease
illneSSeS tranS formed in
ChineS e mediC ine
Hilary A. Smith
Stanford univerS ity preSS
Stanford, California
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior
University. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford
University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-
quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Smith, Hilary A., author.
Title: Forgotten disease : illnesses transformed in Chinese
medicine / Hilary A. Smith.
Other titles: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute,
Columbia University.
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press,
2017. | Series: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian
Institute, Columbia University | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017000968 | ISBN 9781503602090 (cloth :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503603448 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781503603509 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Beri-beri—China—History. | Medicine—
China—History. | Foot—Diseases—China—History. |
Medical literature—China—History.
Classification: LCC RC627.B45 S45 2017 |
DDC 610.951—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017000968
Typeset by Thompson Type in 11/14 Adobe Garamond
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Foot Qi in Early Chinese Medicine 25
2. Competing for Medical Authority over Disease 43
3. Simplifying and Standardizing Disease 67
4. The Northerner’s Dietary Disorder 85
5. Getting Rich and Getting Sick 99
6. Creating Beriberi in Meiji Japan 115
7. Foot Qi’s Multiple Meanings in Modern East Asia 139
Conclusion 161
Glossary of Chinese Characters 169
Notes 173
Bibliography 199
Index 223
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
It is a pleasure to thank some of those who made this book possible,
even though these acknowledgments can’t do justice to their generos-
ity. My mentor Nathan Sivin has inspired my curiosity, modeled a
scholarly life, and balanced critique with encouragement and humor.
He has commented promptly and thoughtfully on draft after draft of
my work. Everyone deserves such a mentor, but few are lucky enough
to find one. David Barnes, Francesca Bray, and Victor Mair also pro-
vided insightful early feedback and crucial early-career support.
During a research stay in Beijing, I benefited from the expertise
and guidance of Liao Yuqun, Zhang Daqing, Wang Shumin, and Sun
Xiaochun, as well as the camaraderie and helpful suggestions of April
Hongying Yin, Hu Yingchong, Zhou Libo, Ji Zhenghan, Sare Aricanli,
and Priscilla Song. In Taiwan, Angela Leung and Chang Che-chia
made my visit productive. My shixiong and shijie, Asaf Goldschmidt,
Philip Cho, and Marta Hanson, led the way with encouragement, ad-
vice, and in Marta’s case a binder full of relevant primary sources she
had collected. Friends at Penn made drafts better and kept me going.
I’m especially grateful to Emily Pawley, Babi Hammond, Eli Alberts,
Paul Burnett, Josh Capitanio, Sungshin Kim, Cortney Chaffin, Rika
Saito, Si Jia, Roger Turner, Erin McLeary, Sejal Patel, Tom Radice, Joy
Rohde, Corinna Schlombs, Dominique Tobbell, Jeremy Vetter, and
Ching-Jen Wang. At the Needham Research Institute, John Moffett