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Book/Printed Material Quan you xin jian 全幼心鑒

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[ Volume 1 ]

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[ Volume 2 ]

About this Item

Title

  • Quan you xin jian

Other Title

  • 全幼心鑒

Translated Title

  • Comprehensive Guide to the Health of Children

Summary

  • Quan you xin jian (Comprehensive guide to the health of children), in four juan, was compiled in the Ming dynasty by Kou Ping, courtesy name Hengmei, a native of Songyang, a pediatrician about whom little is known. Juan 1 refers to the innate gifts of children, physiological characteristics of an infant's yin and yang, qi (vital energy), and blood. It discusses examining a child's face and hands, child care, nursing, and proper behavior for a pediatrician. Juan 2 explains diagnosis by pulse-taking, nursing of newborns, and common infant ailments. Juan 3 and 4 discuss childhood diseases and symptoms, including smallpox, and has an appendix, entitled Xiao er ming tang zhen jiu (The Illuminated Hall classic on acupuncture for infants). It describes classic prescriptions and diagnostic methods, such as examining a child's face, using the left-hand three-finger rule called "three passes of tiger-mouth," and looking at the loops and whorls of a finger. Attached at the beginning of juan 1 is a chapter, entitled Jing yi (Exhortations to physicians), quoting from a Daoist classic Lei ting yu ce (The jade book of thunders). Examples of the exhortation include: "When a formula was proven effective, some men of jealousy would withhold it and would not pass it on, some good formulas therefore did not survive ... those, who did not pass on good formulas, to say the least, harmed themselves, but more seriously, they would become widowed with no heir." "We exhort physicians to treat people with good intentions and to persuade patients to take good medicines." "Physicians must work in good will and consider other people's illnesses as their own." And "Physicians should not consider whether the patients are rich or poor, noble or lowly, they should consider saving patients as their sole purpose." The work identifies common problems for physicians and patients and states that its goal is to make families understand medical issues "so that they will not be deceived by cunning villains." The guideline provided in the work, Yi shou shi quan san de (A physician's ten essential qualities and three virtues), lists as essential qualities being literate, understanding yin and yang and the five elements and six meridians, knowing how to fight evil, knowing the correct application of acupuncture, knowing truth and falsehood, and being polite. The initial virtues are righteousness, knowledge of Confucian classics, and the three religions; next are good-heartedness, friendliness, deep knowledge of morality, integrity, and being just and not malicious. Next in importance is to refrain from deceiving the deaf and mute and from fawning on heroes and outstanding personages. The work includes a list of auspicious days for compounding medicines, methods of taking medicines, information on the five viscera and blood, and much else. It points out that it is more difficult to treat infants than adults. Each juan has more than 40 drawings. This copy is an original edition of Baoyoutang, printed in the fourth year (1468) of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty. It is considered a very rare copy both in China and elsewhere. The table of contents and juan 1, without illustrations, are presented here.

Names

  • Kou, Ping Author

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : Baoyoutang, 1468.

Headings

  • -  China
  • -  1468
  • -  Chinese literature
  • -  Ethics
  • -  Medicine, Chinese
  • -  Pediatrics
  • -  Traditional medicine

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Originally four juan in 12 volumes"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 juan in 2 volumes : illustrations.
  • -  Original resource at: National Central Library.
  • -  Content in Chinese.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
  • -  Title revised per Asian Division.--cc28 2023-01-06

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666529

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kou, Ping Author. Quan You Xin Jian. [place of publication not identified: Baoyoutang, 1468] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666529/.

APA citation style:

Kou, P. A. (1468) Quan You Xin Jian. [place of publication not identified: Baoyoutang] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666529/.

MLA citation style:

Kou, Ping Author. Quan You Xin Jian. [place of publication not identified: Baoyoutang, 1468] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666529/>.