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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

Introduction

The importance of eating and cooking in Chineseculture is a popular truism, demonstrated by thefact that you can find a Chinese restaurant inpractically every corner of the world. If you were tojudge only on the basis of the often-questionablehealth value of meals served in suchestablishments, however, you might be surprised tolearn of the close connection that has existedbetween food and medicine throughout all ofChina’s long history. A common expression inChinese medical theory states that “medicine andfood share the same origin” ( ). Already theYellow Emperor’s Inner Classic (Huangdi Neijing)from the Han dynasty explains the differencebetween food and medicine as one not of substancebut of context: “Eaten on an empty stomach, it isfood. Eaten when suffering, it is medicine” (Neijing,Taisu). Many texts recount the famous story of theDivine Farmer (Shennong) in the ancient pasttasting a hundred herbs a day to find out whichones were safe to eat for humans and which oneshad to be avoided. And when the Yellow Emperorasks Qi Bo whether to restrict the intake of toxicmedicinals, his trusted advisor replies:

“There are diseases that are chronic, anddiseases that are newly acquired; there areprescriptions that are large, and prescriptionsthat are small; and [there are medicinals] thatare toxic, and [medicinals] that are non-toxic.You most certainly have to observe the commonrestrictions. When treating disease with greatlytoxic [medicinals], get rid of 60 percent [of thedisease, and then stop taking medicine]. Whentreating disease with [medicinals of] ordinarytoxicity, get rid of 70 percent [and then stop].When treating disease with mildly toxic[medicinals], get rid of 80 percent [and thenstop]. When treating disease without any toxic[medicinals], remove 90 percent [and thenstop]. Finish up the treatment with grains,meats, fruits, and vegetables to nourish thepatient with food. Do not allow these[restrictions] to be exceeded or the patient’sright qi will be damaged” (Suwen 70).

This intimate connection between food andmedicine has endured unbroken all the way tomodern China, where countless books, websites,advertisements, and products today fan the flamesof yet another craze of “eating for longevity,” inboth popular and medical markets. And because ofthe growing recognition and popularity of Chinesemedicine across the globe, this view of food as

medicine is highly significantalso for the ways in whichChinese medicinepractitioners treat, inform,and consult their patientseverywhere else in theworld. It is medical advicethat is simple, cheap, effective, and universallyapplicable, regardless of social, economic, orgeographical context. Last but not least, it is awelcome message for many in this age of factoryfarms and fast foods.

Sun Simiao, the Qianjinfang, and“Nurturing Life”

The following pages will introduce the reader to theclassical Chinese approach to “treating with food”(shizhi ), as elaborated in volume 26 of thefamous medical encyclopedia called Beiji qianjinyaofang (Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand inGold to Prepare for Emergencies, below abbreviatedas Essential Formulas).* But before we look at thecontent of this text, which was composed around652 CE, I would like to contextualize thisinformation by discussing its author’s approach tohealth, to medicine, and to the art of “nurturinglife” (yangsheng ).

EATING FOR LONG LIFE: SUN SIMIAO ON DIETETICS

Sabine Wilms

Wooden statue of Sun Simiaoas the Medicine God, seated on a tiger andholding a dragon above him (19th century)

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

My fascination with Sun Simiao, the famous “Kingof Medicinals” ( ) who lived in China during theearly Tang dynasty, dates back a good two dozenyears now, when I first delved into his threevolumes on gynecology. Trying to find the sourcefor his insightful teachings on the female body, andhis reasons for so consciously emphasizingwomen’s healthcare over all other aspects ofmedicine, I have been investigating Sun Simiao’sviews on medicine and health ever since.

His official biographies in the dynastic historiesreveal few but significant details about his life.Commonly imagined and venerated as one ofChina’s greatest physicians who spent his days as ahermit on a mountain top in the company of a tigerand a dragon, historical evidence suggests adifferent story. Sun Simiao appears to havereluctantly joined the first Tang emperor in 618 inthe capital at what was then already an advancedage, after a personal invitation from the emperor.He remained at the Tang court for more than half acentury as an imperial advisor until he was grantedretirement in 674 and once again disappeared intoobscurity.

Several centuries after his death, he was celebratedas a man of exceptional longevity (born c. 581,died c. 682), if not immortality, and supernaturalpowers, with deep insights into cosmology,philosophy, religion, literature, and esoteric artslike divination and calendrical calculations, all skillstypical of a prestigious member of the early Tangelite with a Daoist inclination.

What stands out is not what we find in writtenaccounts about Sun Simiao but what we do notfind. Nowhere in his own writings or in accountsabout him that were composed within a fewcenturies of his lifetime is there any mention ofmedical training, a medical lineage, a transmissionof medical texts, a professional medical practice inthe modern sense of that term, or of successfultreatments and happy patients. Given Sun’seminent social status with close connections to thehighest members of the Tang court, I find it highlyunlikely that any medical activity of his would nothave been transmitted in the written accountsabout him. In that case, how are we to explain thefact that he is celebrated as one of China’s greatestphysicians and has his name associated with one ofthe most important texts in the history of Chinesemedicine?

Qing Dynasty illustration of Sun Simiao(center) demonstrating his complete control

of the tiger and dragon

White Cloud Temple to Sun Simiao, Beijing

19th Century painting of Sun Simiao (left) in dialogue. He sits on a tiger and a dragon is held inhis left hand

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

The answer to this question, and the reason why Iraise it in the context of an article on dietetics inthe first place, is, I believe, to be found in SunSimiao’s approach to medicine as the practice of“nurturing life” (yangsheng ). In other words,to understand Master Sun’s writings about“medicine” (yi ), we first have to understand themeaning and significance of this term for Sun andhis contemporaries. As Sun Simiao himself states inthe introduction to volume 5 on pediatrics, “Thepresent collection of treatments is arranged byplacing the treatments for women and childrenfirst, and those for husbands and the elderlyafterwards. The significance of this structure is thatit venerates the root.”

This statement expresses a concern with nurturingnot just the individual life of the practitionerengaged in the arts of yangsheng as a personalprogram of health-cultivation, but with promotinglife in a much larger sense, as the life of theextended family, of the state and country, andultimately of the entire universe, intimatelyconnected in a web of not only correspondences butcorrelations expressed in the notions of yin-yangand the five dynamic movements (wuxing ). Inthis context, it becomes a logical step to want tonurture life in this larger sense by furthering thewellbeing of one’s family and ensuringreproduction, which obviously begins with thehealth of women and children as the root of thefamily. And I believe it is according to this logic thatSun Simiao structured his Essential Prescriptions byplacing the prescriptions for women and childrenfirst, followed by general medical prescriptions for abroad variety of internal and external conditions,and then a volume each on “treating with food”(shizhi ) and “nurturing the inner nature”(yangxing ), to conclude with discussions ofpulse diagnosis, acupuncture, and moxibustion.

To shed more light on this obviously deliberatestructure and on Master Sun’s choice of content forhis monumental encyclopedia, not least the factthat it includes an entire volume on dietetics, let usturn to the text itself.

Sun Simiao’s masterpiece is inspired by twoconcepts, which are also central to his approach todietetics and may therefore help the modern readerappreciate the sections on dietetics that I havetranslated below.

Treat disease before it arises

As Sun mentions in several places throughout thebook, “To be skilled at nurturing life is to treatdisease before it arises” (zhi wei bing ,Essential Prescriptions, Vol. 27). In other words,Sun’s writings, just like much of the wisdom

contained in other Chinese medical classics like theYellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, express a vision ofmedicine that is far more ambitious than ourcurrent practice of going to the doctor when weexperience dis-ease or know that there issomething wrong. In a statement that would drivethe booming market for supplements, whethernatural or pharmaceutical, into bankruptcy andcollapse most modern economies were we to put itinto practice, he goes even further: “...Even if youconstantly ingest alchemical preparations but donot know the art of nurturing life, it will still bedifficult to extend your lifespan. The way ofnurturing life is to constantly strive for minorexertion but never become greatly fatigued andforce what you cannot endure!” The benefits ofprevention over treatment, of slowing down andgetting rest over collapsing, of not pushing yourselftoo hard, are obvious not only to each of us on anindividual level but also to health insurancecorporations and governments.

The microcosm as a reflection of themacrocosm

The second concept that is central to Master Sun’svision of medicine is the recognition that the bodyis just one microcosm among many, which allchange in accordance with the same principles,principles that also govern the changes that occurin the macrocosm. Understanding the changes,positive or negative, that take place in onemicrocosm then facilitates one’s insights into theoperation of the macrocosm at large or of any othermicrocosm. The prime example of thisinterconnection is the conversations between theYellow Emperor and his medical consultant Qi Bo.Sun Simiao includes a lovely account of thisequivalence, identified as a quote from anotherearly Chinese text:

“A quote from the Baopuzi: The human body isjust like a country. The chest and abdomen arelike the imperial palace, the arrangement of thefour limbs like the outskirts, the divisions of thebones and joints like the hundred offices. Theshen (spirit/s) is like the gentlemen, the bloodlike the servants, and the qi like the generalpopulation. Knowing how to treat the body, youhence know how to rule the country. By lovingyour people, you keep the country in peace. Bycherishing your qi, you keep the body complete.When the population scatters, the countryperishes. When the qi is used up, the bodydies.”

And this ideal of “cherishing your qi to keep yourbody complete” is exactly what Master Sun’swritings on “treating with food” are concerned with.

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

“Treating With Food”: The Intersection ofPrescription Collections and MateriaMedica

Without taking etymology too far here, it issignificant that the term that is used to express thenotion of dietetics in this section, namely what Ihave been translating as “treating with food” (shizhi ), includes the character . In addition toits meaning as medical treatment in such standardcompounds as (zhi bing, “to treat disease”),the same character is used just as frequently toconvey the sense of “govern” or “rule,” as in thecompound from the quote above, (zhi guo, “togovern the country”). What does the medicalmanagement of the body have in common with thepolitical management of a country? The originalmeaning of the character, as explained in the oldestChinese dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, centers on thecontrol and management of water, specifically thedredging of canals to channel flood waters that theancient culture hero Yu carried out to facilitate theestablishment of civilization. The character thusincludes the concept that the forces of naturecannot be stopped completely (Yu’s father was,after all, sentenced to death, for trying just that)but must be directed and managed in such a waythat they do no harm to humans but are allowed toflow without obstruction and are ultimately able topour into the ocean that is their final destination.

The implications of this attitude toward nature formedical treatment and more specifically for thetopic of this article, the management of the humanbody by means of food, shall become clear in thefollowing paragraphs.

Literature on “treating with food” is situated at theintersection of two literary traditions in classicalChinese medicine: prescription texts (fangshu )like the Treatise on Cold Damage (Shanghanlun

) and Essentials from the Golden Cabinet(Jingui Yaolüe ) on the one hand, andmateria medica (bencao ), like the DivineFarmer’s Classic of Materia Medica (ShennongBencaojing , below abbreviated as DivineFarmer’s Classic) on the other. As ZhangZhongjing’s preface to the Treatise on Cold Damageshows, the first of these, prescription collections,originated in the practical experience of physicians.Inspired by the desire to alleviate the suffering ofhumankind, these texts aim at the treatment ofdisease by means of formulas with medicinalefficacy, with the ultimate goal of restoring thebalance of yin and yang, the smooth flow of qi andblood, and the proper functioning of the five zangand six fu organs in the body by supplementingdeficiency and draining excess.

The classics of Chinese materia medica literature,on the other hand, do not come from the milieu ofprofessionally practising physicians but ofpractitioners of the arts of nurturing life. They aim

not at treating disease but at cultivating health topromote longevity, if not immortality, by sharingknowledge about the effects of natural substanceson the human body.

The Chinese term for “materia medica,” bencao, means literally translated “[knowledge that is]

rooted in herbs.” The earliest extant example ofthis literature, the above-mentioned DivineFarmer’s Classic from the Han dynasty, is a directmanifestation of this world view. It discusses 365natural substances, ranked in three hierarchicalgrades that correspond to the trinity of Heaven,Humanity, and Earth. As the preface explains, the“gentlemen” (jun ) nurture the heavenlymandated life-span (yang ming ), correspond toHeaven, are non-toxic, can be taken for a long timewithout damaging the body, and have the effect oflightening the body, boosting qi, and prolonginglife. In the second category, the “ministers” (chen

) nurture the inner nature (yang xing ),correspond to humanity, are partly toxic and partlynon-toxic, and are used to prevent illness andsupplement vacuity and emaciation. Substances inthe lowest category, characterized as “assistants”(zuo ) and “couriers” (shi ), treat disease (zhibing ), correspond to earth, are toxic, may notbe taken over a long time, and are used to “expelthe evil qi of cold or heat, break up accumulations,and cure disease.” To present an example, gancao(licorice, the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis) isclassified as a substance of the highest grade, witha sweet flavor, neutral nature, and no toxicity. “Itrules the evil qi of cold and heat in the five zangorgans and six fu organs, hardens the sinews andbones, grows flesh, and doubles strength. [It isindicated for] incised wounds and swellings, and itresolves toxin. Taken over a long time, it lightensthe body and extends the years.”

Volume 26 in the Essential Prescriptions

A. The Preface

Mirroring the ideals expressed in the DivineFarmer’s Classic, Sun Simiao’s volume on dieteticstakes a similarly cautious approach to the questionof medical intervention. In five sections, it offerssome general ideas and rules in a preface and thendiscusses the effects of fruits, vegetables, grains,and animal substances on the human body. Forthe purposes of this article, I present here atranslation of excerpts from the Preface and merelyoutline the information in the other four sections:

“Zhang Zhongjing said: ‘When a person’s bodyis balanced and harmonious, you must merelynurture it well.’ Do not recklessly take drugs,because the strength of drugs assists onlypartially and causes the person’s visceral qi tobe imbalanced, so that they easily contractexternal trouble. All things that contain qiprovide food and thereby preserve life.

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

Nevertheless, eating them unawares has theopposite effect. The common people use themdaily without awareness, and so they hardlyrecognize when water and fire draw near. I sighdeeply about this situation and, relying on theleisure of brush and ink, have composed thischapter on the benefits and detriments of thefive flavors in dietary therapy, to expose thischildishness. Diligently carrying out this [advice]will yield shadow- or echo-like results.

Wei Fan from Hedong recorded Bian Que assaying: ‘The physical body is what people relyon; disease is what disorders harmonious qi;drugs are what regulate vexing poisons; and thephysician is who rescues life and providessupport in crises’. To make the root of the bodysafe, you must provide it with food. To rescuefrom the speed of disease, you must rely ondrugs. If you do not know the appropriatenessof specific foods, you will be unable to preservelife. If you do not understand the avoidances ofdrugs, you will be unable to eliminate disease.To differentiate between these two types isessential for anything with spirit. To disregardand fail to study this is truly lamentable. For thisreason, food is able to expel evil and secure thezang and fu organs, to please the spirit andclear the will, by supplying blood and qi. If youare able to use food to stabilize chronic disease,release emotions, and chase away disease, youcan call yourself an outstanding artisan. This isthe special method of lengthening the years and“eating for old age”, and the utmost art ofnurturing life.

To practice medicine, you must first thoroughlyunderstand the source of disease and know whathas been violated. Then, use food to treat it,and if food does not cure it, afterwards applydrugs. The nature of drugs is harsh andunyielding. This is just like managing soldiers.Soldiers being fierce and violent, how could youallow them to recklessly set out! ...

The highly esteemed Wang Shuhe said thatfoods should not be combined becausecombined foods may contain some that clashwith each other. If they clash, they may causedamage, or if not causing suffering right at thattime, accumulate over time to give the persontrouble.

Furthermore, in indulging in a diet of seafood,strive for simplicity and scarcity. In fish andfruit, choose only those that are beneficial forhuman consumption. In all the common drinksand foods, be frugal. An unsatiable appetite,excessive feasting, and severe overeating willcause a feeling of distention in the abdomen andshortage of qi after the meal, possibly evenfulminant sickness and sudden upheaval.Furthermore, after the apex of the summer

season when entering fall, you must beware offatty and slimy foods, cakes and meat broths,butter and oil and the like. These substances arefurther obstructed by alcohol and fermentedfoods, by melon and fruit.

The reason for the presence of increasedsickness in the body is always related to theexcessive consumption of cold substances andby immoderate eating and drinking in the springand summer. Furthermore, fish, minced fish,and malodorous and cold substances mostlyharm a person. To stop taking them is of greatbenefit. Frequent consumption of milk, koumiss,and similar substances gives a person strengthin the sinews, great courage, and a bodyglistening with health. But if eaten in excess,they can also cause upper abdominal distentionand diarrhea and gradually cause damage.

The Yellow Emperor said: ‘The five flavors enterthrough the mouth. Each has a destinationwhere it proceeds to, and each has a diseaseassociated with it. Sourness proceeds to thesinews, and the overconsumption of sour foodscauses dribbling urinary block. You don’t knowwhy this is so?’ Shao Yu said [advising theYellow Emperor]: ‘Regarding sourness enteringthe stomach, its qi is astringent and thereforecontracts. Above, it proceeds to the two upperburners and if the qi of the two upper burners isastringed, it is unable to exit or enter. Failing toexit, it lodges in the stomach, and if thestomach is warm and harmonious, it pours downinto the bladder. The bladder proceeds to thewomb, which is thin and therefore soft. Exposedto sourness, it shrinks and curls up, becomesconstrained and stops flowing. The pathway ofwater is inhibited, which causes dribbling urinaryblock. Yin is the final gathering place of essenceand the sinews. Therefore when sourness entersthe stomach, it proceeds to the sinews.’”

The following sections similarly discuss the effect ofeating too much salty, acrid, bitter, and sweetfoods, followed by more information on correlatingfoods with colors, flavors, internal organs, etc., inaccordance with the doctrine of the five dynamicmovements as expressed in the Yellow Emperor’sInner Classic. It then offers food-related medicaladvice, such as to eat hemp, dog meat, plum, andChinese chive for liver disease, but wheat, mutton,almonds and shallots for heart disease….

“If the heart suffers from slackness, quickly eatsour foods to contract it, but if you want tosoften the heart, quickly eat salty foods. Usesweet foods to drain it, and avoid warm foodsand thick clothing. If the spleen suffers fromdampness, quickly eat bitter (or in anotheredition, salty) foods to dry it. If you want torelax it, quickly eat sweet foods to relax it, usebitter foods to drain it, and avoid warm foods

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

and overeating, damp ground and moistenedclothing. …

The reason for these [methods above] is thattoxic medicines attack evil, the five grainsprovide nourishment, the five meats providebenefit, the five fruits provide assistance, andthe five vegetables provide fullness. Jingessence uses the qi of food. Qi nourishesessence and thereby gives a flourishingcomplexion. The body uses the flavor of food. …

If the qi of different foods are averse to eachother, this damages essence. The body receivesflavor to mature. If the flavor of foods is notbalanced, it injures the body. For this reason,the sage first uses food avoidances to preservethe inner nature and afterwards preparesmedicines to guard the natural lifespan.Therefore, if the body is insufficient, warm itwith qi; if essence is insufficient, supplement itwith flavor. Qi and flavor warm and supplement,thereby preserving the body and essence…. Yinflavor exits from the lower orifices, while yang qiexits from the upper orifices. Thick flavor is yin,and thin flavor is yang within yin; thick qi isyang, and thin qi is yin within yang. When theflavor is thick, it drains out; when it is thin, itflows freely. When qi is thin, it effuses; when itis thick, it becomes clogged. …Acrid and sweetflavors effuse and dissipate, constituting yang;sour and bitter flavors gush and drain,constituting yin. When yin prevails, yang isdiseased; when yang prevails, yin is diseased.When yin and yang are balanced andharmonious, the person is stable and quieted.

In the 72 days of spring, be sparing withsourness and increase sweetness, in order tonourish spleen qi. In the 72 days of summer, besparing with bitterness and increase acridity, inorder to nourish lung qi. In the 72 days ofautumn, be sparing with acridity and increasesourness, in order to nourish liver qi. In the 72days of winter, be sparing with saltiness andincrease bitterness, in order to nourish heart qi.In the 18 days of the last month of each season,be sparing with sweetness and increasesaltiness, in order to nourish kidney qi.”

B. Chapters Two to Five: Fruits, Vegetables,Grains and Animal Products

The next chapter in Sun Simiao’s volume on“Treating with Food”, entitled “Fruits and Seeds”,includes entries on nuts, berries, fruits, and fruitpits, from areca nut to pomegranate and walnut.With the exception of xingren (apricot pit) andpear, all other fruits are classified as non-toxic.Descriptions commonly include information likeboosting qi, lightening the body, lengthening life,strengthening the spleen, and expelling dampnessor pain, but also warnings, such as in the case offresh jujube: "Eating excessive amounts will give

the person heat, thirst, and qi distention. Peoplewith hot-cold emaciation must not eat it. It willinjure them." Warning against overconsumption ofa single substance, walnut, for example, “must notbe eaten in excess. It stirs phlegm-rheum andcauses nausea and vomiting of fluids and food."

The entries on vegetables include various greensand their seeds, melons and gourds, alliums, treeleaves and barks, seaweeds, ginger, bamboo shots,mushrooms, etc. To cite just a few examples,prolonged consumption of cilantro (coriander)causes forgetfulness, while the consumption ofhollyhock (flower and leaf) after getting bit by adog will prevent the bite from healing.Interestingly, the only toxic substances arecucumber and bottle gourds, shujiao(zanthoxylum), and cangerzi (cocklebur,xanthium). To give just two examples that youwon’t have to go far to find, perilla (also known byits Japanese name shiso) is described as “acrid andwarm in flavor and non-toxic. It is indicated forcounterflow cough, precipitates qi, warms thecenter, and supplements marrow. Its leaf isindicated for balancing the center and getting rid ofbad body odor. Pick in the ninth month and useshade-dried. The oil can also be used to make oiledcloth.”

For an even more common substance, readers willbe happy to learn the following about tea leaves:They are “bitter, salty, sour, cold, and non-toxic.They can be consumed over long periods of timeand give a person energy and please the will. Theystir qi slightly. According to the Yellow Emperor,‘you must not consume them together with Chinesechive, because this makes the person’s bodyheavy.’” The section on vegetables concludes withyet another quotation from the Yellow Emperor:

“On the fifth day of the fifth month, do not eatany vegetables, or the hundred diseases willbreak out. Always thoroughly cook the variousvegetables and eat them warm. After recoveringfrom seasonal disease, eating the various typesof meat with garlic and having sexualintercourse after eating will cause the disease tobreak out and invariably leads to death. Eatingraw greens when you have not yet fullyrecovered from seasonal disease invariablymakes the hands and feet turn green-blue andswell. Having sexual intercourse after eatinggreen vegetables when you have not yet fullyrecovered from seasonal disease makes thedisease erupt again and invariably leads todeath. In the tenth month, do not eatvegetables that have been exposed to frost. Thiscauses a lusterless facial complexion, drynessand pain in the eyes, and malaria outbreaks,heart pain, and lumbar pain, possibly to thepoint of heart malaria with outbreaks that turnall the finger and toe nails blue-green, andencumbrance and wilting.”

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Sun Simiao on Dietetics

The next chapter, titled “grains,” covers much morethan what most people would think of as such,namely all sorts of seeds, sprouts, legumes, liquor,vinegar, and, a little surprisingly, even salt, inaddition to such standard grains as rice, millet,wheat, and buckwheat. The only toxic entry in thiscategory is liquor, which is described as follows:

“Bitter, sweet, and acrid in flavor and greatlyhot. It is toxic. It stirs the force of [other]medicinals and kills the malign qi of the hundredevils... According to Bian Que, ‘Drinking liquorfor a long time putrefies the intestines anderodes the stomach, ulcerates the marrow andsteams the sinews, damages the spirit andharms longevity.’”

Last but not least, the discussion of animalproducts provides information on milk and milkproducts from different sources, from human breastmilk to sow’s milk and yak butter, on all sorts ofanimal parts like meat, gall, hooves, skulls,marrow, teeth, steer urine, penis of wild stallions,dogs, boars, dog brain, hare’s liver, raw mice, elkfat, different varieties of fowl (do not eat meat froma chicken or wild bird that has died withoutstretching the feet!), swallow droppings, honey andwax, and insects and fish.

To cite just one example:

“Deer's head meat is neutral. It treats dispersionthirst, profuse dreaming, and visions, engendersblood, and treats welling-abscesses. The penis isindicated for taxation detriment. The hoof meatis neutral and governs pain in the feet and kneebones preventing the person from stepping onthe ground. The bones are indicated for internalvacuity, for reconnecting injuries from cuts, andfor supplementing bone. They can be processedinto a liquor. The marrow is sweet and warm inflavor and is indicated for men and women’sdamage in the center, interrupted [flow in the]vessels, tension and pain in the sinews, andcounterflow cough. Take it mixed in liquor. Thekidney is neutral and indicated forsupplementing kidney qi. The meat is bitter andwarm in flavor, non-toxic, and supplements thecenter, strengthens the five zang organs, andboosts qi and energy. The raw meat governswind strike and deviated mouth. Slice it veryfinely and spread it on the deviated place.”

The text concludes by again quoting the YellowEmperor with some stern warnings:

“Do not eat fish with white eyes. Eating fish withhorns will cause the outbreak of heart fright andharm the person. Eating fish that lack intestines ora gallbladder causes impotence in the husband andinfertility in the wife for three years. Fish with blackspots on the body must not be eaten. Minced fishfrom fish with red eyes causes accumulations….”

Conclusion

Perhaps even more clearly than in the moreclinically oriented volumes of the EssentialPrescriptions, what is most striking to me about theinformation in this volume on “treating with food” isthe emphasis on balance and avoiding harm in SunSimiao’s approach to medicine as the art ofrestoring or improving health. More than anything,knowing that and how everything in the externalenvironment affects the human body is essential ifwe are to avoid harm. As Sun himself warns in thevery beginning of the Essential Prescriptions, “Toadd to what is already full or to decrease what isalready deficient, to make what is already flowingfreely penetrate even further or to congest what isalready blocked, to cool what is already cold or towarm what is already hot, this is only doubling thedisorder. Where there was still hope for thepatient’s life, I now see their death.” And if we canavoid harm, there is no need for toxic drugs orharsh interventions because disease will neverbreak out in the first place.

* For a wider survey of Sun Simiao's thought, seemy "Nurturing Life in Classical Chinese Medicine:Sun Simiao on Healing without Drugs, TransformingBodies and Cultivating Life" Journal of ChineseMedicine" Journal of Chinese Medicine No. 93, June2010.

Acknowledgements

The statue on p.23 is from the private collection ofProf. Paul Unschuld and is reproduced here with hiskind permission. The 19th century painting on p.24is reproduced with the kind permission of Prof. LiJingwei of the China Academy of Chinese MedicalSciences, through the good offices of Prof Unschuld.

About the author

Ever since the research for her PhD dissertation onmedieval Chinese gynecology, Dr. Sabine Wilmshas been studying and teaching, reading andwriting about classical Chinese medical literature.She is a popular international lecturer, professor atthe School of Classical Chinese Medicine, NationalCollege of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon,and an independent writer and researcher. She hasdedicated her life to transmitting the wisdom fromthe Chinese medical classics to practitioners ofChinese medicine in the modern world. For hertranslations of Sun Simiao’s writings on gynecologyand pediatrics, watch out for forthcomingpublications by Happy Goat Productions. Also notethat Sabine has an active Facebook page called‘Sun Simiao, God of Medicinals and Master ofNurturing Life’.