Shang Han Lun Historical Synopsis

By Yaron Seidman DAOM

Few weeks ago I taught a seminar titled Breaking Shang Han Lun Code in Fairfax, California. In this seminar we contemplated the principle hidden behind the Shang Han Lun text. I explained why one must not believe this (or any other) text blindly but rather diligently investigate the principles behind the theory until true knowledge evolves. In medicine, more then any other field, one must seek true and real knowledge as in front of him or her sits a real person, a patient. Patients entrust their life in the hands of practitioners and therefore the responsibility is great. At the seminars conclusion, a participating practitioner approached me and said she had recently graduated from acupuncture school and is leading her own practice. During several years of schooling she followed a Shang Han Lun instructor in clinic. It seemed that the instructor had good clinical results, yet every time she was asked for an explanation about the herbal formulas she would answer: "Shang Han Lun is the law. We dont ask questions about it. We simply follow this law for enough years and then get enlightened. I know why I do what I do but I cant explain it to you. I was saddened, all these centuries have passed since the time of Zhang Zhongjing and as if nothing has changed. Blindly believing an ancient text, without understanding it, has been practiced for centuries in Chinese medicine. Often times following a romantic notion that the older the text is, the more truthful or original it is. In this article I am not discussing the Shang Han Lun principles, but rather recounting its history. Through its historicity I hope to support Shang Han Lun enthusiasts in the exploration of its principles and the dismissal of blind belief.

Zhang Zhongjing (150-219 CE) The Person.

In the Historical Records of the Later Hancompiled during the Liu Song Dynasty (ca. 440 CE) by Fan Ye , which draws upon several earlier historical records, there is no mention of Zhang Zhongjing or his life-story. The first narration of Zhangs life-story comes from the preface of the Song Dynasty Shang Han Lun version (1065 CE), which quotes the story from an earlier Tang dynasty work Chronicles of Famous Physiciansby Gan Bo Zong (this text was lost after the Song Dynasty). The story details: A person of Nan Yang, his given name is Ji , while his courtesy name Zhongjing . Passed the imperial examination and became the prefecture chief of Chang Sha. He began his study with (his uncle) from same prefecture Zhang Bozu. People of his time said that he has surpassed his teacher. His literary work reached depth and perfection, his (application) methods simple yet detailed. It is not something the shallow learned or the near sighted can grasp.

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Earlier on, Huang Fumi (215-282 CE) in his acupuncture classic The ABC Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustionnarrates a story about Zhang Zhongjing's superior diagnostic skills, yet there is no description of the persons life.

Shang Han Lun Historical Synopsis

According to Shang Han Lun preface, Zhang Zhongjing collected or at least referenced earlier texts available to him, including Su Wen, Nine Scrolls, 81 Difficulties, Yin Yang Grand Treatise, Tai Lu Medical records, as well as Healthy Pulse Differentiation, in order to compose the Shang Han Za Bing Lun or Cold Injuries and Miscellaneous Diseases Treatise. A considerable number of Shang Han Lun formulas were copied from an earlier Han dynasty classic Decoction Canon, a work lost since the Tang dynasty. In 1948, Yang Shaoyi assembling fragments from Wang Shuhes Pulse Canon and Sun Simiaos Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold, reconstructed a Decoction Canon. The original Shang Han Lun was compiled during the end of Han dynasty ca. 180-200 CE, yet as these were times of unrest, chaos and rebellion, the work disappeared and was kept secret in the hands of unknown persons. To this day, it's original scope cannot be ascertained. What came down through history to the present is an arrangement compiled by an imperial physician from the western Jin dynasty, named Wang Shuhe (210258 CE). Some contemporary scholars like Liu Duzhou even consider Shuhe to be Zhongjings disciple. Shuhes compilation was later named Zhang Zhongjings Cold Injury Zhang Zhongjings Prescriptions or Wang Shuhe and Zhang Zhongjings prescriptionsand was circulated widely during the eastern Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties (304-589 CE). During this time period, the content and scope of the work is unclear. Other medical texts of the same era, such as A Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies The ABC Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Jotting Prescriptionsand Assisting Rhymes of Herbal Application to Zang Fuquote some fragments from Wang Shuhes text, however, none contain the entire text. The Sui dynasty imperial physician Chao Yuanfang in his Treatise on Causes and Symptoms of Diseasesalso included a part of Wang Shuhes text. In the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) one can find more historical records of this text, even though it was not yet titled Shang Han Lun Cold Injury Treatise. In The History Book of Sui Dynastychapter Imperial Bibliographythere is Zhang Zhongjing Prescriptions12 scrolls and Zhang Zhongjing Gynecology Prescriptions2 scrolls. In addition, Imperial Bibliography quotes an earlier text 7 Records of Liangthat had Zhang

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Zhongjings differentiation of Cold Injuries10 scrolls. The Old Tang Bookin chapter Imperial Bibliographymentions a book Zhang Zhongjing Prescriptions of Medicine15 scrolls. In the New Tang Bookchapter Classics Writingsthere is Wang Shu He Zhang Zhongjing Prescriptions15 scrollsand Shang Han and Sudden (or fatal) Disease Treatise10 scrolls (during the Song compilation, the two characters sudden disease, were arbitrarily considered a typo and changed to miscellaneous diseases). The content of the earlier Shang Han Lun versions, yet again, one cannot ascertain and therefore cannot compare to the later versions extant today. However, one can certainly tell that even earlier then the Tang dynasty there were different versions of Shang Han Lun with different numbers of scrolls. Sun Simiao in his Essential Formulas for Emergencies [Worth] a Thousand Pieces of Goldsaid: all masters south of the river keep Zhongjings prescriptions secret and do not transmit them. This text compiled in 652 CE, only includes very few lines from the Shang Han Lun. However Sun in his later A Supplement to Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Goldcompiled in 680 CE brings almost the entire Shang Han Lun lines arranged in six conformations. This arrangement, however, is sequenced differently then the later Song version. For example, Tai Yang section is arranged under three main methods; Gui Zhi Tang methods, Ma Huang Tang methods and Qing Long Tang methods. As of today, Sun Simiaos version of the Shang Han Lun is the earliest we have today and it is also named the Tang (dynasty) version. Wang Tao , like Sun Simiao, in his Medical Secrets of an Official (compiled in 752 CE) brings forth the Shang Han Lun lines, and here for the first time one can find lines from the later version of Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer, the line arrangement again being different then the modern version. Wang Tao also references additional lines and scrolls not extant today, and one therefore clearly sees that Wangs referenced text was different then the text Sun Simiao had available to him. Contemplating this, one may deduce that earlier then Tang dynasty there were at least two schools of Shang Han Lun; one having the Shang Han Lun six conformations system as a stand alone frame, the book containing 10 scrolls (this includes the Tang and Song versions we have today), while the other incorporated the miscellaneous diseases with the six conformations into one unified system, of which, different versions may have contained 12, 15, 16 or 18 scrolls (this includes the famous version discovered during Song of Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer and Jade Case. In Northern Song at the time of emperor Ren Zong (1010-1063 CE), an official in charge of academic affairs, Wang Zhu , accidentally discovered an old worm eaten book titled Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer and Jade Casein 3 scrolls. The first scroll was Shang Han cold injury, the second scroll Za Bing miscellaneous diseases, while the third contained prescriptions. in addition to this book,

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at about the same time, there was another book circulating around with the title Golden Coffer and Jade Case Canonthat some believed to have been another Wang Shuhe version, yet in all likelihood, it was a forgery from the Tang era, the content of which is similar to that of Sun Simiao's version. In Northern Song (992 CE) Sagely Benevolent Formulas of Great Peaceone finds yet another Shang Han Lun version (later named Gao Ji Chong version), in which the content is very close to the Tang version. The Shang Han Lun version we know today comes from the Song dynasty era. There are two main versions; Zhao Kaimei version and Cheng Wuji version. In Northern Song, the time of emperor Ying Zong , the 2nd year of the era Zhi Ping (1065 CE), noted imperial physicians Gao Baoheng Sun Qi Lin Yi and others received an imperial edict to edit, compare, arrange and print the different Shang Han Lun, Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer and Jade Caseand Golden Coffer and Jade Case Canon versions. This publicly printed Shang Han Lun edition was in 10 scrolls and was named the Song version or Zhi Ping version. In addition, the middle scroll of Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer and Jade Case was printed separately as Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer. In the Jin dynasty 1144 CE, Cheng Wuji used the Song version, both deleting and adding lines, as well as inserting his own commentary to compose his Shang Han Lun with Annotations. This version officially printed in 1172 CE and was later named Cheng Annotated Version. The Song version was not annotated and therefore hard to read and comprehend. Its circulation quickly declined when Cheng version was printed and by the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 CE) was only in the hands of few collectors. During the Ming dynasty a book collector, Zhao Kaimei was able, after pain staking effort, to find one copy of the Song version at the hands of a famous doctor Shen Nanfang . In 1599 CE Zhao took Shang Han Lun Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cofferand Shang Han Lun with Annotationsand printed them together as Zhongjing Comprehensive Volumes. This was later named the Zhao version. What today we call the Song version, in reality is the block prints of the Zhao Version. This version is extremely scarce and there are only few original specimens in China and Japan. In the Qing dynasty at the era of emperor Qian Long (1736-1795 CE) by a decree of the imperial medical college, noted physician Wu Qian compiled Golden Mirror of Orthodox Medicine, which includes in its first chapter a revision of the Shang Han Lun. The Song version was used as a foundation, however texts by twenty or

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more commentators were consulted in this revision. Lines that were contradictory or nonconforming were deleted one after the other. After the text was finally corrected it was printed again and widely circulated. This is the standard Shang Han Lun version we have today. This version is also called the Golden Mirror of Orthodox Medicine version . Since the beginning of the 20th century, several Shang Han Lun versions have surfaced, claimed to be from earlier periods, however their authenticity is contested by most historians who believe they are later texts based on Tang and Song versions with personal additions.

Conclusion
Zhang Zhongjing concludes his preface to the Shang Han Lun: When one wishes (the high level, where) he can distinguish death from life, it is truly difficult. Confucius said: To know it (naturally in your heart) at birth is superior, to learn and know it (and make it your own) is second, (but) to study far and wide and know about it (yet not hold it as your own), this knowledge is inferior. I have collected the arts of medicine and prescriptions as I follow (your) instructions in said affair . The instructions Zhang Zhongjing wishes to follow we find in the Confucian Analects: : Yen Yuan asked about benevolence. The Master said, "To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is benevolence. If a man can for one day subdue himself (his ego) and return to propriety (what is truth), then everyone under heaven will return to benevolence (become a good person). Is the practice of benevolence for a man himself, or is it for others?" Yen Yuan said, "I beg to ask the steps of this process." The Master replied, "Look not at what is contrary to propriety (truth); listen not to what is contrary to propriety (truth); speak not what is contrary to propriety (truth); make no movement which is contrary to propriety (truth)." Yen Yuan then said, Hui, though not quick, will attempt to do things in accordance with these words ." Zhongjing concludes his preface with a bold statement: Do nothing, which is contrary to Truth! The sages words, methods and prescriptions may have been altered through 2000 years of editorials, arrangements and annotations, yet his hearts intention remains clear: Do nothing, which is contrary to Truth! Blind (and romantic) belief served the political purpose throughout Chinese history of keeping an official in power, and to a degree keeping disciples close to their teachers. This, in reality, serves no purpose in the practice of medicine. Innocent and therefore one has to believe, knowledgeable and one does not have to believe.

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In the same, previously mentioned, Breaking Shang Han Lun Code seminar another practitioner raised a concern, stating: In my years studying Shang Han Lun my teacher told me that pulse diagnosis is very important. However when I would ask her what is it that I am looking for in the pulse? The teacher would reply: The pulse is like a beautiful landscape or calligraphy, only after you feel the pulse for many years, that you will be able to see this landscape that I am seeing. With a touch of humor, I would reply: are you seeing the landscape of the Tang version or the Song version? Liu Yuan (1768-1855), a noted physician and scholar of the Qing dynasty, stated: If one cannot put his skill into its practicality, and instead develops it into the mysterious, then one fails to understand the principle of his own body.

Source: http://zh.wikipedia.org A large portion of the article was translated from the above source by the author and includes authors own modifications and additions. Breaking Shang Han Lun Code 2-day seminar is available online at http://www.chineseclassics.org/SFSeminar.html Copyright 2012 Yaron Seidman Permission is granted to circulate this article in its entirety. If you quote from this article please credit: Hunyuan Research Institute at http://www.ChineseClassics.org

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