A study of the spread and influences of pestilence and contagious diseases from the eastern Han Dynasty to the T'ang Dynasty with special reference to the migration of population

This dissertation, based on the primary source pertaining to population migration, pestilence and infectious diseases, uses the sickness CHI-I to illustrate how people migrating to the southern region faced the threat of pestilence and infectious diseases during the Six Dynasties and Sui and T'ang Dynasties. Part one is an introduction. Part two examines the meaning of CHI-I and infectious diseases in ancient Chinese medical texts. Part three discusses the relationship between population migration and infectious diseases from modern medical and anthropological theories. Part four, taking CHI-I, SHUI-TU and CHANG-CH'IH as examples, explores the relationship between population migration and infectious diseases in the southern region. Part five, from religions, faith of epidemic demons and customs of warding off pestilence, probes into pestilence role in bringing forth the changes of society and culture. Conclusion points out that because of wars and natural disasters in the northern region, immigrants from the northern region led to population increases in the southern region during the Six dynasties and T'ang dynasty. To sum up, population increase was one of the most important reasons leading to the outbreak of pestilence.*; *Originally published in DAI Vol. 59, No. 9. Reprinted here with corrected author name.