Probe Into The Medical Problems Of Turkic Dictionary

Mahamud Kashgali, a famous Turkic scholar at Kashgar in Xinjiang, compiled Turkic Dictionary in Arabic in Bagdad from 1072A.D to 1074A.D. In the dictionary Turkic words are explained by Arabic words.The works is not only the first Turkic dictionary in the world, but also a concise encyclopedia. There are about 7,500 words. Its substantial content in many ways reflects Turki-speaking nationalities' history, geography, language, literature, politics, military, astronomy, calendar and medicine etc. in the 11th century. Concerning the medical problems, one thousand words or so record the diseases and common symptoms, medicine, prescription and instruments etc. In the 11th century, doctor has been regarded as the profession. This shows that the development of Uighur medicine in the mid-century is very high. By arranging and classifying these medical words, the author chooses the dermatopathy, dietetic treatment and Shamans sorcery as the research objects to probe into the medical problems in the dictionary and the relevant circumstances such as climate, natural environment, diet, religion, hygiene etc. so as to reflect the social situation in the 11th century.The research of three aspects shall be discussed as follows:As to the dermatopathy, on the base of the relevant records in the dictionary the author analyses these diseases and some social problems in Xinjiang in the 11th century. There are one hundred words or so about dermatopathy. From the point of view of the modern medicine, these diseases can be divided into eight kinds. Connecting these diseases with natural environment, method of production and way of life, we can see the social circumstances in the 11th century.With regard to the dietetic treatment, the substantial words about drink and food in the dictionary reflect that Uighur mainly ate cooked the wheaten food and rationed with meats, dairy products, vegetable and fruit. Meanwhile, some records reflect people realized the relation between diet and disease, so is taking illness finding its way in by the mouth. There are eight reasons to result in the diseases. By analyzing their nutritive composition and pharmaceutical function of the recipes we can see that Uighur have known their principle at that time.Concerning the relation between sorcery and medicine, the relevant records reflect...