The Research On Zhu Mutong’s Application And Study On Chinese Classical Prescription In Taiwan

Objective:Prescription medicine is an important component of Chinese medicine. Through the ages, a great many herbalists have classical prescriptions at command. Their intensive study of Treatise on Febrile Disease and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber has contributed to excellent clinical therapeutic effect of many diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine in Taiwan admires classical prescriptions, a lot of emergent novelty in the study and application of which come forth. Dr. Zhu Mutong, which is a Taiwan famous doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, is known for his good use of classical prescriptions and has achieved satisfying clinical efficacy. Dr. Zhu Mutong is self-taught in Chinese medicine and will focus on the study and application of Treatise on Febrile Disease and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber. Therefore his clinical prescription is based on classical prescriptions. With his rigorous scholarship, Mr. Zhu Mutong attaches importance to clinical objective observation. Cases are well-documented even ineffective treatments or mistreatment of patients which are detailedly recorded and used to humbly analyze his mistakes and shortcomings. The book Zhu Mutong’s medical case records of Classical Prescriptions in his 25-year clinic for TCMas collected Dr. Zhu Mutong clinical case records and research articles on prescription medicine in TCM. It is divided into two parts. One includes 243 cases of Dr. Zhu Mutong’s own and the other is about some of his articles. With these well-documented cases, some of which record poor efficacy, absurd prescriptions and patients’exasperate conditions in detail, he proves to be clear-thinking and objective with regard to clinical therapeutic effect.Methods:In this paper, the author has sorted out Dr. Zhu Mutong medical records and some articles to realize an in-depth study of his characteristics of the research and application of classical prescription. Dr. Zhu is rich in clinical experience, in which original therapies occur, such as Indian Buead, Cinnamon Twig, Schisandra Chinensis and Licorice Decoction curing Tympanitis, Migraine and Tonsillitis, tuckahoe Ramuli cinnamomi and Fructus Schisandrae Decoction curing otitis media, migraine, tonsillitis, Ling Gui Shu Gan Decoction in curing acute conjunctivitis, Banxia Houpu decoction combined with Pinellia Decoction curing acute tonsillitis, Decoction of Peach Kernel for Activating Qi curing the worm disease, Angelica Decoction for Cold Limbs curing appendicitis, etc. Through years of clinical practice and research summing-up, Dr. Zhu has formed his distinctive knowledge and thinking around the application and study of classical prescriptions. Based on these references, this paper provides a new perspective for the study of prescription medicine.Results and Conclusion:The section of reviewing is to summarize the origin of traditional Chinese prescription medicine, senior specialists’research results and application experience from the Qing Dynasty to the founding of PRC, and Dr. Zhu Mutong’ s current research progress. Treatise on Febrile Disease and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber are the theoretical sources of prescription medicine. In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty at war, Zhang Zhongjing learned from predecessors’experience in treatments as well as his own medical practice and wrote Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases, which has been sorted by later generations and divided into two books. From the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Ye Tianshi, Ke Yunbo, Xu Lingtai, Li Biliu, Cao Yingfu, Zhang CiGong, Liu Duzhou and Hu Xishu are specialists in classical prescriptions with varied academic experience. However, there is little prospect of related research on Dr. Zhu Mutong gaining a reputation as their colleague.The first part discusses the features of Dr. Zhu’s application of prescriptions. There are two kinds of modes, namely, one is diagnosis oriented and the other is "formulas corresponding to syndromes". For the first mode, we must be clear that TCM and Western medicine diagnosis have their own justification of diseases classification and. Dr. Zhu does not rule out Western medicine diagnosis which can be considered as a basis for prescription medications. Just like TCM, western medicine is studying the internal contradictions of disease based on clinical objective phenomena. Despite their difference on thinking modes and therapeutic approaches, two kinds of medicine intersect in many ways. Prescriptions based on modern medicine diagnosis, prescriptions based on modern medical diagnosis and classification, and prescriptions based on TCM diagnosis, are three specific ways in Dr. Zhu’ s application of classical prescriptions according to disease diagnosis. They come from practical observation in clinical treatments and constitute a system called "disease diagnosis-typical prescriptions" through plenty of physicians’summary. They serve clinic and are constantly revised in clinic. For the second mode, we must clear that "analyzing patients’pulse and syndrome to figure out diseases cured correspondently to syndrome" is the therapeutic principle of Treatise on Febrile Disease and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber. Dr. Zhu Mutong values "syndrome". When it is identified, the name of disease is not important. Such a characteristic is different from that of other kinds of medicine. The mode "formulas corresponding to syndromes" is improved in the cycle of "clinical practice - summarizing clinical practice- modifying cycle". It is based on objective clinical curative effects. The first mode is targeted, and the second one is complete. Combined application of both modes is Dr. Zhu’s favor.The second part discusses the features of Dr. Zhu’s study in prescriptions. There are mainly three characteristics:based on principles and syndrome; assisted by modern medicine; learning from Japanese Kampo medicine. The author discusses the first of those around the definition of formulas and syndrome, namely the evidence of feasibility, four parts of which include the formation, the content, dosage regimen and contraindications, and drug responses. With regard to the second research characteristic, the author discusses Dr. Zhu’ s how to use modern medicine to provide accessible and practical gists and relative articles of applying formulas and syndrome. The last part about benefits from the Japanese Kampo medicine in his study of classical prescriptions concerns discussing his attitude to study, his perspective of explanation, and his experience on application.The third part analyzes three cases of Dr. Zhu Mutong.In the author’s opinion, exploring the characteristics of Dr. Zhu’s characteristics of application and study of classical prescriptions can bring new impetus for further development of classical prescription medicine as well as continuous improvement of research and clinical level of TCM.