Zhang Zhicong And The Exegetical Study Of "Explanation Of Treatise On Febrile Diseases" And "Summary Of Synopsis Of The Golden Chamber"

BackgroundsDuring the late Ming and early Qing dynasty,Zhang Zhicong is the representative figure of "maintaining the old theory" of Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases.Start with his forefather,there were nine successive generations in his family all practicing their professions as a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.He praised himself as the 43th generation descendant of Zhang Zhongjing.Zhang Zhicong's father died early when he was only in childhood and then he witnessed a failing time of his family,so he decided to take up traditional Chinese medicine instead of Confucianism and made Zhang Qingzi be his teacher.As the old saying goes,"Many hands make light work".Zhang Zhicong's Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber both were collections of a lot of the wisdom that Zhang and his classmates worked in synergy to create.Because of the unique style,both of the works deliver original perspectives and some enlightenment,which is a great benefit to the research of Zhang Zhongjing's academic thoughts.ObjectivesThis thesis aims to,through an in-depth study of Zhang Zhicong's Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber and other relevant literatures,sort out and summarize the exegetical contents and characteristics of Zhang Zhicong's two books,analyze his academic thoughts in the process of explaining his books,and sum up influence and drawbacks,enriching the content of TCM literature to provide references for the future's clinical application of Zhong Zhongjing's academic thoughts.MethodsBy applying philology,history,exegetics,induction and deduction,this thesis works to collect and organize the relevant literature,and explore Zhang's life,works,educational background as well as the reference books of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber,giving emphasis on the research of the exegesis and the characteristics of the two books so as to study the values,effects and drawbacks.ResultsThe body of the thesis is divided into six chapters mainly with following results:The first chapter,from the perspective of philology and history,aims to explore Zhang Zhicong's life,the name,the main activity place,seclusion and so on,and summarize the completion years and major editions of Zhang's works.The second chapter,through Zhang's works and other existing historical materials,aims to give a brief introduction to Zhang's teacher,classmates and students,and sort out Zhang's medical background.The third chapter,by comparing Zhang's Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber with several popular versions of Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber in the early Qing dynasty,aims to find out the reference books of Zhang's two books,and analyze the structure and annotation style.The fourth chapter and the fifth chapter,the major focus of this thesis,aim to expound the exegetical contents and characteristics of Zhang's Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber,as well as the academic thoughts contained in Zhang's two books.The sixth chapter aims to take a subjective approach to analyze the value of Zhang's two books,and summarize the influence and drawbacks.ConclusionsFirst,Zhang Zhicong(also called Xi Ling Yin An Dao Ren)lived in the transition period of Ming to Qing dynasty and died between 1679 and 1683.Second,Zhang Zhicong made Zhang Qingzi be teacher to study traditional Chinese medicine when he was young and later was influenced by Zhiyi's thoughts,a famous TCM doctor then.After the prime of his life,he retired to the West Lake and called his classmates and students together to write books.Third,the reference book of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases was Wang Keben's Annotations to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber was Deng Zhenben's Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber.Fourth,the exegetical contents of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber mainly include:explanation of words and phrases,indication of pronunciation,explanation of rhetoric,exegesis of name and induction of article styles.Fifth,the common exegetical characteristics of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases and Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber mainly include:having collective annotations,interpreting classics by classics,interpreting classics by philosophy,attaching importance to meridians,using a new punctuate treatment and refuting old theories.Sixth,the unique exegetical characteristics of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases mainly include:maintaining old theories,and delivering clear sections and chapters;attaching importance to meridians and qi,and referring to law of the nature;examining the scriptures and correcting errors.Seventh,the unique exegetical characteristics of Notes to Synopsis of Prescription of the Golden Chamber mainly include:commenting outside grids,and expounding meanings;maintaining the theory of meridians and qi,and understanding the severity of diseases;connecting the whole chapter and pointing out the purpose.Eighth,"six meridians gasification" of Notes to Treaties on Cold Pathogenic Diseases,has been promoted by some TCM doctors,with far-reaching impact.