Chapter 27 Section 5 Western countries

In the Song Dynasty, China set up a shipping department in Guangzhou, and exported more than 60 kinds of medicines, which were shipped to Europe through Arabia. From the 15th to the 16th century, the Portuguese went to Guangzhou, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places to buy medicinal materials and sell them to Europe.Chinese Smilax smilax was once used by European doctors as a good medicine for treating syphilis, and rhubarb also enjoys a high reputation in Europe.Li Shizhen's was introduced to Europe in the 18th century, and Darwin indirectly quoted it in his research on species variation, calling it "the encyclopedia of China".

At the beginning of the 11th century, my country invented the method of vaccination against smallpox.In the 17th and 18th centuries, smallpox was rampant in Europe. In some areas, "more than half of the population was covered with acne" and "the tombs were full of dead bodies". promote.In 1688, Russia sent people to China to study the vaccination method of smallpox, so this method was spread to North Africa and America through Russia, Turkey and other channels.The smallpox inoculation method is the pioneer of the Jeanne vaccinia method in England. Before the vaccinia method was invented, the variola method was also used to prevent smallpox.

In the 17th century, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom already knew that China had acupuncture and moxibustion to treat diseases, and they were particularly interested in moxibustion.At that time, some people wrote articles and published monographs, such as "Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and "Using Chinese Moxibustion to Treat Gout" written by Germans. They believed that moxibustion is the fastest and safest treatment for gout.The Dutch wrote "On Acupuncture and Moxibustion" based on translated Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion materials. This is the first monograph in the West that introduces acupuncture and moxibustion in more detail. In the 18th century, Europeans gradually deepened their understanding of acupuncture, and more than 50 books introducing acupuncture and moxibustion had been published. Among the authors were people from Germany, France, England, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.After the 19th century, more and more people advocated acupuncture and moxibustion.Acupuncture Society, Acupuncture Research Association, and Acupuncture Research Institute appeared in France, and the International Acupuncture Research Association was established for international exchange activities.There are also some doctors in Italy engaged in acupuncture research and established the Italian Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.

There are still many Chinese medical literatures that have been introduced by Western translations, such as "Neijing", "Nanjing", "Binhu Pulse Science", "Health Essentials", "Zunsheng Eight Notes", "Acupuncture and Moxibustion", "Washing Injustices" ", "Materia Medica for Relief of Famines", etc., have played a certain role in helping Westerners understand Chinese medicine.