Treatment of Diseases in the Civil Society of the Han Empire.

Abstract

The separation of medicine and shamanism, which began during the Spring and Autumn Period, led to the emergence of "excellent physicians" who were distinct from shamans, a trend that continued from the Warring States Period through the early Han Dynasty. However, while there were some instances of these highly skilled physicians treating commoners, their medical practice was primarily concentrated among the ruling elite-including rulers, high-ranking officials, and those associated with them. Furthermore, physicians with outstanding treatment records in the general populace were sought after by the imperial court, the central government, feudal lords, and local administrative offices; many excellent physicians consequently flocked to the capital, Chang'an, or regional centers, where they were offered substantial compensation. Consequently, patients in the grassroots of society, who found it difficult to receive treatment from these skilled physicians, had no choice but to rely on shamans for their medical care. Folk healers served, on the one hand, as shamans and priests, and on the other, as practitioners who treated common ailments through methods such as acupuncture and herbal medicine. The state, too, dispatched physicians from the imperial court or local administrative offices to the general public to provide relief during special circumstances, such as the outbreak of infectious diseases. During the Han Dynasty, those who supplied medicinal herbs for the treatment of illnesses in civilian society included the "mu-ui" and recluses documented in historical records, as well as anonymous herb gatherers not mentioned in those records. They supplied civilian society with approximately 130 types of herbal medicines, including ginseng, as evidenced by the herbal records unearthed to date. A significant number of them possessed medical knowledge and helped treat the common people's illnesses. Furthermore, while it was relatively easy to obtain medicinal herbs in the capital, Chang'an, or in provincial centers, the farther one traveled from these areas, the more difficult it became to procure them, and their prices were often beyond the means of ordinary people. Furthermore, at that time, many people believed that illness was "a calamity brought on by spirits," and for them, treating an illness meant driving out spirits and evil entities. Consequently, incantations performed by shamans were widely practiced as a method of healing and, taking the form of sympathetic magic, even extended to natural objects. The common people of that era also actively engaged in magical healing through methods such as "chukyu."