A Study on the Value of Medical Historical Materials of Bowuzhi in Song Dynasty

Xu Xiao-dong

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2095-9753.2025.05.003

Abstract：The Song Dynasty was a crucial period for the refinement and diversification of traditional Chinese medicine.Bowuzhi contains a wealth of medical information and holds significant value as a historical source of medicine.This study adopts the methods of literature analysis and intellectual history,combined with close reading of ancient texts and cross-text comparisons,focuses on the Bowuzhi medical literature from the Song Dynasty,mainly including Yijianzhi,Wulei Xiangganzhi,and Shilin Guangji,to explore the contents reflecting clinical medicine,pharmacology,medical groups,unique treatment methods,and health preservation ideas,and to systematically organize and classify medical cases,prescriptions,treatment methods,medical occupations,and medical ethics ideas.The aim is to reveal the development status and practical application characteristics of medical knowledge structure in the Song Dynasty through the analysis of medical records in Bowuzhi,and thereby provide new historical materials support and interpretive perspectives for the study of Chinese medical history.The medical knowledge recorded in the Bowuzhi of the Song Dynasty not only demonstrates the characteristics of detailed classification and systematic diagnosis and treatment,but also shows a deep interaction between medical knowledge and natural philosophy,ethical thoughts,especially in drug treatment,disease mechanism analysis,and folk medical practice,presenting a high level of empirical summary and theoretical construction.Bowuzhi is an important channel for the dissemination and evolution of medical knowledge,and has significant documentary value and significance in the history of scientific and technological thought.