Volkmar B
Universität Heidelberg Akademiestr. 4-8, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
Hist Philos Life Sci. 2000;22(2):147-65.
Since ancient times epidemics have been a central topic in Chinese medical thought. The explanations for their emergence, spread and transmission, however, have ranged widely. Whereas much of the populace believed in transmission by demons, elitist medical theory, since at least the second century, has emphasized cosmological and meteorological factors. This paper introduces the different approaches to epidemics in general, examining the etymological, historical and medical literature of early Imperial times. It then traces two lines of tradition in Chinese medical thought: one supporting contagionism, the other opposing it. The controversy that began as early as the fourth century, peaked in the twelfth century and ended only with the modern era, reveals a widening gap in the elitist medical theory--the dichotomy of empirical knowledge and theoretical framework.
自古以来，流行病一直是中国医学思想的核心主题。然而，对于它们的出现、传播和蔓延的解释却千差万别。虽然大部分民众相信是恶魔传播所致，但至少从公元2世纪起，精英医学理论就强调宇宙学和气象学因素。本文总体介绍了对流行病的不同研究方法，审视了帝制时代早期的词源学、历史和医学文献。接着追溯了中国医学思想中的两条传统路线：一条支持接触传染论，另一条则反对。这场早在公元4世纪就已开始、在12世纪达到顶峰且直到现代才结束的争论，揭示了精英医学理论中日益扩大的差距——经验知识与理论框架的二分法。
