Hsu Elisabeth
Dr Elisabeth Hsu, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, 51 Banbury Road, GB-Oxford OX2 6PE.
Gesnerus. 2008;65(1-2):5-29.
This article investigates the medieval origins of the main pulse diagnostic method in contemporary Chinese medicine, sometimes known as san bu (three sectors) method, which requires physicians to examine the mai (vessels, vessel movements or pulse) on the wrist at the three locations cun guan chi (inch, gate, foot). The article provides evidence to suggest that this body technique grew out of an earlier Chinese one, the cun chi (inch-foot) method, which appears to have aimed at investigating the qualities of yin and yang in order to determine the condition of a patient by means of exploring fairly large areas of the patient's body surface with the palms. The article furthermore posits that the cun chi method was decisively transformed in medieval times, presumably due to the impact of early Tibetan pulse diagnostic practices: it became framed in a numerology of three and started advocating the use of the fingertips for sensing the pulse beats. The article, which draws on detailed textual analyses of medieval manuscripts, on visual evidence and also on psychophysical research, furthermore highlights how misunderstandings can constructively contribute to cultural communication.
本文探讨了当代中医主要脉诊方法的中世纪起源，这种方法有时被称为三部（三个部位）诊法，要求医生在手腕上的寸、关、尺（英寸、关口、尺）三个位置诊脉。本文提供的证据表明，这种身体检查方法源自早期的中国方法——寸尺诊法，该方法似乎旨在通过用手掌探查患者较大面积的体表来探究阴阳的特质，从而确定患者的病情。此外，本文认为寸尺诊法在中世纪发生了决定性的转变，大概是由于早期藏医脉诊实践的影响：它被纳入了一种数字为三的命理学体系，并开始提倡用指尖来感知脉搏跳动。本文通过对中世纪手稿的详细文本分析、视觉证据以及心理物理学研究，进一步强调了误解如何能够对文化交流产生建设性的贡献。
