After more than 10 years, archaeologists and Chinese medicine scientists have teamed up to decipher medical books from bamboo tablets of the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. On the 20th, the Information Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government held a press conference in Chengdu to announce the official publication of the deciphered "Tianhui Medical Briefing".
"Tianhui Medical Jane" was officially published. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tong Fang
This batch of Han dynasty bamboo tablets was unearthed from Han tombs found during the construction of the Chengdu metro. Since 2012, a joint archaeological team composed of the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Jingzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center has spent nearly a year to carry out salvage excavations of a Western Han period tomb in Tianhui Town, Jinniu District, Chengdu, among which a large number of medical bamboo tablets were found in tomb No. 3, which were named "Tianhui Medical Janes", along with a beautiful wooden tire lacquer meridian figure.
The state of "Tianhui Medical Jane" when it was unearthed. Photo courtesy of Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
The study found that this batch of medical bamboo Jian belongs to the medicine of the ancient famous Chinese doctor Bian Que, and is the richest content, the most complete system, the most theoretical and clinical value of the ancient medical documents found in Chinese archaeology so far. At the same time, the unearthed meridian figures of the lacquered meridians form a system with the "Tianhui Medical Jane", which provides rare physical evidence for exploring the academic origin of acupuncture in China.
Western Han tombs found in Tianhui Town, Jinniu District, Chengdu. Photo courtesy of Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Soaked in water for more than 2,000 years, the bamboo sticks are broken and as soft as noodles. From archaeological excavation, cultural relics restoration to research, collation and publication, it has taken more than ten years. The finishing team composed of archaeologists, experts in traditional Chinese medicine, and experts in cultural relics protection and restoration combined the bamboo simplified shape, stacking status, font differences, and simple text content, etc., to imitate the process of making simple books by imitating the ancients, and solve key and difficult problems such as bamboo compendium compilation and interpretation, and after sorting and splicing, 930 medical tablets and more than 20,000 Chinese characters were obtained. At present, "Tianhui Medical Briefing" has been organized into 8 medical books, involving medical theory, treatment, prescription preparation literature, etc., constituting a systematic medical system.
Liu Changhua, editor-in-chief of "Tianhui Medical Review" and president of the China Institute of Unearthed Medical Literature and Cultural Relics, introduced that "Tianhui Medical Review" published all medical-related materials at one time. It mainly includes infrared scanning images, visible color images, anti-printing images, explanatory notes and high-definition images of painted meridian portraits, accompanied by detailed finishing instructions, indoor cleaning and peeling diagrams, and painted line drawings of painted meridian portraits.
"There are many common disease formulas in 'Tianhui Medical Jane' that are still valuable today, and we hope that through the systematic research on 'Tianhui Medical Jane', we will promote the theoretical innovation of Chinese medicine, explore and improve the clinical efficacy of Chinese medicine, and let more people understand Chinese medicine culture." Liu Changhua said.
Reporter: Tong Fang