Hua Shou: Biographical introduction and legendary stories, major works and academic contributions

 ✵Hua Shou:a great herbalist in the Yuan Dynasty. His contributions mainly include interpretations of the Nei Jing (the Inner Canon) and the Nan Jing (The Difficult Questions), pulse manifestations, and annotations and supplements on acupuncture and the theory of meridians. He is the author of books on the study of the Shang Han, titled Shang Han Li Chao, but this book has not survived to this day.

滑壽 (Huá Shòu).

  

Brief Introduction
Chinese Name:	滑壽 (Huá Shòu)	Alias:	伯仁 (Bó Rén)
Popular name:	櫻寧生 (Yīngníng Shēng)	English Name:	Hua Shou, or Shou Hua (Given/Family)
Hometown:	Xiangcheng, or YiZheng	Dates:	about 1304–1386 AD.
Main works:	《讀素問鈔》(Du Su Wen Chao)3 volumes,《難經本義》(Nan Jing Ben Yi)2 volumes,《十四經發揮》(Shi Si Jing Fa Hui)3 volumes,《本草韻合》(Ben Cao Yun He)1 volume,《傷寒例鈔》(Shang Han Li Chao)3 volumes,《診家樞要》(Zhen Jia Shu Yao)1 volume,《滑氏脈訣》(Hua Shi Mai Jue)1 volume,《脈理存真》(Mai Li Cun Zhen)1 volume,《櫻寧生要方》(Ying Ning Sheng Yao Fang)1 volume,《醫學引彀》(Yi Xue Yin Gou)1 volume,《櫻寧生補瀉心要》(Ying Ning Sheng Bu Xie Xin Yao)1 volume,《醫學蠢事書》(Yi Xue Chun Shi Shu)5 volumes,《滑氏方脈》(Hua Shi Fang Mai),《滑氏醫韻》(Hua Shi Yi Yun),《麻診全書》(Ma Zhen Quan Shu)4 volumes,《痔瘺篇》(Zhi Lou Pian),《滑伯仁正人明堂圖》(Hua Bo REn Zheng Ren Ming Tang Tu), etc.
Representative works:	Du Su Wen Chao 3 volumes,Nan Jing Ben Yi 2 volumes, Shi Si Jing Fa Hui 3 volumes.

Biography and legends:

  Hua Shou (approximately 1304–1386 A.D.), his alias is Bo Ren, and self-titled Ying Ningsheng in his old age, was a renowned herbalist during the Yuan dynasty. His ancestral hometown was Xiangcheng, and his grandfather moved to Yizhen (present-day Yizheng County, Jiangsu) and then to Yuyao (present-day Yuyao County). He passed away during the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty (1368–1398) at over 70 years of age. Not only was he proficient in Su Wen (The Plain Questions) and Nan Jing (The Difficult Classics), he also integrated the theories of Zhang Zhongjing, Liu Shouzhen, and Li Dongyuan. This allowed him to achieve "miraculous efficacy" in curing diseases. He also compiled various medical books. "Everyone strives to invite him for a diagnosis, and there is no regret if you can receive a life-or-death diagnosis from him." Folks praise him for his lofty medical ethics: "He treats the rich and poor alike and does not care about the returns."

 Hua Shou has been smart and studious since childhood. He is skilled in poetry and essays and has a thorough knowledge of classical history. In his early years, he studied TCM under the famous herbalist Wang Jizhong (王居中Wáng Jūzhōng) in Jingkou (present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). After studying Su Wen (the Plain Questions) and Nan Jing (the Difficult Classics), he wrote two books: Du Su Wen Chao and Nan Jing Ben Yi. He then went on to meticulously study the theories of Zhang Zhongjing, Liu Shouzhen, and Li Dongyuan, who were well-versed and highly accomplished. He later studied acupuncture with the renowned herbalist Gao Dongyang (高洞阳Gāo Dòngyáng) and carefully studied the meridians, taking the theory of meridians from the Nei Jing (the Inner Canon) and other books. He also studied the theory of meridians in acupuncture and moxibustion. He later compiled the famous book Shi Si Jing Fa Hui.

 During Hua Shou's period, acupuncture and moxibustion were inapplicable, and the study of meridian was neglected. He turned the tide and made acupuncture prosperous during the Yuan Dynasty. He set the standards for later generations of acupuncture and moxibustion. Since the Yuan dynasty, the book Shi Si Jing Fa Hui has been recited endlessly.

Main books and academic thoughts:

 Hua Shou was smart and studious from a young age. He studied Confucianism, poetry, and essays. While Wang Juzhong, a renowned herbalist from Jingkou, was living in Yizhen, Hua Shou studied medicine as his disciple. He had a deep understanding of the ancient medical texts Su Wen (The Plain Questions) and Nan Jing (The Difficult Classics). He collected twelve subjects, including Zang and Fu-viscera, meridians, pulse syndrome, diseases, health regimens, treatments, complexion pulses, acupuncture, Yin and Yang, the root causes and symptoms of diseases, and Yun-Qi Theory. He organized them into three volumes titled Du Su Wen Chao. He also wrote the two-volume Nan Jing Ben Yi, which corrects errors and explains meanings. Later, he studied acupuncture as disciple of herbalist Gao Dongyang and learned all of his techniques. Using monographs on meridians and points from the ancient works Su Wen (The Plain Questions) and Ling Shu (The Spiritual Pivot or Divine Axis), he combined discussions from the two classics about the Du and Ren meridians and the twelve channels. He then compiled the book Shi Si Jing Fa Hui, which explains the names and meanings. His medical diagnoses and treatments of the internal department are mostly based on Li Dongyuan's work. He was skilled at diagnosis and reviewing prescriptions and was adept at curing difficult diseases. As the saying goes, "The beginning of medicine is the pulses", so he compiled a book on pulses named Zhen Jia Shu Yao, which lists 29 pulses with many elaborations. Dozens of his cases were collected in the book Ying Ning Sheng Zhuan (Biography of Ying Ning Sheng) by Zhu You (朱右,Zhū Yòu).

 The three-volume book Du Su Wen Chao is a works on ancient medical classics compiled by Hua Shou of the Yuan dynasty and re-annotated by Ming dynasty herbalist herbalist Wang Ji (汪机Wāng Jī). The re-annotated version was published in 1519 CE. The book selects important content from the ancient work Su Wen (The Plain Questions), including visceral manifestations, channels, pulse syndromes, diseases, health regimens, treatment discussions, complexion diagnosis, acupuncture, Yin and Yang, the root causes and symptoms of a diseases, Yun Qi (the five evolutive phases and six climatic factors), and gathering. These 12 categories are briefly annotated. Many supplements were added to the re-annotation version, titled《續素問鈔》(Xu Su Wen Chao). There are various Ming-printed editions, including one collected in 《汪氏醫學叢書》(Wang Shi Yi Xue Cong Shu, or the Wang's Medical Series).

 The book Nan Jing Ben Yi (The Genuine Meaning of the Difficult Classics) was compiled by Hua Shou in two volumes and finished in the 1st year of Zhizheng era in the Yuan dynasty (1341 AD). After the guide part, there are general categories of errors and mistakes, which record the text's shortcomings and word mistakes. They also listed the names of the quoted herbalists in the second list, and the names of the herbalists quoted in the original meaning. The second article discusses the origins of the book and the next list of illustrations. The text addresses eighty-one difficult questions; questions one through thirty are in the first volume and questions thirty-one through eighty-one are in the second volume. Classical entries are listed first and annotations second. Hua Shou identified "and referenced Lingshu and Suwen to explore the source, and quote discussions from Zhongjing and Shuhe to deduce the thread. Other fine discussions from different schools are also searched for and quoted extensively. For lost texts, seek them according to varied cases of the previous classic annotation method. First, quote "Lingshu" and "Su Wen" to demonstrate. Then, combine theories from over twenty schools, including Zhang Zhongjing, Wang Shuhe, Yang Xuancao, Ding Deyong, and Yu Shu, to elaborate on their meanings. Finally, combine his own viewpoints to clarify the meanings of the classics. There are many unique features.

 Shi Si Jing Fa Hui is a three-volume book on channels and meridian studies compiled by Hua Shou and published in 1341 AD. The first volume discusses the law of meridian circulation. The second volume is about the mechanism, main syndromes, and Zang and Fu-viscera of the channels. The third volume is about the eight extra channels. The third volume provides a systematic discussion of the eight extra channels based on ancient texts such as the Nei Jing, Nan Jing, Jia Yi Jing, and Shen Ji Zong Lu, with accompanying illustrations. Hua Shou used the ancient work Jin Lan Xun Jing Qu Xue Tu Jie (金蘭循經取穴圖解) as a reference and supplemented it with annotations and further interpretations. After Shi Si Jing Fa Hui was published, Jin Lan Xun Jing Qu Xue Tu Jie gradually disappeared and did not survive to the present day. The main features of Shi Si Jing Fa Hui is its annotations on acupoints according to the flow order of the twelve channels, together with the annotations on the acupoints of the Ren and Du meridians. These are named the fourteen channels. Hua Shou holds the viewpoint that the Ren and Du channels differ from the other six channels of the eight extra channels and should be discussed with the twelve channels as the fourteen channels. He identified 657 acupoints based on the Su Wen (the Plain Questions) and Ling Shu (the Spiritual Pivot) and provided detailed interpretations.

 Hua Shou ever compiled other works besides his main works. According to literature, the other books are: Shang Han Li Chao 3 volumes, Ben Cao Fa Hui 1 volume, Hua Shi Mai Jue1 volume, and Hua Shi Yi Yun and Zhi Lou Pian. These five kinds of works are all lost and have not survived until today. There is a series of illustrations known as the Ming Tang Tu, also known as the Hua Bo Ren Zheng Ren Ming Tang Tu, which is attributed to Hua Shou.

References:

• 1.Hua Shou: Biographical introduction and legendary stories, major works and academic contributions

 Edited:April 7th, 2024