Wang Zijie: Biographical Introduction and Historical Accounts, Major Works and Academic Contributions
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✵Wang Zijie: A Qing-dynasty herbalist. From a young age, he studied Confucianism in preparation for the imperial examinations. While studying Confucianism, he devoted himself to medicine and pursued its study for over twenty years. He later became a renowned herbalist.
- Wang Zijie
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Brief Introduction Chinese Name: 王子接 (Wáng Zǐjiē) Alias: 晉三 (Jìn Sān) Popular Name: 王子接 (Wáng Zǐjiē) English Name: Wang Zijie (family name first) or Zijie Wang (given name first) Hometown: Changzhou Dates: ca. 1658–? CE Main Works: 《絳雪園古方選註》(Jiang Xue Yuan Gu Fang Xuan Zhu, or Selected Annotated Ancient Prescriptions from the Crimson Snow Garden),《得宜本草》(De Yi Ben Cao, or Herbal Compendium for Appropriate Use). Representative Works: Jiang Xue Yuan Gu Fang Xuan Zhu; De Yi Ben Cao. Biographical Introduction and Historical Accounts
Wang Zijie, a Qing-dynasty herbalist, used the alias Jin San (Jìn Sān) and was a native of Changzhou (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). He was born in 1658 CE; his year of death remains unknown. From a young age, he studied Confucianism in preparation for the imperial examinations. Concurrently, he devoted himself to medicine and studied it intensively for over twenty years. He later became a renowned herbalist. He adopted a highly rigorous academic approach to the study of traditional Chinese medicine. He trained numerous disciples, among whom Ye Gui (Yè Guì) was preeminent.
Major Works and Academic Contributions
Wang Zijie compiled a book titled 《脈色本草傷寒雜病》(Mai Se Ben Cao Shang Han Za Bing, or Pulse Manifestations and Materia Medica: Cold-Induced Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases). Drawing on his accumulated clinical experience, he concluded that the work contained numerous shortcomings. At the age of fifty, he judged it to be internally inconsistent and riddled with errors; he therefore burned the manuscript and resumed systematic study. Later, he authored Jiang Xue Yuan Gu Fang Xuan Zhu (Selected Annotated Ancient Prescriptions from the Crimson Snow Garden), a three-volume work. His disciples Ye Gui and Wu Meng compiled and revised it. The book was published in the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign (1732 CE), when Wang was seventy-five years old. His materia medica treatise is entitled De Yi Ben Cao.
Jiang Xue Yuan Gu Fang Xuan Zhu (Selected Annotated Ancient Prescriptions from the Crimson Snow Garden), a Qing-dynasty work by Wang Zijie, was edited and revised by his disciples Ye Gui and Wu Meng. It was published in the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign (1732 CE). The book comprises three juan (volumes). The first juan contains annotations on Zhang Zhongjing’s prescriptions, classified under six therapeutic categories: harmonizing, cold-dispelling, warming, diaphoretic, emetic, and purgative. The second and third juan cover internal medicine, gynecology, surgery, pediatrics, ophthalmology, and the prescriptions specific to each specialty. This work is a monograph on prescription compatibility. The author selected over three hundred ancient prescriptions and provided “detailed interpretations and explanations of their underlying principles.” Among these, he offers original insights into the functional roles of the sovereign, minister, assistant, and and guide.
De Yi Ben Cao (Deyi Materia Medica, or Herbal Compendium for Appropriate Use) is a classical Chinese pharmacological text. Its contents are organized into one juan. Compiled by Wang Zijie, it is also known as Jiang Xue Yuan De Yi Ben Cao (The Crimson Snow Garden’s Deyi Materia Medica). The text records 362 medicinal substances commonly employed in antiquity and up to Wang’s time. Following the traditional classification system of the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica), herbs are categorized as superior, medium, or inferior grade. Descriptions are concise, focusing exclusively on essential characteristics.
References:
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- 1. Wang Zijie: Biographical Introduction and Historical Accounts, Major Works and Academic Contributions
