‘The healer of all illnesses’: the origins and development of Rûm’s gift to the Tang court: theriac
In the second year of the Qianfeng era (667 ad), an envoy of the Rûm (Fu Lin) King arrived with a gift of theriac (diyejia) for the Tang Empire. From then on, the theriac was recorded in Chinese materia medica books, and even a Muslim medical formulary, namely Huihui Yaofang. In fact, since the anci...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
2019
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| In: |
Studies in Chinese Religions
Year: 2019, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 14-37 |
| Further subjects: | B
Chinese materia medica books
B medicine’s transmission B Cultural Communication B Theriac (diyejia) |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the second year of the Qianfeng era (667 ad), an envoy of the Rûm (Fu Lin) King arrived with a gift of theriac (diyejia) for the Tang Empire. From then on, the theriac was recorded in Chinese materia medica books, and even a Muslim medical formulary, namely Huihui Yaofang. In fact, since the ancient Greek and Roman Empires, theriac has been a highly renowned Western antidote, which even evolved to be regarded as a panacea. By tracing the Wuzang lun proclamation that ‘theriac is the healer of all illnesses’ back to its source, this article tries to bring to life an ancient narrative tapestry that tells of a medicine’s journey across Europe and Asia. This study would benefit our understanding of the connections between medicine’s transmission and cultural communication between the ancient East and West. |
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| ISSN: | 2372-9996 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Chinese Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/23729988.2019.1630969 |