Illustrations by Feng Chenqing
Plagues have attacked humans since ancient times. From the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan, there are written records such as "disease" and "disease year". The Han Dynasty was the period with the most records of plagues in ancient times. The "poisonous words" that broke out in the Eastern Han Dynasty were a skin-borne infectious disease spread through saliva that was popular in tropical areas during the Han Dynasty. Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty recorded the plague in "Lun Hengyan Poison": "In the land of the sun, the people are impatient, and the words of impatient people are poisonous." The "Bamboo Slips of Qin Tomb in Sleeping Tiger Land" of the same period also has information about prevention and control. The legislation on "poisonous words" clearly records that those who know about "poisonous words" should take the initiative to cut off contact with them, and not eat or drink with the patient, or use the same utensils. This is the earliest known legal writing and preventive knowledge on plague prevention and control in my country. In the face of the outbreak of the plague, Zhang Zhongjing, the "Medical Sage" of the Eastern Han Dynasty, also recorded in his book "Synopsis of the Golden Chamber? Taboos on Animals, Fish and Insects and the Treatment of Animals and Insects 24": "Those whose flesh looks like red spots should not be eaten. . All six animals died of the epidemic, which is poisonous and cannot be eaten..."
In the summer of the second year of Emperor Ping of the Western Han Dynasty, there was a severe drought in the county and locusts. At that time, the epidemic was serious and there were many patients. Emperor Ping ordered The imperial edict: "Those who suffer from epidemic diseases should leave empty residences to purchase medicine." The emperor of the Western Han Dynasty set aside some residences as isolation areas to focus on treating patients and cutting off the source of infection to prevent the spread of the disease. Treatment in ancient times It is an effective measure when the means are backward. In fact, plague quarantine had been incorporated into the legal system in the Qin Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty continued to give full play to this anti-epidemic measure.
When the plague was prevalent, the central government and local officials in the Han Dynasty also used medical treatment to fight the epidemic. For example, when Ma Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty went to Jiaozhi, miasma occurred in the army. Military doctors discovered that coix seed could prevent miasma to a certain extent and ordered the soldiers to eat it. When an epidemic occurred in the Han Dynasty, emperors also sent imperial doctors to local areas to diagnose diseases and distribute medicine to the affected people. For example, there was a severe epidemic in March of the fourth year of Jianning, and those who were destined to visit him went on a tour to provide medicine. There was a great epidemic in the 14th year of Jianwu. Zhongliyi, the prefect, personally provided medical supplies: "Many of my subordinates were all helped." The ancients also gave full play to the role of water wells, an important source of drinking water at that time, adding bars and covers to the wells, and directly draining them when necessary. Medicines were put into wells for everyone to drink and used to treat and prevent the spread of plague.
When a serious plague occurs, a large number of people will die in ancient times. If the dead are not buried in time, the spread of the disease will be aggravated. In the second year of Emperor Ping's reign, the government paid for the burial expenses of those who died in the epidemic. Timely burial of the dead could not only reduce the spread of the epidemic, but also comfort the living and help them get out of trouble. As the ancients' experience in fighting plagues continued to accumulate, their prevention of plagues became increasingly scientific. For example, Ge Hong from Jin Dynasty recorded in "Emergency Prescriptions for Treating Miasma Epidemics": "If a family combines medicine, they will be disease-free. Anyone who gets cholera should eat more." This directly tells people to pay attention to their lives. Environmental and food hygiene. Customs such as dust removal in the twelfth lunar month, drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival, and hanging mugwort leaves passed down from ancient times are mainly for the purpose of sterilizing and inhibiting bacteria.
In the Tang and Ming dynasties, there were bright spots in the fight against epidemics. For example, Li Ang, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, "had a family where the dead were given murderous tools and hid them wherever they happened." They were buried collectively to reduce the spread of poison and prevent the recurrence of infectious diseases. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the "Epidemic Relief Xiaoyinzi" was created. While giving medicine to the people, there were also means such as "awarding prescriptions". The Song Dynasty, which did the best in treating epidemics, also produced famous Chinese medicine classics such as "Sheng Hui Fang" and "Ji Yan Fang". Some of the prescriptions contained in them are still used by modern Chinese medicine.
Of course, looking at anti-epidemics in ancient times, the effectiveness of anti-epidemic and disaster relief was limited due to constraints such as science and technology, the development level of social productivity, and national financial resources. In ancient times, the epidemic also gave rise to many prayer rituals such as praying to gods to ward off disasters, and the development of old witchcraft and blessing beliefs. In the face of plague, no matter ancient or modern times, human beings have actively made various efforts to control, reduce and reduce the epidemic of plague.
Editor in charge: Guo Weiwei