ArticlePDF Available

Ge Hong and Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies)

Authors:
Ge Hong and Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang
(A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies)
Min Li, Yongxuan Liang*
School of Basic Medical Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
Ge Hong (283e363), also known as Ge Yachuan and Bao Po
Zi from Danyang (present Jurong, Jiangsu Province) was a
famous Taoism theorist, herbalist and alchemist. He was
of good stock, clever and keen to learn. But later he suf-
fered a fall in his family fortune. Then he had to cut
firewood as a career and bought pen, ink and paper after
the firewood was sold. In the evening, he threw himself
into readings and copying out books. He was well-read
because he could even travel thousands of miles to look
for ancient books and records.
1
Since his youth, he began
to be interested in eternal life, so he started to learn
alchemy from Zheng Yin, a diviner. In 303, he was
appointed a general with the title of marquis by the im-
perial court because he had successfully put down a
peasant uprising. The emperor wanted to favor him with
high position and salary for several times which was turned
down by him. For the sake of easy study of alchemy, he
finally volunteered to be a county magistrate in Guang-
dong Province abounded in raw materials for alchemy.
When he was proceeding to his post, he formerly took Bao
Liang, Prefecture Chief of Nanhai as his master and
learned skills of health preservation and medicine. Bao
highly appreciated his talent and character. He decided to
betroth his daughter Bao Gu to him.
Soon afterwards, Ge spent latter half of his life in
seclusion in Luofu Mountain, Guangdong Province, where he
engaged in alchemy, gathering herbs and writing books.
Later, Bao Gu, his wife, became the first female acupunc-
turist in China.
Ge was a prolific writer, but most of his books are lost.
After widely collection of predecessors’ medical formulas,
folk and secret recipes, he eventually wrote Jin Gui Yao
Fang (Prescriptions of Golden Chamber), a large-scale
medical book with 100 volumes. In consideration of easy
reading and carrying, on the basis of the book he compiled
a new book known as Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of
Formulas for Emergencies). This is a medical book dealing
with emergencies
2
and most of the medicinal herbs listed in
it are those easily to get in countryside. Indications are
narrated in verses for easy memorization and the
acupuncture techniques are simply described for easy
practice and study.
Stroke, coma, acute abdomen, etc. are firstly discussed
in this book. In the treatment of coma, it is recommended
to heavily press GV 26 (Renzhong) with fingernail or do
moxibustion on CV 24 (Chengjiang) under the lips. Other
first-aid for coma includes blowing pinellia tuber powder
into the nose, or putting a calamus pill as large as a jujube
pit under the tongue. These simple emergency treatments
are still used today. The book records a lot of diseases,
covering acute infectious disease, parasitic disease, and
therapies for internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics and
ENT. It’s worth noting that it made a profound statement
about cause, symptoms and treatment of some diseases
which had not been clearly expounded previously. For
example, in the part of treatment of malaria, the book
records an anti-malarial herb. It says: “Have a handful of
herb of sweet wormwood and soak it in two sheng (200 mL)
of water. Squeeze it to get the juice and drink.”
3
Such short
remarks not only tell us about its efficacy but also lay the
reliable foundation for the development of new anti-
malarial agents. Prof. Tu Youyou was inspired by what Ge
said and extracted artemisinin from it. Artemisinin is a new
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: lyx999111999@126.com (Y. Liang).
Peer review under responsibility of Beijing University of Chinese
Medicine.
HOSTED BY Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jtcms
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences (2016) 3,1e2
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcms.2016.09.001
2095-7548
anti-malarial drug with high and quick effect and low
toxicity. But in experiments it was found that artemisinin
lost its anti-malarial effect after heating. Prof. Tu
remembered Ge’s words, and got artemisinin without
heating. In 2015, Prof. Tu was the first Chinese scientist to
win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discov-
ering artemisinin.
Ge Hong was a celebrated medical expert in ancient
China. His A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies is
regarded as the great achievement in traditional Chinese
medicine. Disease diagnosis, therapeutical theory and
treating methods proposed by him still have clinical value
today. It will promote innovation and development of
emergency medicine, infectious diseases, pharmacy and
immunology. His great contributions to medicine are a
praiseworthy achievement and his A Handbook of Formulas
for Emergencies is a shining example in the process of
human development.
Translated by Tingyu Fang
References
1. Fang XL. The Book of Jin. Book I, vols. 1e18. Beijing, China:
Zhonghua Book Company; 1974:1911 [Chinese].
2. Zhen XY, Wang LM, Liang YX. Secret in Sleeves eA Handbook of
Formulas for Emergencies, vol. 10. Beijing, China: China Human
Resources; 2013;10:88e89 [Chinese].
3. Ge H. A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies. Beijing, China:
People Medical Publishing House; 1956:57 [Chinese].
2 M. Li, Y. Liang
... As he was known as the Chinese alchemist, he tried to combine Confucian ethics with the occult doctrines of Daoism. Ge was a prolific writer, but most of his books are lost, after widely collection of predecessors , medical formulas, folk and secret recipes, he eventually wrote Jin Gui Yao Fang (Prescription of Golden Chamber), a large-scale medical book with 100 volumes (Li and Liang, 2016). In consideration of easy reading and carrying, on the basis of the book he compiled a new book shown as Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies), which is a medical book dealing with emergencies and most of the medicinal herbs listed in it are those easily to get in countryside (Zhen et al., 2013). ...
... In consideration of easy reading and carrying, on the basis of the book he compiled a new book shown as Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies), which is a medical book dealing with emergencies and most of the medicinal herbs listed in it are those easily to get in countryside (Zhen et al., 2013). His book A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies is regarded as the great achievement in traditional Chinese medicine (Li and Liang, 2016). His medical writings have played a relatively crucial role in enriching acupuncture-moxibustion theory and increasing the development of acupuncture-moxibustion technique (Yong et al., 2013). ...
Article
Full-text available
Asian scholars especially from Iran and China preserved most of the wisdom and knowledge of antiquity in their writing and they had great influence even on both European traditional and modern medical sciences. The current searching was done by the keywords in main indexing systems including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science as well as the search engine of Google Scholar. Avicenna famous book was Canon, which reviewed all medical knowledge studied by the ancient Greek and Muslim scientists. Avicenna has introduced many medicinal plants and herbs and its knowledge influenced by both Eastern and Western traditional science. Rhazes was a great Persian alchemist, musician, mathematician, philosopher and physician. Bian Que was one of the most famous medical man and physician in ancient China who attached particular importance to the changes in the pulse examination. He is known as the founder of traditional Chinese medicine, and his four diagnostic methods were inspection, smelling and listening, inquiry, and palpation. Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and Ge Hong were eclectic philosophers who dedicated his life to searching for physical immortality and traditional Chinese medicine, which he thought was attainable through alchemy. Sun Simiao also valued sanitation, exercise and disease prevention. Li Shizhen, a famous Chinese scholar who compiled a highly influential material medica. It is recommended to survey on their rules in different majors with details in future studies to make a better connection between modern and historical medical science.
... As he was known as the Chinese alchemist, he tried to combine Confucian ethics with the occult doctrines of Daoism. Ge was a prolific writer, but most of his books are lost, after widely collection of predecessors , medical formulas, folk and secret recipes, he eventually wrote Jin Gui Yao Fang (Prescription of Golden Chamber), a large-scale medical book with 100 volumes (Li and Liang, 2016). In consideration of easy reading and carrying, on the basis of the book he compiled a new book shown as Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies), which is a medical book dealing with emergencies and most of the medicinal herbs listed in it are those easily to get in countryside (Zhen et al., 2013). ...
... In consideration of easy reading and carrying, on the basis of the book he compiled a new book shown as Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies), which is a medical book dealing with emergencies and most of the medicinal herbs listed in it are those easily to get in countryside (Zhen et al., 2013). His book A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies is regarded as the great achievement in traditional Chinese medicine (Li and Liang, 2016). His medical writings have played a relatively crucial role in enriching acupuncture-moxibustion theory and increasing the development of acupuncture-moxibustion technique (Yong et al., 2013). ...
... Investigating ancient prescriptions and visiting practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, Tu Youyou and her team screened over 2 000 traditional recipes and made 380 herbal extracts, which were tested on mice [91]. A key insight into an anti-malaria drug was provided by Ge Hong (III -IV century AD) -a philosopher, alchemist, Taoist practitioner, physician, and writer and his treatise "Zhou Hou Jiu Zu Fang" (A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies) [92]. Like many Taoist masters, Ge Hong pursued the idea of creating a medicine that would turn people immortal. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the 21st century, it is time to recognize the essential role of women in science. The study carried out by women-scientists makes it possible to combine brightness of mind, deep knowledge with humaneness and wisdom. Their approaches to the problems and the ways to solve them are largely determined by their maps of meaning and existential experience that can enrich and expand the scientific field and, as a result, can offer unexpected but most effective ways to solve the problem. However, women face obstacles in advancing their careers in science, and the situation is even more discouraging when it comes to winning science awards, the most prestigious of which is the Nobel Prize. Between 1901 and 2023, the Nobel Prizes were awarded 621 times to 965 individuals and 27 organizations, but only 64 of them were women-scientists. While we recognize and praise all women – Nobel laureates, this paper pays special attention to women who have received Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine and briefly outlines their scientific achievements. A more detailed description of their life and scientific journey will be provided in subsequent articles. Keywords: the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and in Physiology or Medicine, women – Nobel Prize winners, women-scientists
Article
Full-text available
Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) have been used as the first-line treatments against Plasmodium falciparum malaria for decades. Recent advances in chemical proteomics have shed light on the complex mechanism of action of semi-synthetic artemisinin (ARTs), particularly their promiscuous alkylation of parasite proteins via previous heme-mediated bioactivation of the endoperoxide bond. Alarmingly, the rise of resistance to ART in South East Asia and the synthetic limitations of the ART scaffold have pushed the course for the necessity of fully synthetic endoperoxide-based antimalarials. Several classes of synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials have been described in literature utilizing various endoperoxide warheads including 1,2-dioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxanes, 1,2,4-trioxolanes, and 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes. Two of these classes, the 1,2,4-trioxolanes (arterolane and artefenomel) and the 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes (N205 and E209) based antimalarials, have been explored extensively and are still in active development. In contrast, the most recent publication pertaining to the development of the 1,2-dioxane, Arteflene, and 1,2,4-trioxanes fenozan-50F, DU1301, and PA1103/SAR116242 was published in 2008. This review summarizes the synthesis, biological and clinical evaluation, and mechanistic studies of the most developed synthetic endoperoxide antimalarials, providing an update on those classes still in active development.
A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies
  • H Ge
Ge H. A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies. Beijing, China: People Medical Publishing House; 1956:57 [Chinese].
  • X Y Zhen
  • L M Wang
  • Y X Liang
Zhen XY, Wang LM, Liang YX. Secret in Sleeves e A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies, vol. 10. Beijing, China: China Human Resources; 2013;10:88e89 [Chinese].
The Book of Jin. Book I, vols. 1e18
  • X L Fang
Fang XL. The Book of Jin. Book I, vols. 1e18. Beijing, China: Zhonghua Book Company; 1974:1911 [Chinese].