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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.
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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