Early Chinese Medical Literature

The seven medical manuscripts from Mawangdui tomb three unearthed in 1973 represent the richest cache of ancient medical manuscripts ever found in China. These manuscripts which comprise this book reveal for the first time the breadth of medical knowledge in third and early second century B.C. China. Included are discussions of physiological theories and pathology, recipe manuals for the treatment of ailments and for the practice of macrobiotic hygiene, sexual treatises, and illustrations of hygienic exercises.

Donald Harper is an associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson.