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Characteristics and Historical Significance of Sallimgyeongje’s ‘Gugeup(first aid book)’

park sangyoung 1

1한국한의학연구원

Accredited

ABSTRACT

 The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the ‘Gugeup’ section in Hong Man-Seon’s Sallimgyeongje. While Sallimgyeongje’s ‘Gugeup’ was a collection of existing emergency prescriptions, it also had various novel characteristics. First, due to the presence of various categories, it could be used by people lacking medical knowledge. Further, various emergency situations occurring in remote areas could be addressed using this book. However, the categories increased in complexity, thereby compromising the simplicity of the structure. Second, Sallimgyeongje’s ‘Gugeup’ used Dongeuibogam as well as various other empirical prescriptions from Korea as reference, in contrast to the existing emergency prescriptions, which mainly used Chinese medical literature as the reference material. This suggests that Korean medicine practiced in the 17th century was unique, both in theory as well as in practical applications, and outcomes were described in other texts from that period. Third, this text was significant as it was written by Confucian scholars, on behalf of people who did not practice medicine, and not by physicians. This not only indicates its simplicity i.e., a person without medical knowledge can understand it, but also provides circumstantial evidence of the popularity and naturalization of medicine.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.