본문 바로가기
  • Home

A Research on the Shamanistic Medical Activities of the Traditional Chinese Classics in the Zhou Dynasty

CHO YONG JUN 1 Yousang Baik 2

1中國人民大學
2경희대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Objective : The main idea of this article is to investigate the shamanistic medical activitiesthrough the traditional Chinese classics in the Zhou Dynasty. The ancient shamanplayed a bridge role between human beings and supernatural things like ghosts. Eventhough he didn't have the super power, the ancients believed that he could take care ofall kinds of illness. Therefore, it can be said that the medicine of the Zhou Dynastywas still under the shamanism although it had already started to be specialized andprofessionalized. Method : This article is going to look into the detailed aspects of the shamanistic medicalactivities, for example, divination of illness, Zhuyou(祝由), shamanistic preventivemedicine, and so on, through the traditional Chinese classics of Zhou Dynasty. Result : The medical knowledge of that time stayed in the early stage, so it was simple and raw. Also it had scientific and unscientific characters in itself at the same time. That's why itcould be included in the shamanism. And about the shamanistic medical activities seen onunderground written attestations, they will be offered through another article of mine,entitled A Research of Shamanistic Medical Activities on Underground Written Attestationsin the Zhou Dynasty(兩周出土文獻所見之醫療巫術考察), which is being written now. Conclusion : From beginning of the Eastern Zhou period, the medicine gradually got to bespecialized. And then specialized medical treatments and shamanistic medical activitiesbegan to be divided as the different two occupations. However, it is an unchangeabletruth that the ancient shaman played an important role in the Chinese traditionalmedicine. Therefore, it can be said that he was in the very special position in theChinese traditional medicine.

Citation status

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