gems, jade, Chinese medicine, materia medica, traditional Chinese pharmacology, medicinal use of gems

In recent decades various versions of Chinese medicine have begun to be widely practised in Western countries, and the academic study of the subject is now well established. However, there are still few scholarly monographs that describe the history of Chinese medicine and there are none at all on the medieval period. This collection represents the kind of international collaboration of research teams, centres and individuals that is required to begin to study the source materials adequately. The first book in English to discuss this fascinating material in the century since the Dunhuang library was discovered, the text provides a unique and fascinating interpretation of Chinese medical history. The primary sources for this research come from a cache of medieval manuscripts discovered in 1900 in a walled-up room within the Buddhist cave shrines of Dunhuang, in Gansu Province, western China. Once a key Silk Road town, Dunhuang served as a strategic garrison during the Han period, ensuring the safe passage of soldiers, officials, and traders between east and west. Although the majority of the manuscripts are Buddhist scriptural texts, the collection also includes thousands of non-Buddhist works, both religious and secular. Notably, around one hundred medical texts are present, indicating that the Dunhuang prefectural school may have been a center for the copying and transmission of medical knowledge. Among the documents are the earliest handwritten copies of classical medical treatises, previously unknown works, illustrated texts and charts, and extensive excerpts from writings that had survived only in later quotations. This is the first book in a Western language to explore this rich material since the Dunhuang library’s discovery, and it is likely to remain the only such English-language study for some time. No mention of jade being used to treat kidney disease.