The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-06-18
SCIENCE AMONG TIE CELESTLALS.
Chfaese Doctors and Systems Of Medical
Treatment.

Chfuese Doctors and Systems Of Medical
Treatment.
A writer in the June number of the Overland
Monthly describes the medical systems of the
Chinese in California as follows:
Judging from the number Of their apothe-
cav stores, one would suppose that the Cnl-
pese we're large consumers OF medlclne. NOT
are APPEARANCES in this particular deceptive.
There are in San Francisco dozen or more
establishments where Chinese medicines are
prepared and'sold, and the busines. is SAID 70
be very profitable. These establishments EN-
ploy each. on an average, about four men III
cutting, mixing and putting up prescriptions;
aud in de.octlng and drying their thousand
and more remedies, gathered from every I'M
sginable source. Every town 10 the country
where there are Chinese has its medicine store,
and scarcely an invoice Of goods can go to the
trader in the most distant mining settlements,
or to the suffers who follow up the camps OF
the railroad laborers, but medicines will occu'
py prominent place in 1t.
eOne would infer, therefore, that there must
be an extensive field for physicians who under
stand the nature and application OF these sup
posed remedies; and this is found to oe tne
case. The Chinese, wherever they 60, are fol-
lowed up pretty closely by men protesting to
be skilled in the healing art. There ls, now,
ever. q great diversity in the abilities and
qualifications OF these physicians. Some with
out any medical education or tralnlng what
ever, but because nothing better oners, puY,
beg, or borrow set Of medical BOOKS. put OUT
a sign, and begin writing prescriptions Tor all
who apply to them; while others have grown
gray in the practice of their favorite art, haV-
ing done scarce anything all their days but to
study the diagnosis of diseases, the nature OF
medicinal herbs, minerals snd animal SUD-
stances, together with the theories respecting
the effects OF every variety OF exiraneous IN, q,
fuen;e on diseases, as we'll as the lnhIence OF
the imps and other spirits.
** Not only have Cinnamon the auda-
CITY to cast adrift from one doctor and 20 ID
search OF another, but (without seeming 10
know of any possible Improperly in the act)
they may be under the care OF two or more
physicians at the same time.
Within certain limits such q course Is en-
tirely admissible, and in some circumstances
necessary; for the practice Of the healing art ID
China is divided up into greai variety OF
specialties, and it may happen that patlent
may be afflicted with complication OF DIS
eases, some external, some internal, 30 that
two or three OF more physicians may need 10
be applied to before all Of the patients all
ments have been prescribed for; in which case
the greatly afflicted individual may be sub
iected to the necessity of making himself the
receptacle Of the stuff administered by several
doctors at the same time.
This, however, according TO Chinese notions
OF the internal structure OF the BODY, ls less
hazardous experiment than We Western peo-
ple. who allow ourselves to read, and to be-
iieye, the modern works on physiology and
anatomy, would suppose.
= = There is now before US the medical
portion of the library OF Chinese scholar,
who, while he lays no claim to the RANK OF q
physician, is nevertheless frequently apphed 70
for advice. This library consists OF only si3
~lxo nf q I,af hnQdr60
and seventy-si1 medical works. In one OF these
we find q catalogue OF one thousand and twelve
medicines, OF which there are from metals and
stone one hundred and thirty-eight kinds.
Grasses and vegetables Qucluding roots, STALK ),
leaves, flowers and seeds) three hundred and
thirteen kinds. Trees, tWnether tne meaicme
be found in the 70 1t. trunk, bark, Leaf, flower,
fruit or seed) one hundred and seventy-seven.
From the human body, twenty kinds. from
animals, nnety-one kinds. From fowls and
b1rds. thirty-tour kinds. From bugs, worms,
snakes, shelLash, turtles, flies, &c nlnety.nine
kinds. FRUITS, forty kinds. or the "nve
grains," thirtv-eight kinde. or the CABBAGE,
turnip and mslon families, sixty-two kinds. 1u
another work witch lies before us there is q
hist Of only four hundred and seventy-eight
medicines, OF the same classes as above speci-
fed, but each class much abridged. Even the
first, however, is no. O. complete catalogue as
we have been told. The Chinese druggists
shelves from six hundred TO thousand va
rieties.
taken from the human body. "Hair-cut fine
and used IN plssters. Curly hair: Womsn's
milk. Dandruff. Teeth filings. Ears: Exu-
via. Pa,ings OF finger and toe nails OF preg,,
nant women, whlcn nail-parings are reduced
to ashes by burning. Bone of tae forehead,
reduced to ashes. Beard OF the upper lip.
Blood. The placepta. The gall and other
things winch cannot be written In the Over
land.
The sacredness with which human remains
are Usually kept may start question IN tne
mipds of some as to the manner OF procuring
certain OF the above-named articles. Ibe
doubt, however, will be removed when the
reader understands that the bodies OF felons
who are executed, except where friends appear
to claim and bury them, are not thus religious
ly regarded and carefully uttered; while tho
bodies OF very young children are often simply
eewed no in mating and tossed into tree, or
exposed On the surface OF the earth among the
tombs for dogs and vultures to prey upon.
The list Of medicines I'm the ANIMALS be-
gins as follows: Dragons bones. White drag
on's bones, his teeth aud horns. Mush OF The
musk deer. Ok bezoar. Bear's gau: Ivory.
Deer's glue. Glue made from black mules
hide. Sheep's milk. Cows milk, cream and
the same OF bay Lorse. Bulls manure. hams
horns. Marrow of Sleeps bones. Sleeps
ealI, lungs, heart, kidneys, teeth, flesh, horns.
Chsmois horns. Deers horns 1.-THE tip OF the
horn is regarded as especially valuable Tor re-
storing the blood.) Blinoceros' horn. Tigers
boues. claws and eyes. Dogs gall, heart,
brains, teeth, skull, blood, and 80 on, through
q long list, up to ninety-four varieties, embrac.
ing, perhaps, everything the reader will be apt
to imagine, as well as manv things that ne
would not think of as possible to be brought
into service in the healing art, and certainly
several things which we will not copy here.
All these ore ID their catalogue OF doctors
stuff, but many Of the articles IN the list are
rarely use !, aud some are designed only Tor
external application. ~
The bulk OF the medicines used by the phy.
sicans and sold by the druggists consists OF
vegetable substances OF every variety. The
prescriptions which We have examined call
largely for this class, viz For roots and herbs,
leaves, flowers, bark, fruits, &c.
But physicians are proverbialy
long-suffer1ng aud benevolent class OF men; in
deed, it is impossible tor one to be good and
acceptable physician and not exercise these
qualities; therefore we know OF no class OF men
who will be more ready to take into considers
ton the question as to what may be done even
here in California towards helping some OF
these bright Chinese youths to acquire gen.
uine and finished medical education, such as
..o., a. than, mt oIly for rra cf1tiOOnra brt