The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-26
ORIGIN OF LEPRoSY.
MENTIONS MADE OF 1T N THE
EARLIEST CHINESE HISTORIES.
believed to BE n Punishment sent
Upon the Earth for the ChastiSe-
nent of the Wicked-AIways Con-
zidcrcd to BE IucurahIc.


From tho Pi,tsburg Dispatch.
Lcprosy. In certain parts OF the earth
where St Is prevalent has greater ter
rors Tor the natives than any other dis
ease 20 which they may be subjected. IL
is but natural. therefore. that the people
OF countries who do not come ia contact
with tho fatal terror should be curious
to know more OF dts pathology. and his
tory. And especially at his time Is in
terest more keen when It Is recalled that
the Dispatch yesterday published an ac-
count OF a fully developed case of leprosy
discovered IN this city
Rev. j. Edkins. ID. d.. the most dis
tinsuished siEologue now living. and one
OF the most eminent authorities On the
history OF China. has written instruct
lively OF leprosy In Chinese. one OF the
first references to leprosy. he says. is In
the WARS OF the Contend.ng States" A
passage in that history says Yu Jang
painted his body with varnish TO repre-
sent a leper. and removed his beard and
eyebrows. Furnishing himself in this way
to change his appearance.
This he did 10 disguise himself with a
view 10 facilitate his assassination OF an
enemy who had killed his feudal chief.
ruler OF Tsn. The enemy was Tsau
Slang Isl, ruler OF the Tsau feudal state.
not Tsau Chow Flu, whore Shantung bor-
ders on Honau.
In the Pei Wen Yum Flu Is this pas
sage, followed by one from the Ii ki. In
the calendar of the seasons contained in
this work, IL is said III In tho middle
month Of winter the proceedings of gov
eminent proper to spring We're observed,
locusts would appear and work harm,
springs would all become dry, and many
Of the people would suffer from itch and
leprosy." This calendar contains no small
amount Of superstition on the subject Of
luck. IL says IL the proceedings of gov
eminent are not regulated by the calen-
dar, all sorts Of physical evils will ensue.
These evils are stated month by month.
Such was the state OF Chinese supersti-
ton when that work was written.
But when was that?
The month meant was December for Il
said that the shortest day in the year
garded this class of disease as Astounding
specially at that time. This calendar Is
also found in the Ch'un T'slen Of Lu Pu
Wei, whose work dates from the third CEN
tury before Christ. But the commission
of learned men who wrote for Lu Pu
Wei use Chow phraseOlogy and Chow doc
uments, as In the way they speak OF the
feudal barons, who must have still been
in existence. This calendar may be regard
ed very much as a Chow dynasty produce
ton. II recognizes the emperors of antiu-
uity. IL speaks Of the empire as consist
ing OF nine provinces. Further, this ancient
fragment gives the place OF the meridian
stars at an interval of fifteen degrees OF
the point where they are stated to have
been observed by the ancient astronomers.
For instance, in the "Shu King." Hu.
a star in Aquarius, Is said to have been in
the evening meridian star at evening twl-
light In September. In the Yue Ling Il
is the meridian star at evening in Octo-
Der. But the stars move at the rate OF
fifty second in a year, or a degree In sew
enty-two years. They move, therefore,
/ fifteen degrees in 1850 years, and this
position of the star HUI In October, agrees
with the age OF the commencement of the
/ Chow dynasty, or about LOO b. G.
/ Consequently. this testimony In regard
I to leprosy may possibly so back as far
/ as the time of Chow Kung. Yet while
/ the astronomy Is that of the date named,
| the book as a whole is more likely to
/ belong 10 an age some centuries later.
| because the five emperors are mentioned
| as being worshiped, and the mythology
! has the appearance OF being that Of about
the ninth century before Christ. / may
then, at least say that leprosy was proba-
bly, known In China in the age OF the
later classics, two or three centuries be-
for Confucius, and was dreaded as a ca
lamlty sent to punish moral evil.
In the Shi ri history there Is a case OF
a prince named Slang, who received the
title of Marquis VI. He became a leper,
and had to 80 homo after resigning his
command. This was 3. c. $50. He lived
as leper tWentythree years, In Shang-
tung, T. sau-choW-fu. In the old history
OF the Pang dynasty II is said that a wo-
man of Tsau-chow, in Shangtung, pro-
| fessed to have communications with de
mons and with nature, and to be able TO
cure disease through these circum-
stances. Many lepers went to her for
treatment and were healed
In the time of Confucius, one of his own
pupils, Pe-nieu, was a leper, and died with
the disease, and MS demise Is mentioned
in the Lun-yu during the fifth century be-
fore Christ. Coming down to the fourth
and fifth centuries after Christ leprOsy Is
distinctly traced in South China and
Cambodia. In The country near Soochow
a somewhat conspicuous character named
Chow-hing-si became afflicted with the
living death. In his case white swellings
appeared first on the hands.
The Chinese divide tumors as white or
red. The red are those of the light ele-
ment Yang; the white are those of the
darker hue. Yin. This would naturally be
white leprOSy. Then follows q brief ac-
count of the progress Of the disease. His
| left eye was soon gone, and the emperor
| touched his hand, and with a sigh cried:
| such man to have such a disease" The
emperor than with his own hand wrote
prescription for white tumor and gave Il
to him.
In Cambodia many lepers are found, but
the people do not refuse to either eat or
sleep with them. The reason assigned Is
leper, and the people ceased, on this ac-
count, to feel dislike to ii. The Tauists
protested to be able to cure leprosy by
charms, and so implicitly did they believe
in the pontency of the cure that a history
was caused to be written. and mention Of
this curious work g found in the cata-
lOgue of the Sui dynasty library. The
charm was said to have been found in the
cave Of Lau kun, in the sixth century
Leprous badness is mentioned in the
Liau history. In eastern Thibet adjOin-
ing the province of Kan-su, there existed
formerly a great love of revenging in
juries. When time of mourning came,
it was not right to strike onyone, and
people wore a coat of mail with a border
as a sign. When the enemy was recon-
ciled, the blood of fowls, dogs and pigs
was mixed with wine, and this delightful
decoction was stirred in a skull for drink
ing at the time Of taking an oath. The
oath was administered with the words;
IF you should again revenge yourself on
such q person, may your sons and daueh-
ters be bald with leprosy your cattle die,
and serpents enter your tent"
In the Shen-yi-kang. or Book of Mar
wells Of the fifth century, this cure for
leprosy is mentioned: THE shoots of the
weeping bamboo If eaten VIII cure Of ul-
GERS and leprOsy.
Superstition Of the Chinese stilI pre-
s4a~HN