Ep. 340 | The History of Chinese Medicine (Part 4)

For the 2024 Year-End Closing episode, we continue on with the History of Chinese Medicine during the Sòng. Bi Sheng started a revolution in book printing with his invention of movable type printing. This led to an explosion of new printed titles and wider access to medical texts among the general (urban) populace. During the Song, it became downright respectable to enter the medical profession. Many young people aspiring for a career in officialdom, looked to a career in medicine as either an alternative to working in the government or something to do in addition to serving the emperor. Many advances were made in forensic medicine, pediatrics, and healthy nutrition. And with all the new knowledge and acquisition of new knowledge through interaction with physicians from other cultures, the understanding of human health and how the body operates kept inching forward. In the field of pharmacology, there were also many advances, particularly in the publication of new materia medica texts.