In This Issue:
NLM
Rewarded with Hammer
Rockefeller
Telemedicine Event
Frances
Howard Retirement
Chinese
Art Exhibit
Becky
Lyon Named Deputy Assoc. Director of Library Operations
Cravedi
Named Liaison Officer
2000
Budget Announced
Long
Range Plan Meeting
Son
of MEDLINEplus
Rodbell
Archive Added To Profiles In Science
New
NLM Associates
Dr.
Bond Named Board Chair
Altemus
and Detweiler Win Award for "Frankenstein"
NLM
Honor Awards
Dr.
Cassedy Logs 50 Years
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in the News
Products
and Publications
NLM
in Print
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Classics of Traditional Chinese Medicine on View at
NLM
Exhibit Continues through March 2000
A collection of valuable Chinese medical classics is now on
display in the lobby of the National Library of Medicine. This small
exhibit focuses on some of the gems from NLM's collection of 2,000
traditional Chinese medical books.
Composed of fine rice paper and beautifully bound, the volumes
range from treatises on herbal remedies and acupuncture to surgical
techniques and the concept of Yin and Yang. Some of the books are
illustrated with pen and ink drawings depicting various herbs,
minerals, animals and the acupuncture points on a seated figure.
Also included in the collection are the portraits of significant
figures in early Chinese medicine and various emperors whose
contributions to Chinese medicine have taken on mythical status. An
example of the latter is Huang Ti (the "Yellow Emperor," 2600 BC),
who wrote what is believed to be the earliest Chinese medical text
and introduced the principles of Yin and Yang.
"Many of the herbs -- ginseng, ma huang, gingko biloba -- that
have been used in Chinese medicine for 3,000 years are now familiar
to Western medicine and are used by millions of people all over the
world," said Young Rhee, co-curator of the exhibit. The Chinese even
pioneered the use of an herbal anesthetic in AD 208. The techniques
of Chinese medicine were widely disseminated beginning in the sixth
century by Buddhist monks who traveled all over Asia. The Japanese
and Koreans became particularly adept practitioners of Chinese
medical techniques.
Most of the exhibited books are texts that range from the 15th
through 19th centuries. Some originated in Japan or Korea where
medical practitioners copied from, and adapted, early Chinese
medical texts.
The exhibit is curated by Young Rhee of the History of Medicine
Division, and Yoshiko Doherty and Margaret Feng of NLM's Technical
Services Division. Accompanying artwork for the displays was
designed by NLM graphics director Joe Fitzgerald. The exhibit may be
viewed in the NLM lobby, Building 38, Monday through Friday from
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The
Library is closed on federal holidays.
Image: Omura Ansei, Geka hitsuyo (Surgery Handbook), Japan,
1684.
Image: Hua Shou, flourished 1360-1370, Jushikyo (The Routes of
Fourteen Channels and Their Functions), Kyoto, 1716. Shown here is a
description of 20 acupuncture points on the arm that are used to
treat colon diseases. It is written in a sonnet style for easier
memorization. |