한국 고대 의사의 지위변화

Abstract

This paper aims to scrutinize the social status of the diverse physicians of Ancient Korea, looking at the changes and their meaning. First, I will investigate the perception of yishi(醫師) which was at the core of medical healers(醫療人) and the changes in its usage in historical documents. According to Zhouli(周禮; The Rites of Zhou), there were diverse yi(醫), such as the yishi(醫師; doctor), the shiyi(食醫; food doctor), the jiyi(疾醫; disease doctor), the yangyi(瘍醫; surgeon) and the shouyi(獸醫; veterinarian) in the bureaucratic system of the Zhou dynasty(from BC 10C to BC 256). To Zhouli, the Yishi referred to the head of the diverse group of yi(諸醫). But general folk doctors(民醫) were also called yishi in Tang(唐: 618-907) China. This suggests that the notion of the yishi was expanded, and that folk doctors were raised in social status in Tang(唐). In Ancient Korea, there were also diverse physicians. I will categorize them in two groups, the official government physician and the common physician. Goguryeo (from BC 1C to 668) experienced the most advanced medicine in the early period of the Three Kingdoms. So Goguryeo's physicians travelled throughout the East Asian countries. Some of them became court physicians(侍醫) in Japan. Baekje (BC 18-660) was influenced by the Yang(梁: 502-557) China, and developed its own medical system. Baekje used to send their medical doctors to Wa(倭) in Japan to train the Japanese doctors. There were also many pharmaceutical officers in Baekje, and also in Silla. This means that they separated prescribing and pharmaceutical dispensing during the Three Kingdom's period. Shaman medicine(巫醫) was first practiced in Ancient Korea. They treated kings and royal families in the early period of the Three Kingdoms, but as Buddhist medicine and Chinese medicine were introduced, the role of the Shaman rapidly weakened at court, and their social status dropped lower and lower. Buddhist monk physicians(僧醫) replaced shaman medicine and became the healers of the royal family and aristocrats. They also became important healers for commoners, treating many diseases. The aristocrat who had medical knowledge was called Hakyi(學醫scholar physician) in the early Three Kingdoms period. This also refers to the yuyi(儒醫Confucian physician) in Goryeo(918-1392) and in the Joseon(1392-1910) dynasty. These physicians were aristocrats as well as scholars. They were not professional physicians, however they had the most developed and philosophical apprehension of medicine. In BC 692, Silla established the Yihak(醫學: National Medical Institute). Medical bureaucrats of Unified Silla obtain the highest social status compared with the medical officers of Former Silla and of Tang. Because the medical officers who graduated from Medical Institute of Unified Silla (668-935), were merely technicians, it took a long time before the medical officers in Unified Silla understood Chinese Tang medicine.