문자로 본 중국인의 질병관 — 《說文解字》 ‘疒’부 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

The perspectives from which the ancient Chinese’ ways of thought are to be studied are tasks constantly facing researchers on China. Analyzing the system, structure, and methods of explaining the meanings of individual characters with respect to the “sickness”(疒) radical(部首; bushou) in the Explication of Writings and Analysis of Characters(說文 解字; Shuowen Jiezi), the present study ascertained that Xu Shen’s(許 愼; c. 58-c. 147 AD) arrangements of individual Chinese characters with identical radicals had by no means been arbitrary and also examined, through individual characters falling under this particular radical, what the ancient Chinese had perceived as diseases and their causes. Through this, it was possible to discern that the Chinese had seen abnormal energy or force(氣; qi) and wind(風; feng) as the fundamental causes of diseases and that the populace had perceived diseases through the swelling(腫; zhong) of particular body parts due to the activities of evil energy or force(惡氣; eqi). In addition, from diverse Chinese characters referring to the names of specific diseases, the present study confirmed that the ancient Chinese’ medical concepts had been subdivided to a considerable degree. On the other hand, while examining contemporary society’s reality and views of disease through disease-related neologisms in fashion in contemporary society, the present study also examined their differences from the ancient Chinese’ views of disease in the Explication of Writings and Analysis of Characters. In that it examined the Chinese’ views of disease through scripts, the present study attempted a social linguistic approach. In the future, more advanced on disease-related neologisms including the “sickness” radical in the Explication of Writings and Analysis of Characters will go beyond a social linguistic approach through scripts and be able to enrich China’s medical heritage further and to provide the history of Chinese medicine with rare data.