Soph from the future- Made 5/19/22
READINGS:
“The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine“. In Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period through the Song Dynasty, edited by Robin Wang, 121-129. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub, 2003.
- Questions: If you make a list of the yin and yang associations, what general tendencies come through? Which associations are surprising to you, coming from a modern (and likely American?) culture?
Yin: Female, Earth, Darkness, Recklessness, Turmoil, Destruction, Gives shape to things, Moon
Yang: Male, Heaven, Light, Peace, Serenity, Conservation , Causes Evaporation, Sun
According to this reading, throughout all known things there seems to be a direct association with either Yin or Yang. Yin, the feminine, is aligned with destruction, death, and recklessness. I find this really surprising due to what we’ve learned so far of the expectations of women in Chinese society to be quiet and obedient. I feel like the qualities of Yin go against this. Also, this association with death and more violent things feels more aligned with ideas of masculinity… I do understand that in everyone and everything, there is both Yin and Yang- but still, It’s all very interesting to look at this word association!
This also makes me wonder what doctors who practiced Chinese Medicine thought of women who broke these standards, like Empress Wu or Fu Hao, what did their Yin and Yang balance look like?
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Furth, Charlotte. A Flourishing Yin: Gender in China’s Medical History, 960-1665. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
- Questions to focus on: How you do see gender (male/female) coming into play in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases? How do traditional gender relations in society shape the medical profession? Do you see connections with the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine in the way Cheng practices medicine?
Chen Maoxian’s recorded practice show how heavily gendered Chinese medicine is. In the treatment of women, it’s common for a man to supervise and for the doctor to talk to the woman through. This is not only a huge issue of privacy, but also dehumanizes the patient and gives her less autonomy of her body. Speaking of privacy, one of the few ways a woman is able to have some control is by choosing what information she withholds from the doctor… however, this can cause diagnosing the patient to be more difficult.
Speaking to the connection to Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, there are several instances throughout Chen Maoxian’s findings where he references, and utilizes, ideas found in Chinese medicine. Specifically when he uses the four methods of diagnosis- looking, asking, listening and smelling, and touching (pulse taking- these techniques are built upon analyzing the characteristics of an unbalanced Yin and Yang.
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TO DO LIST
- Week 12 5-15 Report
- Week 13 5-15 Report
- Week 14 5-15 Report
- Week 15 5-15 Report
- Reflection #2
- Reflection #3
- Final Project
TADA LIST
- Week 10 5-15 Report
- *SKIPPED OPTIONAL WEEK 11 5-15 REPORT*
