Monkey and the Inkpot

Natural History and Its Transformations in Early Modern China

Inbunden, Engelska, 2009

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Beskrivning

This is the story of a Chinese doctor, his book, and the creatures that danced within its pages. The Monkey and the Inkpot introduces natural history in sixteenth-century China through the iconic Bencao gangmu (Systematic materia medica) of Li Shizhen (1518–1593).The encyclopedic Bencao gangmu is widely lauded as a classic embodiment of pre-modern Chinese medical thought. In the first book-length study in English of Li’s text, Carla Nappi reveals a “cabinet of curiosities” of gems, beasts, and oddities whose author was devoted to using natural history to guide the application of natural and artificial objects as medical drugs. Nappi examines the making of facts and weighing of evidence in a massive collection where tales of wildmen and dragons were recorded alongside recipes for ginseng and peonies.Nappi challenges the idea of a monolithic tradition of Chinese herbal medicine by showing the importance of debate and disagreement in early modern scholarly and medical culture. The Monkey and the Inkpot also illuminates the modern fate of a book that continues to shape alternative healing practices, global pharmaceutical markets, and Chinese culture.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2009-10-01
Mått:156 x 235 x 23 mm
Vikt:544 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:250
Förlag:Harvard University Press
ISBN:9780674035294
Utmärkelser:Nominated for Pfizer Award 2011

Utforska kategorier

Medicinhistoria inom Medicin
Asiens historia inom Historia och arkeologi
Alternativ medicin och terapier inom Medicin

Mer om författaren

Carla Nappi is Assistant Professor of History at the University of British Columbia.

Recensioner i media

Carla Nappi takes us into one of the greatest Chinese encyclopedias of the natural world and its medicinal properties, the Bencao gangmu, which inspired the vision of the Chinese encyclopedia that haunts the pages of Borges and Foucault. Nappi draws us into the Bencao's complexities, and into the fertile and restless mind of its creator, Li Shizhen. Nappi opens the door on Li's cabinet of wonders.

Innehållsförteckning

* List of Illustrations * Ex-Voto * Note on Conversions * Prologue: A Curious Instinct, A Taste for Ink * Conception: Birth of a Naturalist * Generation: Anatomy of a Naturalist INTERLUDE: Here Be Dragons: A Reader's Guide to the Bencao gangmu * Transformation: Elements of Change * Transformation: Sprouts of Change * Transformation: Bodies of Change * Transformation: Creatures of Change * Conclusion. Rot and Rebirth: The Afterlife and Reincarnation of a Naturalist * Appendix A. Li Shizhen, Lidai zhujia bencao [Bencao works through the ages] * Appendix B. Contents of the Bencao gangmu [Systematic materia medica] * Notes * Glossary of Chinese Characters * Index

Monkey and the Inkpot

Natural History and Its Transformations in Early Modern China

Beskrivning

Produktinformation

Utforska kategorier

Mer om författaren

Recensioner i media

Innehållsförteckning

Mer från samma författare

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Monkey and the Inkpot

Natural History and Its Transformations in Early Modern China

Beskrivning

Produktinformation

Utforska kategorier

Mer om författaren

Recensioner i media

Innehållsförteckning

Mer från samma författare

Du kanske också är intresserad av

Monkey and the Inkpot

Natural History and Its Transformations in Early Modern China

Beskrivning

Produktinformation

Utforska kategorier

Mer om författaren

Recensioner i media

Innehållsförteckning

Mer från samma författare

Du kanske också är intresserad av