Textual research on Gao Ruone and the saying of "Weizhou is full of famous physicians"

Abstract

In Gao Ruone's epitaph written by Wen Yanbo, it was mentioned that Gao studied medicine because of his mother's diseases, reflecting his filial piety as a Confucianist. It was recorded that "more Yun people engaged in medical profession, especially proficient at treating cold damage diseases, and all followed Gao's theory" in Ye Mengde's Bi shu lu hua (Notes Taken When Spending The Summer Days) . In Gao Ruone's Biographyof History of Song Dynasty, the sentence was deduced as "famous doctors mostly coming from Weizhou, and all following Gao's theory" . Meanwhile, Gao Ruone was considered by Huang Tingjian as an important partin the transmission of medical knowledge after Huangdi, Qi Bo and Zhang Zhongjing. The reason was that Gao Ruone did revise and check Zhongjing's Shang han lun jue (Rhymes of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases) , Sun Simiao's Fang shu (Prescriptions) and Wai tai mi yao (Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library) to make them circulate, and known to the Song people. The changes in the descriptions of Gao Ruone illustrated the recognition by the Song people on the important role of medical text reading in the transmission of medical knowledge.