The inscription of Treatise on Febrile Diseases by Zhao Kaimei and the position of its attached official dispatch and name by the Imperial College of the Northern Song Dynasty

Abstract

The Treatise on Febrile Diseases (Shang Han Lun) inscripted and published by Zhao Kaimei in the Ming Dynasty was believed to be reprinted from the version of the Northern Song Dynasty, based on its official dispatch, at the beginning of the book, in the third year of the Yuanyou Period of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, the authenticity of the official dispatch remained controversial among scholars of medical history and literature. This paper reports on an investigation of the formation process of the official dispatch, classifies the titles recorded after the inscription, makes comparisons with the medical books inscripted in the same period, and analyzes the causes of the official dispatch and the title in Treatise on Febrile Diseases inscripted by Zhao Kaimei. It was found that the inscription, the official dispatch and the titles were authentic and that the position of the official dispatch was moved from the end of the book to the beginning of the book.