Wang Shuhe Maijue in Iran

Abstract

Translated and edited by Rashīd ud-Dīn Fazl Allāh Hamidānī, a statesman in Ilkhanate-ruled Iran, Tanksūqnāmah is a four-volume book about Chinese science and technology. Currently, only Volume One—respecting Chinese medical science—survives. As the first book on Chinese traditional medicine translated into the Persian language, Tanksūqnāmah provides rich and invaluable first-hand information to those who conduct research on cultural and medical science exchanges between China and West Asia during the Middle Ages. Tanksūqnāmah recorded the complete, basic rhymed verses of Wang Shuhe Maijue (The title in Chinese is 《王叔和脉诀》. Hereinafter known as Maijue.) (The Pulse Rhymes of Wang Shuhe), an ancient Chinese literature on sphygmology. In the book, each verse was translated into Persian, and annotations by eminent Chinese physicians were also included. Due to the loss of the original copy of Maijue and some historical annotations, it becomes obvious that the translation, compilation, and study of Tanksūqnāmah will yield significant reference value in aiding the restoration of the original text of Maijue. Using ancient Chinese medicine literature as a reference point, this essay attempts to make a comparative study and analysis of certain passages of Maijue as written in Tanksūqnāmah.