Title

Transliterated Knowledge: Eliksir in the Book of Western Medicine

Author

Tsai Ming-che

Genre

Article

Pages

485-528

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202309_53(3).0003

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Si yang-ni okto-i bithe 西洋藥書, transliteration, Ge ti ciowan lu bithe

Abstract

The Manchu edition of Si yang-ni okto-i bithe 西洋藥書 (the Book of Western Medicine) was supposedly written by the missionaries Joachim Bouvet (1656-1730) and Jean-François Gerbillon (1654-1707) during Kangxi’s 康熙 reign. Limited by their language capabilities, it was difficult for scholars in the past to know what knowledge the book introduced and whether or not it was Western knowledge. This article analyzes transliterated vocabularies in the work to explore its strategies for introducing knowledge. Most of these vocabularies are found in prescription formulas called eliksir. Tracing the sources of these vocabularies one by one, this article finds that the eliksir formula’s effects, ingredients, and writing styles correspond to those used in European pharmacopoeia such as The Royal Pharmacopœa, Galenical and Chymical referenced by Bouvet. Moreover, these formulas were based on Western pharmacology, but the book introduces medicinal effects without mentioning related pharmacological knowledge. Accordingly, it can be speculated that the author of the Book of Western Medicine read Latin with a French accent, and that the Jesuits did not want to link the elixirs to China’s immortality medicines. These formulas may have been a carefully designed proposal, where the Jesuits deliberately selected famous medicines from European pharmacopeias to arouse the curiosity and interest of Emperor Kangxi; however, the medicines may not have been actually produced. The transliteration strategy may have helped French Jesuits emerge victorious in their competition with Portuguese Jesuits, but its effectiveness in the exchange of knowledge may have been limited.