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Tan Yunxian (1461–1554) was a female physician during the Ming Dynasty in China. Tan’s grandmother was actually the daughter of a physician. One reason for Tan’s grandfather to marry her grandmother was to learn medicine himself. Two of her grandparent’s sons were able to pass the examinations (jinshi) and they became officials, one of these sons was Tan’s father. Due to the fondness her grandparents had for her, which evidence shows was directly related to her intellect, her grandparents passed on their medical knowledge to her. Tan Yunxian later married and raised four children, and practiced medicine on women. Tan lived a longer life than most, she died at the hearty age of 93.〔Ebrey, Patricia B., Walthall Anne and Palais, James B. Pre-Modern East Asia: To 1800 (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006) 279.〕 ==Medical background== The medical practice of Tan Yunxian was contained to women. Although she did begin practicing medicine by treating her own children, and having her grandmother confirm her diagnoses. Records of Tan’s book reveal cases of thirty-one of the patients that she treated. The women which she worked with usually had chronic complaints, instead of critical illnesses. In Ming China, many of the women had “women’s complaints,” or, menstrual irregularities, repeated miscarriages, barrenness, and postpartum fatigue. Other patients had illnesses that either sex could contract, such as, coughing, insomnia, rashes, swellings, diarrhea or nausea. Tan, similar to other literati doctors, often prescribed herbal medications to her patients. Tan also practiced moxibustion. This was the burning of moxa, or dried Artemisia, at specified points on the body, which was similar to acupuncture.〔Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary-11th Edition (USA: Merriam-Webster, 2004) 813〕 This process, stimulated the circulation of qi. Since the physician applying the moxa was to physically touch the patient, this was not a process that male doctors could perform on women. Tan also served many working women in her practice. Various accounts show Tan’s conclusions of how these women often overworked themselves, thus bringing on various symptoms.〔Zheng Jin-Sheng. “Female Medical Workers in Ancient China,” http://www.cintcm.com/e_cintcm/e_forum/female%20medical%20workers%20in%20ancient%20china.htm (accessed August 12, 2007).〕 Although Tan Yunxian was able to practice medicine in gynecology, pediatrics and obstetrics, their practice in other fields was limited. Tan was only able to practice medicine in the country among her friends or acquaintances. Even after she completed the book Sayings of a Female Doctor,〔Translated as: Wilcox, Lorraine, tr., Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor (Portland, OR: The Chinese Medicine Database, 2015) ISBN 978-0990-60-2903〕 she was not able to publish it. In fact, she had to ask her son to have printing blocks cut for her.〔Ebrey, 280.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tan Yunxian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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