[Study on female doctors in Xin'an District in the Ming and Qing Dynasties].

The Xin'an female doctors in the Ming and Qing Dynasties could be divided into 4 categories: viz., those who provide general medical services for women patients; those who provide supplementary services for delivery women; those who serve as an assistant of their practicing husband; and those who continued to practice medicine after their husband's death. Although the latter two types could be respected by their families and praised by the society, these female medical practitioners were undervalued and overlooked generally in the society where males were the main body of the medical circle and, moreover, they were not well educated, as well as the influence of Confucianist thoughts of "honorable men and humble women" , hence, their deeds were rarely seen in historical records. However, the emergence of female doctors had certain social causes, and their contributions to local health care should not be ignored.

[The author of Yi du (Medicine Reading) and source and history of its editions].

Yi du (Medicine Reading)was a primer of traditional Chinese medicine. The original author was Wang Ji of the Ming Dynasty, and the book was block-printed and published, after the supplement made by Cheng Yingmao of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The editions of the book preserved in Nanjing Library and China Institute for History of Medicine and Medical Literature of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences was the original version in the reign of Kangxi Emperor. The edition in Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was the amended version of original version in the reign of Kangxi Emperor. The version of Edo Period in the Cabinet Library of National Archives of Japan was the reprinted edition of the amended version of original version in the reign of Kangxi Emperor. The transcript of Mr. Wang Shishan's Medicine Reading of the Qing Dynasty in Nanjing Library and Suzhou Library was the hand-copied version of the original one, with 75 syndromes, including external contraction, internal injuries, woman miscellaneous diseases etc. and all sorts of prescriptions. Cheng Yingmao added his preface, 14 syndromes of children diseases and prescription verse, supplemented general notices, properties of materia medica, pulse manifestations, and revised some texts of pathogenesis to form the 7 volumes. The former 5 volumes of Yi du were in 4-character verses, the 6(th)~7(th) volumes were in 7-character verses, and the pill prescriptions were in prose, which made more convenient for beginners to read, remember, and for recitation.

[Analysis of Xin'an imperial medical officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties].

Xin'an imperial medical officials of the Ming and Qing Dynasties was a special group of Xin'an doctors. It had exerted a positive and active impact on the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Rooted in the Xin'an region, with higher literacy and noble medical ethics and medical knowhow, through the imperial enlistment, examination, and other ways to enter the palace as imperial medical officials. During their tenure, they wrote books and communicated and merged with the folk medicine actively. After retiring, they were still involved actively in folk medicine activities, thus promoting and influencing the development of local medicine. The formation of Xin'an community of imperial medical officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was closely related to the prosperity of regional culture and commerce, and the development of medicine in Xin'an region.

[The cultural and medical significance of Xin an mingzuzhi(History of Famous Family in Xin'an)].

History of Famous Family in Xin'an includes abundant information and important value of the medical cultural history, including the medical family, medical ethics and the number of the famous doctors and its distribution, the medical books and its outline the medical ethics, the diseases. As for the 115 famous doctors recorded in this book, Shexian county owns the most while Jixi county owns the least, and of the average number of famous doctors among the 10, 000 local people, Yixian county owns the most while Xiuning county owns the least. History of Famous Family in Xin'an includes 26 medical books, ranging from medical literature study, gynecological treatment, external medical treatment, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric diseases, ancient medical case records, medical education, acu-moxibustion and summary of other medical experiences. The book also demonstrates the noble morality of doctors, development of doctor' family, and records of paralytic stroke, epistaxis, tuberculous consumptive diseases, furunculosis, dystocia and some infectious diseases.