조선의 허준(許浚)과 명나라 이시진(李時珍)의 건강학 및 양생철학 비교

Comparison of Health Science and Regimen Philosophy of Heo Jun of Joseon Dynasty and Li Shizhen of Ming Dynasty

Heo Jun(1539-1615) of the Joseon Dynasty and Lee Shizhen(1518-1593) of the Ming Dynasty were born almost at the same time and studied medicine, living until the age of 76 and 75, respectively. These two doctors wrote books by collecting, researching, revising, and supplementing prevention methods for maintaining people’s health, treatment of diseases, types and methods of use of medicinal herbs, and methods of using acupuncture. Heo Jun’s and Lee Shizhen’s achievements and regimen philosophies as doctors were compared and summarized as follows. Heo Jun wrote Donguibogam, emphasizing that we should nourish the spirit in order not to get sick, and advised that we should manage people’s diseases with the Tao. In oriental medicine, food and medicine have the same origin, so they are expressed as food and drug mobilization, and many of the medicinal substances listed in Donguibogam are also used as food ingredients. Heo Jun changed the focus of medical theory from the symptoms of disease to the function of the human body itself by introducing the principle of preservation to Donguibogam. Heo Jun’s Donguibogam contains the principles of the three religions identity that harmonize mind and body pursued by the three religions: Taoist medical training, Confucian spiritual cultivation, and Buddhist life concepts and practice. Through sharp observation and rational reasoning on scarlet fever, Heo Jun revealed for the first time in the world that this unknown disease was distinct from similar diseases including measles and he suggested a treatment. In addition to the prevention and treatment of diseases, the characteristics and prescriptions of all kinds of medicinal materials, Li Shizhen’s herbal course in Bencao Gangmu also describes fish recipes, history, stories, and poems. He also explored other fields of the natural sciences, such as botany, zoology, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, geography, astronomy, etc. Li Shizhen had a materialistic ideology and a critical spirit believing that human effort triumphs over nature. He disagreed with claims that ancient people made serious health related mistakes but explained, corrected and improved handed-down concepts and prescriptions. He thought that the performance of drugs could be turned into human power to meet people’s needs.