How Disease Changes Our History

When the emperor is ill, will the illness make him make irrational decisions, or even affect the direction of a dynasty? When a poet is sick, what verse will he write? When people are sick, what kind of situation will they face and what measures can be taken? The wheel of history is often changed by an inadvertent pebble; disease may be the pebble most often encountered. This book takes diseases and the means of dealing with diseases as a window to "e;read history"e;, including major plagues, epidemic prevention measures, ancient medical systems, longevity medicine and politics, venereal disease and brothel culture, mysterious and illusory poison and miasma, ancient surgical operations, especially the authenticity of Hua Tuo's deeds, whether the cutting of shares and treatment of marriage is really effective in treating diseases...From this, we must not only see the impact of disease on the historical process, but also see the impact of the various methods that people take to fight disease, pursue health and longevity on the historical process, and the impact of disease on ancient Chinese thought, and the impact on many people's lives.