Abstract
Gang Myeong-gil(康命吉) wrote Jejung sinpyeon(濟衆新編), one of three major medical books produced in the latter half of the Joseon Period. Jejung sinpyeon, edited at the behest of King Jeongjo, was intended to overcome the shortcomings of the then best medical book, Donguibogam(東醫寶鑑), and to update medical knowledge in a bid to spread that knowledge widely to the general public. Jejung sinpyeon contains the life and medical theories of the physician Gang Myeong-gil. In order to examine Gang Myeong-gil's life and medical theories, which influenced the edition and characteristics of Jejung sinpyeon, this paper studies his family lineage, medical records and the editorial characteristics of Jejun sinpyeon. Gang Myeong-gil and his ancestors served in government medical offices for some 200 years, and Gang Myeong-gil himself served as a physician at Naeuiwon for thirty years. His descendants also served as physicians upon passing the state-administered examination. Gang Myeong-gil preferred to prescribe drugs, and this inclination led him to include Yakseongga in Jejung sinpyeon, and he took an open and practical attitude towards the editing of the book. This approach is supported by the chapter on experience-based prescriptions in Jejung sinpyeon and the prescriptions of the Royal Infirmary, thus revealing his humanitarian and open thinking on medicine.
