• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2007

Narratives are the old stories handed down for a long time, which are not personal creations but common ones for ages. They were formed from the public consciousness, passed orally and recorded in letters. There have been lots of studies on narratives about characters, whereas there have been poor in the studies on the great doctors. The author examined the narratives about great doctors in literature for successive generations, and made researches on world view and consciousness of reality reflected on the age directly or indirectly. The author inquired into the descriptions and constructions of the narratives separately, and classified the great doctors in literature into the miraculous doctors, eccentric doctors and righteous doctors. Therefore truly great doctor is the one who treats not only personal diseases but also social problems, and who tries to harmonize with human beings and nature.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.279-284
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• 2020

The theory of "eccentric diseases are generally due to phlegm (怪病多屬痰)" means that phlegm is a major cause for intractable diseases including cerebrovascular accident, depression, insanity, and shock from strange things or evil sprint. It has been a key foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of phlegm in traditional Korean medicine. However, the origin of the theory is not clear and controversial. In this study, we critically reviewed the origin and developing process of the theory in the viewpoints of philology and pathology in Korean medicine. Wang Yin-Jun (王隱 君) did not claim that eccentric diseases are generally due to phlegm in Taidingyangshengzhu-lun (泰定養生主論). The miscitation by following medical literature caused the misunderstanding in the meaning of Taidingyangshengzhu-lun, that phlegm can cause variable symptoms and signs. In the Ming dynasty, some poor medical doctors had tended to diagnose any difficult case as phlegm syndrome and to use Kuntan-huan (滾痰丸) as a standard herbal formula for treating phlegm syndrome. However, the tendency to categorize delicate cases easily to phlegm syndrome is not desirable. Besides, the tendency to use Kuntan-huan as a basic formula for the phlegm syndrome might cause diverse and severe adverse effects. Thus, we cannot accept the theory of eccentric diseases is generally due to phlegm without a doubt. In conclusion, this theory might be a valuable aphorism in terms of considering the possibility of the secondary pathologic factors including phlegm and blood stasis which should be considered first in case of intractable diseases.