Anthony CostantiniProfessor BokenkampPrécis 1Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Medicine and Divination in Mark Csikszentmihalyi’s Readings in Han Chinese Thought

In Han society, natural cycles were often used to describe the three realms of the

Cosmos, the Earth and Human society. Among these cycles, the binaries of yin and yang

and the five phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) stand out in importance. There exist

many other such cycles, including a cycle of stems and branches which, when combined

in pairs, formed a dating system. This so-called “natural-cycles theory” often

incorporated celestial forces, like demons and spirits, illustrating the complex way in

which ancient Chinese came to see relationships between humans, deities and nature – for

example, employing a “mode of management… based on cultic practices and calendrical

observations.” In fact, natural cycles were said to exist everywhere, and frequently

became co-opted within technical disciplines like medicine and divination. Omen reading

was certainly important to the Chinese, who considered “responses” of nature and

“images” of the Cosmos as explanations to the phenomena of the world. Initially,

divination was performed and recorded on cattle scapulae and turtle plastrons, but this

system was later eclipsed in popularity by other methods. (The sixty-four hexagrams

found in the Classic of Changes, as the Appended Phrases commentary suggests,

profoundly influenced Chinese culture.) Moreover, Traditional Chinese Medicine adopts

similar natural-cycle theory to explain everything from the organs of the body to the taste

buds. The qi or “pneumas” within the body follow unique circulatory routes, and

knowledge of these conduits is the basis for techniques like moxibustion and

acupuncture.

Excellent start.

Grade: 4