Description

Book DescriptionA study of sexuality as an aspect of medical knowledge, this focues on the social and literary context of the Han period. The author begins with an overview of the study and research of sexual culture of ancient and early China and examines how Suwen theories were developed and transmitted. Then the work outlines traditional views of the reproductive process, including concepts of sexual maturity, conception, fertility, and declining powers. It provides detailed analyses of traditional anatomy and ancient understanding of procreation. The book also deals with healthcare, examining how bedchamber arts can help to prevent and cure diseases, including but not limited to sexual maladies and the consequences of over-indulgence. Finally, it looks at sex and health within Suwen medical theories as part of an emerging new understanding of medical theory and knowledge. Thoroughly researched and well founded, the book is a pleasure to reading and easy to understand. Its rich presentation of how sexual culture was perceived in early China contributes greatly to a better understanding of Chinese history and culture and also of human nature.ReviewThis book is fascinating, deep, essential reading for anyone interested in sex as the hidden force ruling bodily and spiritual health. Adepts of Daoist sexology, Oriental and Western doctors, sex therapists, psychologists, energy workers, as well as scholars, archeologists, poets, and historians of Chinese culture or simply curious lay readers all will feel they have been erotically and psycho-sexually sated. Human culture here is a vast jigsaw puzzle, with sex as the key piece linking cosmology, empirical and magical medicine, the popular culture of love, its diseases and its euphoric desires, Confucian family dynamics, bi-sexual emperors, eunuchs, longevity qigong, and Daoist philosophy. I have been reading works in this field for thirty years and was amazed at how much new Jessieca Leo had to teach me. Who would guess that Confucius was sired during an orgiastic Spring Fertility Rite? Her penetrating research deftly illuminates and vivifies the often inscrutable Yellow Emperor and Mawangdui manuscripts of 2200 years ago. This is a book you will literally take to bed. –Michael Winn, Healing Dao USAJessieca Leo examines a part of the Chinese classical medical tradition that has until now received little attention. The author s broad scholarship and familiarity with the tradition and the text allow her to explore social and historical themes while examining philological and medical issues. This book deserves a place on the shelves of all scholars of the ancient Chinese medical traditions. It is also essential reading for modern scholars and practitioners who are part of the neoclassical revitalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine. –Stephen Jackowicz, Adelphi UniversityJessieca Leo has opened our eyes to a fascinating aspect of early Chinese thought that Westerners seldom have access to. Using Chinese medicine as the background, she traces the developing understanding of sexuality, and the part it plays in life and society, while the analysis always returns to the balancing nature of Chinese philosophy. Much is surprisingly relevant to today, from the pursuit of pleasure to the warnings of mixing sex and alcohol. Anyone interested in Chinese history and culture will find it hugely enlightening. –Richard Bannerman, BBC ProducerAbout the AuthorJessieca Leo obtained her B. Sc. in Chemistry and Economics from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and her M.A. in Sinology from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. Her areas of interest include History of Chinese Medicine, Chinese Art and Archaeology, Mongolian, and Hakka Studies.