A Study on Traditional Mongolian Medical Elements in Medical Books of the Yuan Dynasty
67th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Gotemba 2025
In 1206, Genghis Khan unified the various Mongolian tribes that were at war with each other on the Mongolian Plateau and established the Great Mongol Empire. With the continuous efforts of his descendants, his territory kept expanding and rewriting world history. In 1260, Kubilai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, ascended the throne. In 1271, he established the Yuan Dynasty, gradually unifying China and expanding its territory to the Eurasian continent. The establishment of the Yuan Dynasty smoothed the trade routes between Europe and Asia, promoted economic development and cultural exchanges, including the mutual influence in medicine and health, among various ethnic groups and even countries. This study, through the verification of the contents related to traditional Mongolian medicine (including medicinal materials) recorded in the medical and nutritional classics of the Yuan Dynasty such as Yin Shan Zheng Yao by Husehui and Rui Zhu Tang Jingyan Fang by Shatumusu, as well as the historical notes Nan Cun Chuo Geng Lu by Tao Zongyi, attempts to clarify the interrelationship between traditional Mongolian medicine, Han (Chinese) medicine and Arabic medicine during the Yuan Dynasty from the perspective of medical history, reveal the influence of medical and hygienic exchanges on the social culture, political and economic development at that time.