自然觀與中國傳統藥物學的倫理性: 以《山海經》為例

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Its Naturalist Viewpoints and Ethical Implications in the Case of the Sanhaijing

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

傳統中國藥物學與飲食行為密切相關，這就是所謂“醫食同源”的來源。而古代服食藥物行為往往伴隨著濃厚的宗教祈禱和原始咒術色彩，二者相輔相成，難解難分，故又有“巫醫不分”的稱謂。然而，在生態保護愈來愈受重視的今天，因“藥”與“食”界限模糊不清而導致大量捕殺和採集“藥物”，已經成為一個不可迴避的社會問題。中國醫學傳統中的藥物學，究竟以怎麼樣的自然觀念為基礎？其面臨的倫理學課題又是什麼？對此，本文擬以漢代文獻《山海經》為例作一簡略考察和分析。

Traditional Chinese medical theory holds that medicine and food come from the same source. As means of both preventive remedies and treating disease, medicine and food are categorized according to their “effectiveness,” which in turn connects things with their specific phases in the natural world. The Shanhaijing (the Classic of Mountains and Seas) is largely a fabled geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of myths. Through a textual analysis of this ancient text with an emphasis on its account of medicine and food, this essay argues that the practice of medicine in ancient times was often associated with belief systems and religious ritual practices. The author attempts to show that the Chinese view of medicine, including that of Daoism, is largely based on a conception of natural life and the environment that is atheistic and a form of naturalism that is essentially theistic.

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