Interpretation of the development of the pre-Qin health preservation concept from the perspective of medical archaeology / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Health and longevity are the eternal themes of human pursuit. The pre-Qin period was the beginning of the development of traditional health preservation. Combined with archaeological findings and relevant literature and materials, this paper summarizes the behaviors and phenomena related to health preservation in the pre-Qin period from the three aspects, namely, exercise, diet, and environment and personal health. Through long-term investigation from the perspective of medical archaeology, the development of pre-Qin health concept can be roughly divided into three stages prehistoric period; Xia, Shang, Western Zhou period; and Eastern Zhou dynasties. It is mainly manifested as from unconsciousness to consciousness and from simple experience accumulation stage to the exploration and summary of theory. It is closely related to the improvement of social productivity and the development of medicine and ancient philosophy, which is also an important feature and development law in the accumulation of Chinese traditional health culture. Judging from medical archaeology, the development of health preservation concept in the pre-Qin period is of great benefit for people to understand the origin of health preservation and its early development, correctly view health preservation, improve the concept of health preservation, promote the formation of a good lifestyle, and promote the development of public health undertakings.