Smallpox Inoculation
人痘接种
Smallpox inoculation or variolation was a great invention of medicine in ancient China. Inoculation against smallpox using material from small-pox patients was probably first practiced by the Chinese in the 10th century. A story was recorded that a Song Dynasty (960-1279) chancellor of China, Wang Dan,summoned physicians from all over the country to try to find some remedy for smallpox. From Mount Emei in Sichuan, a Taoist hermit, known as a " miracle-working doctor" brought the technique of inoculation and introduced it to him.However, the first clear and credible reference to smallpox inoculation in China comes from Douzhen Xinfa written in 1549 by Wan Quan. Inoculation, according tothe historical records, was not widely practiced in China until the reign of Emperor Longqing (1567-1572) during the Ming Dynasty. Powdered smallpox scabs were blown into the noses of the healthy, and they would then develop a mild case of the disease and from then on were immune to it. During the seventeenth century,the practice spread to the Turkish regions, and then to the European countries. The French philosopher Voltaire once praised, "I am informed that the Chinese have practised inoculation in the past hundred years; this is a great precedent and ex-ample set by the Chinese nation considered to be the most intelligent and courteous in the world. "
人痘接种预防天花是中国古代医学家的伟大发明。中国人可能早在10世纪已懂得利用天花患者的病毒来接种的人痘接种法。有史书记载了一个故事：宋朝宰相王旦曾召集全国各地医师商议防治天花的方法，随后有一个被称为“神医”的四川峨眉山道教隐士将人痘接种术传给了王旦。不过，中国关于人痘接种最早的明确可信的记载来自明代医学家万全1549年的《痘疹心法》一书。据史料记载，人痘接种被广泛应用是在明朝隆庆年间（1567一1572）。将天花痘痂粉末吹人健康者的鼻孔，使其染病但症状较轻，痊愈之后便会终身对天花具有免疫力。17世纪，这一方法流传至土耳其一带，后又传至欧洲各国。法国哲学家伏尔泰这样赞扬人痘接种：“我听说一百年来，中国人一直就施用人痘接种法；这是被认为全世界最聪明、最讲礼貌的一个民族的伟大先例和榜样。”