Women Patients under the Metaphor of Fertility in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Fertility has always been an important topic in the existing research on the medical history of ancient Chinese women.However,being restricted by historical materials,although scholars can explore the diachronic changes of gynecology as well as physicians'epistemology on fertility,they have to treat female patients as objects,which means there is limited research from the patient's perspective.By reexamining the treatment recommendations for female patients in the medical records and combined with the relevant medical narrative in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,this article demonstrates how the theory of reproductive priority substantially affects female patients and their families'decision-making as well as behavior patterns.Under the influence of the metaphor of fertility,some diseases are naturally shelved and ignored.At the same time,many reproductive activities in the Ming and Qing Dynasties lacked the possibility of being examined by medicine,and it works with the metaphor.This created obstacles for them to gain effective medical treatment.
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维普
