雙語科技百科(醫學) 第63期:人痘接種
Smallpox Inoculation
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 ver, 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. "
人痘接種預防天花是中國古代醫學家的偉大發明。中國人可能早在10世紀已懂得利用天花患者的病毒來接種的人痘接種法。有史書記載了一個故事：宋朝宰相王旦曾召集全國各地醫師商議防治天花的方法，隨後有一個被稱爲“神醫”的四川峨眉山道教隱士將人痘接種術傳給了王旦。不過，中國關於人痘接種最早的明確可信的記載來自明代醫學家萬全1549年的《痘疹心法》一書。據史料記載，人痘接種被廣泛應用是在明朝隆慶年間（1567一1572）。將天花痘痂粉末吹人健康者的鼻孔，使其染病但症狀較輕，痊癒之後便會終身對天花具有免疫力。17世紀，這一方法流傳至土耳其一帶，後又傳至歐洲各國。法國哲學家伏爾泰這樣讚揚人痘接種：“我聽說一百年來，中國人一直就施用人痘接種法；這是被認爲全世界最聰明、最講禮貌的一個民族的偉大先例和榜樣。”
