Dr. Crystal Luk (Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

The interactive relations between Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine can be traced back to the Han dynasty, where Daoist organizations were initially found. There is an essential sequence that lies behind the studies on the relationship between the two: Traditional Chinese Medicine is always comprehended as professional knowledge developed before Daoism, or its origin, the Laozi. As a result, Daoism had become a religion that inherited this well established medical knowledge to construct its religious ideas and believes. In this presentation, we will raise challenges to this sequence through a comprehensive and comparative study on the Theory of Heart in Wenzi and Huangdi Neijing. The Theory of Heart is vital in Traditional Chinese Medicine. By understanding the enhancement of this theory, we will argue that the theoretical system of Traditional Chinese Medicine could not have developed properly earlier than Laozi and Wenzi.