? Preliminary Study on Logical Thinking Form of Compendium of Materia Medica (Ⅱ)

Deductive Method of Deductive Thinking Reasoning

Deductive reasoning is an important logical thinking method. In the process of studying drugs, Li Shizhen attached great importance to deductive reasoning, which is quite consistent with deductive reasoning in logic.

For example, Zhang Zhongjing treated typhoid fever with ephedra and sweating with cassia twig, and the article was accompanied by notes from famous doctors in previous dynasties. "Jane often deduces and thinks about it. It seems that there is a gain, which is different from what the ancients explained. He believes: "fur and lungs are also combined, and lungs are the main defensive qi, including the image of the sky." "The evil of cold comes from fur, that is to say, although the syndrome belongs to the sun, it is actually the lung suffering from evil. On this premise, he came to the conclusion that typhoid fever is caused by pulmonary dysfunction in both exterior and interior, and then came to a new point of view: "Mahuang Decoction is actually a medicine for dispersing lung meridian and stagnation of fire"; Although cassia twig is a light agent for muscle relaxation in the sun, it is actually a medicine for regulating spleen and saving lung. "It is believed that a' secret letter that has never been sent' has been discovered (Volume 15 of Ephedra). Ephedra, Cinnamomum cassia twig and Fangqiang are all wind medicines. Li Dongyuan not only uses them to treat exterior syndrome of common cold, but also uses them to cause more depressed fire, or uses them to promote dispersion and overcome dampness. Ceng Zhi, well dressed, said, "Drinking herbal tea is too miscellaneous, and the sun's spirit is suppressed, and the soil is rotten. As Su Wen said, if the wind becomes a danger for a long time, the fish will be exhausted, so this method should be popularized, so he was irrigated with Xiao Xu Ling Tang and recovered after taking it. "Lung and large intestine are exterior and interior, and Xiao Xu Tang Ming is used here, in which Ma Gui and others disperse common cold in the lung meridian, and at the same time play the role of ascending and diverging spleen dampness, so it can treat large intestine diarrhea. Therefore, Li Shizhen said that ephedra can disperse lung meridian stagnation fire, and cassia twig can regulate spleen and save lung, which is desirable.

Another example is that the madness syndrome is caused by phlegm-fire and blood stasis. According to Su E's Du Yang, Li Shizhen wrote: Fan Chunyou lost her husband and went crazy. In a closed room, the window lattice was broken at night, and she ate peach blossoms on the peach tree. And Dan, the family took over, and naturally recovered. Jane's press: this is also a shock and anger that hurts the liver, and the sputum is mixed with septicemia, which leads to madness. Occasionally, the peach blossom has the effect of benefiting phlegm and removing blood stasis, which is similar to the Chengqi Decoction of Zhang Zhongjing for treating fever mania and the Chengqi Decoction of Ren Tao for storing blood. Therefore, under the condition of attending, Li Shizhen pointed out that peach blossom has the function of "promoting diuresis, resolving phlegm and stopping madness" (Volume 29, Fruit Department, Peach Blossom).

This deductive thinking method can be reasonably used to invent the function of drugs in Compendium of Materia Medica.

Demonstration method of "using" to prove "body"

Li Shizhen said: "The first thing to do is to explain the name, and then to correct the name, that is, to attend and record the merits." The second time was an invention, and it was also sparse; The second time is to attach the edge, which is also useful. Or you want to go, it's no use. "This theory shows that Li Shizhen, after collecting Baishi and expounding the main functions of each medicine, emphasized that it must be matched with single medicine or compound medicine to prove its accurate and reliable efficacy. If the attachment is deleted, the clinical reliability of its function will be unbelievable. It can be seen that his emphasis on "using" to prove "body" here is a logical argument method and a complex, arduous and creative thinking activity.

Generally speaking, under the indications of each drug, Li Shizhen collected the classics and other materia medica before the Ming Dynasty, as well as the explanations of the indications of the drug by relevant doctors. In order to prove its reliability, Li Shizhen attached as much as possible the single prescription or compound prescription related to the drug in the relevant prescriptions before the Ming Dynasty, and also collected his own "Lakeside Collection Simplified Prescriptions".

For example, ginseng blindly treats many diseases, and its prescriptions are as many as 63 prescriptions (Caobu Ginseng 12). In particular, the indications summarized by Shizhen herself are well-founded. That is to say, Shizhen said that ginseng "treats all deficiency syndromes of men and women ... hematemesis, hemoptysis, abdominal hemorrhage and bleeding collapse", and attached seven conveniences, such as treating hemoptysis, hematemesis, abdominal hemorrhage, epistaxis and hematuria. , in which Astragalus membranaceus is used in 2 prescriptions and jujube is used in 1 prescription. Later generations also verified many cases, which confirmed the repeatability (correctness) of historical experience (argument).

Another example is mung bean, which quoted "Shengyan Juice Coat" in Kaibao Materia Medica for indications, but omitted the attached prescription. In the invention, it is said that "mung beans are flat and cold, so it is advisable to take water with skin to remove the toxic effect of all stone arsenic plants". Dongyi records that this fact is similar to the attached prescription, demonstrating the reliability of mung beans in detoxification of plant toxins.

Compendium of Materia Medica has indications for drugs, but Li Shizhen did not receive relevant prescriptions, so it is short of clinical research for future generations. Proving "style" with "use" is a major feature of Compendium of Materia Medica, which is superior to previous cursive scripts. Because of Li Shizhen's honest scientific attitude and rigorous argumentation method, the exposition of Compendium of Materia Medica has strong reliability and great practical value, which contains many essences to be explored.

According to the contents of hundreds of ancient and modern historical books cited in Compendium of Materia Medica, some works such as Zhuangzi and Xunzi contain the logical thought of ancient materialist epistemology. The "assistance" of other people like Mo belongs to a similar method; "Push" belongs to induction; "Xiao" belongs to deductive method (China People's Publishing House of Ancient Ideological History 1973 Edition) and so on. These logical thinking methods are widely used in Li Shizhen's pharmaceutical research.