How to prevent smallpox?

In the face of the current epidemic situation, the whole people have adopted the method of isolation, that is, reducing going out and reducing the contact between people to cut off the spread of infectious diseases. In ancient China, infectious diseases were collectively referred to as "plagues", and it was believed that the source of infection could be controlled by isolating patients when plagues occurred, so there were methods to isolate plagues since ancient times.

For example, in the pre-Qin medical classic Huangdi Neijing, "righteousness should be hidden inside, evil is not feasible, and its poisonous gas should be avoided"; The History of Emperor Ping of Han Dynasty records that in the second year of Yuan Dynasty, if people got infectious diseases, they needed to be treated in isolation and separate rooms. The Book of Jin records that during the Jin Dynasty, although officials were not ill, they were not allowed to enter the palace for a hundred days. According to the civil affairs records of the Southern Dynasties, Prince Changmao and others in the Xiao Qi period once set up a medical institution-Liubing Hall, which can isolate patients. Taiping Sheng Huifang, a medical book in the Northern Song Dynasty, records that when the plague enters people's homes, it is necessary to open the window for ventilation, so that it will not be contagious.

The Qing Dynasty was the most rampant period of smallpox epidemic in China. Smallpox, also known as pox and acne, is one of the oldest diseases. Strong infectivity and high mortality. Like plague, cholera and typhoid fever, it once seriously threatened the health and life of the ancients. At that time, the rulers in the Forbidden City also took a series of prevention and control measures, one of which was isolation, that is, by avoiding pox, checking pox, building a summer resort in Jehol (Chengde) and setting up a system of surrounding classes to prevent smallpox.

Vaccination was the main method for the emperor to isolate smallpox in the early Qing Dynasty. According to The Journey to the West, a historical record of the Qing Dynasty, 1644, after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, due to the prevalence of smallpox in Beijing, Regent Dourgen ordered all places with smallpox patients to be surrounded by ropes for 80 steps, and no one else was allowed to enter. According to the historical data "Donghua Record", in the second year of Shunzhi (1645), smallpox patients were isolated, and it was required to designate a 40-mile village in the east, west, north and south of the capital as a centralized place to isolate smallpox patients in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

The emperor shunzhi himself took the method of stopping large-scale meetings or staying in the palace to avoid acne. For example, according to Records of the Qing Sai-jo, when the emperor shunzhi celebrated his birthday, due to the prevalence of smallpox in Beijing, he was ordered to be exempted from paying tribute. Another example is recorded in Journey to the North. In November of the 12th year of Shunzhi, Xiao Hui, the second queen of the emperor shunzhi, developed acne. Emperor Shunzhi rushed to Nanhaizi to "avoid acne" and ordered people who sent charcoal to the palace every day, regardless of sex, as long as they had not had acne, to stop 50 feet away.

When Emperor Kangxi was born, smallpox was prevalent, so he had to be carried out of the Forbidden City by Sun Shi, a wet nurse, and isolated in the Fu You Temple at the north gate of Beichang Street. It happened that when he was two years old, he still did not escape the attack of smallpox. Fortunately, under the careful care of many parties, he saved his life. After Emperor Kangxi moved back to the Forbidden City, the shadow of smallpox still hung around him. According to the official book History of the Palace in Qing Dynasty, in the thirteenth year of Kangxi, he ordered eunuchs and people walking in the palace to stay at home for one month if smallpox was cured, and to stay at home for one hundred days if they were still being treated before entering the palace. Although the method of acne removal is simple, it works well.

In order to effectively isolate smallpox, the Qing court set up an official position to check smallpox, that is, Zhang Jing checked smallpox. At that time, smallpox patients were found almost every year, and the vaccination targets stipulated by the court were also expanded from the Eight Banners soldiers and civilians to Beijing residents, foreign businessmen and foreign envoys in Beijing. Once the symptoms are found, Zhang Jing will be quarantined, asking people with acne to stay away from the capital, or ordering foreign ministers who have not been vaccinated not to come to Beijing; Those who conceal it will be severely punished. According to the historical records of Gui Si Cun Draft (Volume 9) in Qing Dynasty, Zhang Jing of Chayu was fully responsible for the smallpox inspection of the Eight Banners and residents in Beijing, requiring all smallpox patients to move to a separate place; Outside the imperial city, the houses of royal princes and princesses are isolated and protected, that is, smallpox patients are not allowed to enter the above houses within a certain range; Responsible for managing the affairs of Mongolian princes entering Beijing, only officials who have had smallpox and produced antibodies can enter Beijing.

The summer resort (Rehe Palace) located in Chengde area is a royal garden in Qing Dynasty, but its original intention is to isolate smallpox. /kloc-when emperor Kangxi visited Jehol in 0/6, he suddenly found that it not only connected the throat of the capital and the Mongolian plateau, but also helped isolate smallpox virus. Natural climatic conditions are also suitable for summer vacation and rest, so he ordered the construction of a palace, which is the origin of the summer resort. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty came to this villa every May and returned to Beijing around 10, where he hunted, summoned ministers, read the memorial, met the upper-class nobles of Mongolian, Hui, Uygur and other ethnic minorities who had never been vaccinated, and engaged in other political activities, and stayed for nearly half a year.

Emperor Kangxi not only built a summer resort in Jehol, but also adopted a corresponding peripheral shift system to facilitate the unvaccinated Mongolian flag leaders to participate in the political activities he presided over. The so-called "surrounding class" means that when the emperor holds hunting in Jehol every autumn, the leaders of Mongolian and northwest ethnic tribes in the border areas meet the emperor in batches and participate in hunting, banquets and other activities hosted by the emperor.

Mulan area, located in the northwest of Jehol, covers an area of nearly 10,000 square kilometers. With dense forests and lush water plants, it is an excellent hunting place. Surrounding class system is a supplementary form of annual class system. According to the system of Qing Dynasty, the princes of Mongolian flags went to Beijing to see the emperor at the end of each year and stayed in Beijing for more than 40 days, which was called the annual class. During this period, they paid tribute to the emperor, and the emperor also gave them gifts, held banquets for them, held various celebrations, and learned about the government affairs of various flags in order to strengthen the management of Mongolian flags.

When smallpox was prevalent in Beijing in the early Qing Dynasty, in order to avoid the infection of smallpox, the emperor ordered Mongolian princes who had no smallpox not to come to Beijing for pilgrimage at the end of the year, but they could go to Jehol in July and hunt with Emperor Mulan in September. The emperor can also take this opportunity to meet them and give them all kinds of rewards and entertainment. At this time, the Jehol is crisp in autumn and sparsely populated, which can effectively avoid smallpox infection.

Limited by the productivity level and social conditions at that time, the measures taken by the Qing court to isolate smallpox virus were not perfect, but they still played a positive role in preventing the spread of plague and carrying out various activities normally. It can be considered that the above isolation method is one of the application methods of the concept of epidemic prevention in Chinese medicine, and it can also reflect the wisdom of ancient China people. (Qian Zhou is a research librarian in the Palace Museum)