Medical History

Mary Storm mnstorm at MAC.COM
Tue Oct 28 18:28:22 UTC 2008


Thank you so much.

  I have not seen Kohn's encyclopedia, but will try to track it down.  
Yes, even narrative descriptions, let alone anything resembling  
statistics all seem to be European. The Tibetan information is  
valuable. There must be Chinese sources as well?

Ibn Battuta writes about a disease in South India, that MUST have been  
the Black Death, the dates and descriptions of symptoms are right, but  
I have been hitting a blank wall with the Plague of Justinian in India.

Gratefully,
Mary


Mary Storm, Ph.D.
Academic Director
North India Arts and Culture
and
Himalayan Buddhist Art and Architecture
SIT Study Abroad
School for International Training
www.sit.edu

Mobile +91 98106 98003
F-301 Lado Sarai
2nd Fl
New Delhi 110030  India

On 28-Oct-08, at 11:49 PM, Dominik Wujastyk wrote:

> I'm sure you already know Kohn's Encyclopedia of Plague and  
> Pestilence. It contains very rich information, but also demonstrates  
> that before the eighteenth century any quantitative information  
> about epidemic disease in India is almost non-existent.  There is a  
> little information about cholera in 16cent Goa, from da Orta and  
> Portuguese sources.  Prof. Kapstein's reference is important, and  
> almost unique.  The Tibetans developed a genre of medical history  
> writing, which never happened in peninsular India.
>
> The Carakasamhita contains a passage about plague, located in  
> Kampilya, but we learn nothing of the symptoms, and the text,  
> probably written in about 2nd cent AD, is too early for your  
> reference.
>
> It is possible that the plague of Justinian never reached peninsular  
> India.  However, I am not aware of anyone having scoured the  
> literature for clues.
>
> Best,
> -- 
> Dr Dominik Wujastyk
> University College London
>
>
>
> On Sat, 25 Oct 2008, Mary Storm wrote:
>
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>> Could someone recommend an Asian/South Asian/Indian medical history  
>> that would cover the period from approximately the fifth century  
>> AD  to 15th century AD? Specifically, I am trying to find indian  
>> references to the 6th c. pandemic known in the Byzantine world as  
>> the Plague of Justinian.
>>
>> Your help is much appreciated!
>>
>> With Thanks,
>> Mary
>>
>>
>> Mary Storm, Ph.D.
>> Academic Director
>> North India Arts and Culture
>> and
>> Himalayan Buddhist Art and Architecture
>> SIT Study Abroad
>> School for International Training
>> www.sit.edu
>>
>> Mobile +91 98106 98003
>> F-301 Lado Sarai
>> 2nd Fl
>> New Delhi 110030  India





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