NEWS
2024.01.11
【Report】The AJI Book Launch Symposium was held! Dr. Xiang Jingjing introduced her book, Medicine and Confucianism: A Study on Medical Cultural Exchange and Knowledge Circulation in Early Modern East Asia
On December 15, the Ritsumeikan Asia-Japan Research Institute hosted an AJI Book Launch Symposium online. Dr. Xiang Jingjing (Assistant Professor, Ritsumeikan Asia-Japan Research Organization) introduced her new book, Medicine and Confucianism: A Study on Medical Cultural Exchange and Knowledge Circulation in Early Modern East Asia(written in Japanese, May 2023, Jinbunshoin). This book was awarded the 7th “Itan Prize” (医譚賞) by the Kansai Branch of the Japanese Society of Medical History in December 2023.
For this Book Launch Symposium, we invited three discussants: Professor Ryo Umihara (Chief Researcher, Sumitomo Historical Archives), Professor Hitoshi Nagano (Morinomiya Academy of Medical Sciences), and Professor Emeritus Makoto Mayanagi (Ibaraki University), and Professor Masanobu Matsukawa (Lecturer, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies) moderated this Symposium. All are well-known experts in the field of medical history, and it was a great honor for the AJI to have their participation for this event.
Dr. Xiang specializes in the history of Japanese thought and the history of medical exchanges in East Asia. Her research centers on the idea of “restoration” among early modern Japanese medical intellectuals. In this book, she aims to extract the fundamental principles of the “restorative” philosophies from the “four great masters” in the traditional school known as Kohōha (古方派) in early modern Japan: Goto Kōsan (後藤艮山), Kagawa Shūan (香川修庵), Yamawaki Tōyō (山脇東洋), and Yoshimasu Tōdō (吉益東洞). Also, in light of the intellectual tide in East Asia at that time, her scope extends to a view of relationships with Itō Jinsai (伊藤仁斎), Ogyū Sorai (荻生徂徠), and their disciples. Significantly, she critically rethinks the existing view that Kohōha was formed as the antithesis to Goseiha (後世派), which is a school based on medical classics after the Tang and Sung eras, and in doing so, she sheds a new light on Kohōha.
In addition, Dr. Xiang talked about why she became involved in the study of the history of medicine and medical thought, including the background of her childhood. Also, she even shared an episode during the writing of this book in which she visited the graves of the thinkers who were her research subjects when she was stalled in her research process, and this encouraged her to complete her work. Sharing this kind of personal experience made the book launch more captivating for her audience.
Dr. Xiang talking about her book
The reviewers assessed Dr. Xiang’s book based on three criteria. Firstly, she was successful in shedding an alternative perspective on the study of Confucian medicine. Secondly, she eagerly undertook the reinterpretation of the study of restoration. Lastly, she was able to make several significant points in her book that paved the way for a re-examination of the conventional understanding. During the Q&A session, participants exchanged academically interesting viewpoints, including the time she had spent writing the book and the prospects for future research. Approximately 110 attendees from Japan and other countries joined in this Book Launch, making the event special.
Dr. Matsukawa Masanobu moderating this Book Launch
Professor Umihara reviewing Dr. Xiang’s book
Professor Nagano talking about her book
Professor Mayanagi commenting on her book
Please visit the following link for the Previous AJI Book Launch series:
https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/aji/publication/aji_book_club/