In western Asia and Iran in particular, however, it was the ancient Chinese technique of pulse diagnosis that was most admired, and its introduction to the Islamic west can be traced to the Mongols. Various books on the technique were translated into Mongolian and were highly esteemed, including the standard book on the pulse, the Mai-ching of Wang Shu-ho. The pulse, the heartbeat, and the blood flow were all interconnected and were considered crucial for monitoring and manipulating general health. The papal envoy William of Rubruck spoke highly of the Chinese herbalists and practitioners of pulse diagnosis on his visit (1253-55) to the Mongol capital, Qaraqorum, though he criticized them for their ignorance of the diagnostic importance of urine samples. In fact, the Chinese valued urine highly, but for its remedial properties rather than for its diagnostic uses.
The Yuan Shih recounts how in 1241 Ogodei Qa'an fell seriously ill with an irregular mai (pulse). On Ogodei's orders, a general amnesty was proclaimed, and soon afterward the Qa'an's physicians again checked his pulse and found that it had returned to normal. This story, whatever its historical accuracy, is revealing because it demonstrates the Mongol belief in an intimate connection between physical health and the moral order.
Pulse-based medicine was put firmly in the forefront of Mongol medical practice when Qubilai ordered the Uighur scholar An-ts'ung to translate the ancient Chinese manual of pulse scholarship, the Nan-ching, into Mongolian, and then in 1305 his successor, Temiir, made pulse diagnosis for adults and for children top of the list of 10 compulsory subjects on which medical students at the Imperial Academy of Medicine (T'ai-i yuan) were to be examined. The Iranian prime minister, Rashid al-DIn, included some of the set texts on pulse diagnosis among the texts he translated for use within the Persian Il-Khanid administration.
World History
