Written by John Immel, Asheville, NC

The Development of Medicine in Silk Road Cultures

Across the ancient silk road cultures a common theory of medicine arose starting in 384 B.C. A hallmark of this theory is the assessment and treatment of disease using biocharacteristics (hot, cold, wetness, dryness, fluid thickness, thinness, etc.).

Under this functional approach to medicine, diet, herbs, and lifestyle changes were uniquely fitted to oppose imbalanced characteristics (for example, a cooling herb used to treat hot inflammation). The result was a rich, but user-friendly system of wellness for physicians & lay people to alleviate disease, improve quality of life, and harmonize their body using natural substances from their environment.

Biocharacteristics theory forms the origin and basis of all functional medicine.

Outline of the Biocharacteristic Medical Model

The biocharacteristics theory of medicine was widely popular, and adopted in different forms by nearly all silk road cultures from Europe to China. It dominated medical practice for nearly 1,800 years lasting until the 1500s A.D when it was abruptly abandoned due to advancements in biochemistry. It was known as Ayurveda in India, Unani Tibb in the Middle East, and Greek Medicine in Europe.

Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road

Traders, military, creatives and diplomats traveled the Silk Road from the Han Empire to Central Asia, the Middle East, and through to Venice. They brought with them much more than trade supplies. They also carried religious beliefs, language and, especially relevant to us, ideas around medicine. (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019)

Through the slow process of excavation during the 20th Century, it has been found that the cultural exchanges that occurred along the Silk Road were much greater, and much wider-reaching, than we may have imagined. (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019)

During the second half of the first millennium, cross-cultural information sharing was more the norm than the exception. (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019)

Similarities have been drawn between pillars of medical standards like 'The Canon of Medicine', written by Iranian Ibn Sina (anglicized as Avicenna) and the Tibetan Zla ba'i rgyal po (Medical Investigations of the Lunar King). (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019; Zhen, Y, 2007).

Research into these similarities and the behavior of those moving along the Silk Road lead to the belief that medicine can be viewed as much more interconnected than we may have previously thought and warrants a re-evaluation of what constitutes the terms 'Eastern' and 'Western' when looking at medical systems of the time (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019).

In the research, there is a growing preference for looking at the 'exchanges' rather than the 'cultures' to get a real idea of how knowledge was shared, beyond the community elites of the time (Yoeli-Tlalim, R, 2019).

Main Branches

• Greek Medicine
• Ayurveda Medicine
• Chinese Medicine
• Unani Tibb

Timeline, History & Main Innovators

• Greece - Greek Medicine (600-320 B.C.)
  • Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.) - Aristotle's most important contribution to the theory of Greek Medicine was his doctrine of the four basic qualities: Hot, Cold, Wet, and Dry. Aristotle also formulated virtue ethics, a characteristics based model for mental health.
• India - Biocharacteristics introduced into Ayurvedic Medicine (250 B.C.)
  • Alexander the Great brought Greek culture to the Vedic culture in 323 B.C.
  • Charaka Samhita (250 B.C.) - The main classical text of Ayurveda where the concept of biocharacteristics is tied to Ayurveda.
• Chinese medicine (100 B.C.)
  • The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine
• Roman Empire
  Dioscorides - De Materia Medica (50 A.D.) Galen (200 A.D.)
• Throughout Muslim World (Unani Tibb)
  • Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Raz (854-932 A.D.)i - Greatest advancements in medical theory of his time - a main source of Avicenna's canon.
  • Avicenna Canon of Medicine (1000 A.D.)
• Medieval Scholastic Period
  • Moses ben Maimon, commonly known as Maimonides (1135-1204 A.D.)
  • Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae (1200 A.D.) expanded upon Aristotle's theory of virtue ethics.
• Greek medicine revival
  • Nicolao Leoniceno (1428-1524 A.D.)
• Biocharacteristics theory replaced by modern medicine (1500-1600 A.D.).
  • Paraclesus (Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenhem) (1493-1541 A.D.) threw out all books of prior medical authorities in the Protestant Reformation era.
  • Mental Health - Around this same time, virtue ethics was morphed into a law (or rule-based ethics), instead of one founded on directing oneself to true happiness. By the late 1800s, the use of rule based ethics for mental health was replaced by Freud's model that mental illness is caused by repressed instincts.

Why Did the Model Fall Out of Favor?

In western Europe, the rejection of biocharacteristic theory was a side-effect of rejection of the humors. Over time, excessive focus & promotion of humors in Greek medicine (and doshas in Ayurveda) caused these systems become identified as humoral theories, instead of biocharacteristic theories. In Greek medicine, the humors were considered to be substances bearing the biocharacteristics. When modern biochemistry failed to prove the existence of the humors as substances, it also threw out the theory of biocharacteristics. However, the theory of biocharacteristics has never been invalidated, and its long history of use down to the modern the day continues across many silk road cultures.

Summary

The biocharacteristic theory of medicine was the dominant medical theory for thousands of years. As it developed, each culture innovated on the basic theory in unique ways. Although rejected by modern medicine, practitioners of Ayurveda, Unani Tibb, and Chinese medicine testify to its modern relevance. The biocharacteristics theory of medicine continues to be explored and developed. Its simple approach is inexpensive, and easy to learn and use.

The professional student of modern biocharacteristics theory can benefit from learning to apply innovations from all the cultures that contributed to it throughout its long & successful history of use.

How Does the Model Work? Exploring Your Biocharacteristics

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