User:Gracesyl/sandbox

Clinical Encounters with Women
The act of diagnosing woman was not as simple as the diagnosing of men in traditional Chinese medicine. This was for several reasons: first, the treatment of sick women was expected to be called in by and take place under male authority. The visiting physician would then discuss the female's problems and diagnosis through the male. Second, women were often silent about their issues with doctors and male figures due to the societal expectation of female modesty and the presence of a male figure in the room. Third, the presence of male authority in the sick room and the patriarchal dominated society also caused doctors to reference their women and children patients "the anonymous category of family members (Jia Ren) or household (Ju Jia)" in their journals. This anonymity and lack of conversation between the doctor and woman patient led to the inquiry diagnosis of the Four Diagnostic Methods being the most challenging.

The study of medicine for women was called Fuke (known as gynecology in modern science and medicine); however, it has little to no ancient works based on it except for Fu Qing-zhu's Fu Qing Zhu Nu Ke (Fu Qing-zhu's Gynecology). The most challenging part of a woman's health in Traditional Chinese Medicine was pregnancy and postpartum, this is because there were many definitions of pregnancy in traditional Chinese medicine.

Pregnancy
The recognition of pregnancy in the western medical world has been around since the early 20th century ; however, traditional Chinese medicine has been dealing with pregnancy and postpartum throughout the seventeenth century. According to Charlotte Furth, "a pregnancy (in the seventeenth century) as a known bodily experience emerged [...] out of the liminality of menstrual irregularity, as uneasy digestion, and a sense of fullness". These symptoms were common among other illness as well, so the diagnosis of pregnancy often came later in the term. The Canon of the Pulse or the use of pulse in diagnosis stated that pregnancy was "a condition marked by symptoms of disorder in one whose pulse is normal" or "where the pulse and symptoms do not agree". Just as in the normal diagnosis process, women were often silent about suspected pregnancy, this led to many men in the households not knowing their wife or daughter was pregnant until complications arrived.

Complications through the misdiagnosis and silence of pregnancies often involved medically induced abortions, according to Furth's book, Dr.Cheng (her case study) "was unapologetic about endangering a fetus when pregnancy risked a mother's well being". The method of abortion was used through the ingestion of certain herbs and medicinal foods. Dr.Cheng gave his wife "peach kemel and Tibetan crocus (to break up blood and abort [the lump in her stomach]" . The practice of abortion was contrasted with the families disappointment and disapproval of the loss of the fetus and often led to familial complications down the line.

The Western medical acknowledgement of pregnancy would come in the early 20th century which “involves interpreting pregnancy itself as a disruption to health that necessarily requires expert medical intervention, and thinking of pregnancy as primarily about health and illness” which was in the late Qing dynasty, far after Cheng had written his works on the treatment of pregnancy and abortion.

Postpartum
If the baby and mother survived the term of the pregnancy, childbirth was then the next step. The tools provided for birth were: towels to catch the blood, a container for the placenta, a pregnancy sash to support the belly, and an infant swaddling wrap. With these tools, the baby was born, cleaned, and swaddled; however, the mother was then immediately the focus of the doctor to replenish her qi. In his writings, Dr.Cheng places a large amount of emphasis on the Four Diagnostic methods to deal with postpartum issues and instructs all physicians to "not neglect any [of the four methods]". The process of birthing was though to deplete a woman's blood level and qi so the most common treatments for postpartum were food (commonly garlic and ginseng), medicine, and rest. This process was followed up by a month checkin with the physician, a practice known as zuo yuezi.

Religious Impact on Cuisines
Following the major divide and boundary lines drawn around religions and where they were practiced, food became a large part of religion. Focusing mainly on the foods eaten, the three most diverse religions (Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam) developed their own distinct recipes, cultures, and practices around food. The three religions, although varying in recipes and practices, follow the two main principles around food: "the theory of the culinary cosmos and the principle of hierarchy." There is a third principle, however it involved sacrifice and over the years as religion and societal views on killing living things for religious purposes have changed, it is no longer considered a major principle. The basics for all three religions were bread, wine, and meat; however, all three of the food items had different significance and meanings in each different religion.

Buddhism
Starting in the fifth century, the earliest buddhist meals were made up of predominately rice, sugar, ghee, meat and alcohol. As time has passed, Buddhism has split into four major schools of thought, Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana and Zen Buddhism. Although alike in many ways, the schools often differ in the sorts of dietary restrictions they impose through their practices. Although it is often inferred that Buddha was vegetarian and chose to practice this for the discretion of animals, there is no evidence in his teachings that he states this directly. The teachings do state that killing is immoral; however, it is never stated that animals are involved in this practice and in the text of the Vinaya the act of eating meat is "permissible" as Buddha has done it himself. It is important to note, though, that many buddhist teaching downplay the consumption of meat and alcohol. This does not mean completely cut it out, but they did prefer the use of supplemental proteins and refreshments. Buddhist Monks often turned to fasting for spiritual guidance and were told to eat what ever was placed in their begging bowls, which made choosing or opting out of certain foods an invalid option. The buddhist religion and art of religious gastronomy spread in popularity all over East Asia and flourished mainly back in its homeland of India during the 16th and 17th centuries. Combining spices, new vegetables, and new cooking methods besides churning and heat pressure, the Buddhist cuisine adapted and transformed to what many of us know today as Indian cuisine.

Islam
Emerging in the ninth century, Islamic meals were made up mostly of wine, (meat) stews, sugar, and bread. The culture around Islamic food did not devel so far from its original roots as Buddhism did, as they often still emphasized meat and alcohol with most meals, bread (and the type of grain used) represented Gods love and resourcefulness for his creations, and the idea of treating oneself when eating. However, the culinary art developed in two stages: the first being Perso-Islamic cuisine from Mesopotamia and North African influences. Using a wide range of ingredients and chemical processing, the Perso-Islamic cuisine placed emphasis on the healing properties of food. According to the Qu'ran, God's creation (food) was "good and good Muslims should enjoy it." Food was also considered one of the greatest pleasures, according to the Baghdad Cookbook.

The second development is known as Turko-Islamic cuisine and places emphasis on rice and coffee.Developing aster the invasion of the Mongols, Turko-Islamic cuisine was considered a humble mans meal because it often focused on the use of grain for many versatile meals such as porridge, bread, boiled millet, and fried. The cuisine also spread mainly along trade routes through merchants and traveling royalty, the Turko-Islamic cuisine incorporates many spices and ingredients that were not known in the Muslim world during the late 14th and 15th century. The obsession with coffee and the role society plays in this cuisine is associated with the creation of modern day Turkish Coffee.

Christian
The idea of feasting and fasting rose with Christian cuisine in the late fifteenth century. Being based mainly out of wine and wheat, Christians would often refer to their meals as the (figurative) body and blood of Christ. This tradition of consuming bread and wine during a religious gathering or church ceremony is still widely practiced in Christianity today; however, many Church's have switched to grape juice and crackers for the sake of legal drinking age. The spread of Christian cuisine is based largely off of the vast expansion of Islamic cuisine in the centuries before hand, but often placed emphasis on different roles of certain foods. Bread (and wheat) played a more representative role in Christian cuisine than kindness role (like in Islamic cuisine) and alcohol was seen as a religious drink, not a downplayed refreshment (like in Buddhism). Placing emphasis on The Last Supper Christians see food as many different things, from representing Jesus' body to being a source of punishment during fasting. In modern times, food not only represents Christ's body, but also a gift for those in good or bad times. From giving birth to mourning the loss of a loved one, food is now an essential part of the Christian religion.

Revolutionizing Science and the Church
The relationship between the scientific revolution and the Catholic Church has always been widely debated. As stated in the play Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, "science is the legitimate and most beloved daughter of the Church. However, historical evidence proves other wise. There was a dramatic shift in think within the scientific revolution (and the following period of enlightenment) that not only threatened the Bible, but also the Church's authority.

Starting with Claudius Ptolemy in the second century, the ptolemaic theory of the universe has been widely accepted throughout Medieval Europe. The theory argued that the Earth lies in the center of the universe and everything (the sun, moon, and other planets) simply revolved around. It was accepted because it not only made sense to society, but also backed the Church's idea of how the cosmos formed and worked explained the Bible. This cosmos theory, however, did not explain all the observations in the universe and often left many wondering about the unanswered questions. This is when the Scientific revolution began.

In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus challenged the geocentric theory proposed by Aristotle and the Ptolemaic theory presented by Claudius by stating that the Earth and all other planets actually revolved around the sun. This heliocentric theory is defined as " the sun is considered to be the center of the solar system. All of the planets rotate about the Sun. The Moon rotates around the Earth, and thus moves around the Sun with the Earth." This theory is defined as the beginning of a dramatic shift in thought and belief towards scientific theory, which in turn is against the Church's ideas. The threat of Copernicus' reasoning and scientific evidence against the Church's ideas caused him to be be deemed a heretic and outcasted from society. As stated by Galileo Galilei, "In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." This quote speaks to how the ideas posed in scientific revolution challenged not only the Church's authority with mathematical and scientific evidence, but also what the Bible stated. Known also as the Copernicus Revolution, this challenge to the Church's authority was not only based in Europe, but also had roots in many other ancient civilizations.

As the question posed by Joseph Needham states, "Why did modern science, the mathematization of the hypothesis about nature [...] rise only in the west at the time of Galileo?" The answer to this question is undecided, however many scholars have agreed that the European scientific revolution derives its theories from many other ancient ideals including Chinese math, Islamic philosophy, and Arabic astrology. The reason is rose in Western Europe is because of the freedom to pursue other ideas (that go against Church authorities) provided by most European universities.

Posed by author Peter Dear, the revolution can be thought of in two parts: the scientific renaissance and the revolution. The renaissance is considered the actual rebirth of the ideas, where mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and physics were all being rediscovered in a sense. Following this rediscovery, people began to question the ideas of the church (which could be considered antique). Dear also references the fact that when Historian's study the relationship between scientists and the Church, they are not taking the standpoint that either view is true, instead they look at it the reasons they believed their side and then "Find out; truth or falsity are determined by arguments and it is the arguments that can be studied historically."

Throughout the 16th and 17th century, the Church continued to feel threatened by the emerging ideas by the scientists, most prominently Copernicus (as stated above), Bruno, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. In response, the church deemed them heretics and attacked some of the most defiant ones including burning Bruno at the stake and denouncing Galileo's statement and placing him under house arrest until his death in 1642.

The scientific revolution and its challenging of the Church's ideas was followed by the Period of Enlightenment where people not only questions the Church's ideas but also began to question their authority. The central theme of this period is that human society "could be changed and improved by human action guided by reason" as stated by Marquis de Condorcet. These periods of changing thought eventually led to the prominent holdings of liberty, progress, tolerance, and scientific theories within the Church.