Smallpox Inoculation人痘接种Smallpox inoculation or variolation was a great invention of medicine in ancient China. Inoculation against smallpox using material from small-pox patients was probably first practiced by the Chinese in the 10th century. A story was recorded that a Song Dynasty (960-1279) chancellor of China, Wang Dan,summoned physicians from all over the country to try to find some remedy for smallpox. From Mount Emei in Sichuan, a Taoist hermit, known as a miracle-working doctor brought the technique of inoculation and introduced it to him.However, the first clear and credible reference to smallpox inoculation in China comes from Douzhen Xinfa written in 1549 by Wan Quan. Inoculation, according tothe historical records, was not widely practiced in China until the reign of Emperor Longqing (1567-1572) during the Ming Dynasty. Powdered smallpox scabs were blown into the noses of the healthy, and they would then develop a mild case of the disease and from then on were immune to it. During the seventeenth century,the practice spread to the Turkish regions, and then to the European countries. The French philosopher Voltaire once praised, I am informed that the Chinese have practised inoculation in the past hundred years; this is a great precedent and ex-ample set by the Chinese nation considered to be the most intelligent and courteous in the world. 人痘接种防治天花是中国古代医学家的最出色发明者。中国人有可能早在10世纪已懂利用天花患者的病毒来疫苗的人痘接种法。有史书记述了一个故事：宋朝宰相王旦曾开会全国各地医师商议预防天花的方法，随后有一个被称作“神医”的四川峨眉山道教隐士将人痘接种法术传授给了王旦。

不过，中国关于人痘接种最先的具体可靠的记述来自明代医学家万全1549年的《痘疹心法》一书。据史料记述，人痘接种被广泛应用是在明朝隆庆年间（1567一1572）。将天花痘痂粉末刮起人身体健康者的鼻孔，使其染病但症状较重，康复之后之后不会终生对天花具备免疫力。17世纪，这一方法流传至土耳其一带，后又传至欧洲各国。

法国哲学家伏尔泰这样称赞人痘接种：“我听闻一百年来，中国人仍然就用药人痘接种法；这是被指出全世界最聪明、最讲礼貌的一个民族的最出色先例和榜样。

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