Introduction: Morrison and His Medical Activities

Robert Morrison was the first Protestant missionary to China, dedicated to cultural exchange between China and the West, including translating the Bible into Chinese and compiling the Chinese English Dictionary. He co edited "India China Search News" with Mi Lian to promote information communication, pay attention to medical issues, and open a clinic with Livingston in Macau. Morrison refuted the criticism of traditional Chinese medicine in the Encyclopedia Britannica and promoted the prosperity of medicine through botanical exploration. He was at the "mortise and tenon point" of communication between Chinese and Western medicine, providing a platform for Protestant missionary doctors to study and spread traditional Chinese medicine before their arrival in China after the interruption of Jesuit medical practice. The medical content of "Yin Zhong Suo Wen" and "Hua Ying Dictionary" reflects Morrison's introduction to traditional Chinese medicine and his contribution to the exchange of Chinese and Western medicine, demonstrating the characteristics of mutual interpretation and knowledge structure integration between the two.

The Harmony of Two Tai Chi, the Theory of Heaven and Earth, and Christian Cosmology

When introducing traditional Chinese medicine, Morrison not only focused on specific practices such as medication and diagnostic methods, but also delved into the philosophical ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, especially the concept of "unity of heaven and man". In his article published in "Yin Zhong Souwen", he provided a detailed introduction to traditional Chinese medicine theory, emphasizing that the human body is a miniature natural system that is connected to the natural world of the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, and embodies traditional Chinese medicine theories such as Tai Chi, Yin Yang, and organ differentiation. Morrison also linked traditional Chinese medicine's "sexology" with Christian cosmology, establishing a connection between Chinese and Western cosmology through the concept of "sexology". He compared Tai Chi to the "first cause" of the West, correcting the bias of Jesuit missionaries who worship God and suppress Tai Chi. Morrison also linked the concept of body and mind in traditional Chinese medicine with the Western concept of spirit and flesh, achieving the juxtaposition and integration of Chinese and Western body views through the "mixed" characteristics of translated language. He connected the two major civilizations of China and the West, secular and transcendent, by inheriting the concept of "sexology" from Jesuit missionaries and communicating and harmonizing with the philosophical psychology behind traditional Chinese medicine. Morrison's missionary duties foreshadowed a tendency towards the combination of theology and medicine, reflecting the idea of "missionary doctors" placing equal emphasis on "saving the heart" and "saving the body", and even prioritizing "saving the heart" over "saving the body".

The Communication between the "Three Souls Theory" of Christianity and the Traditional Chinese Medicine theory of organs and viscera

Explored how Morrison communicated and integrated the theory of traditional Chinese medicine organs with the Christian "Three Souls Theory". In his book "History of Chinese Medicine (I)", Morrison interpreted "Su Wen" as a discourse on visceral medicine, attempting to reconcile the "qi body" of traditional Chinese medicine with the "physiological body" of Western medicine. He integrated the "Zangxiang Theory" of traditional Chinese medicine with the "visceral studies" of Western medicine through translation, demonstrating the "hybridity" between the two. In the "Hua Ying Dictionary", Morrison directly translated traditional Chinese medicine organs using Western naming conventions, and explained them in detail using the theory of hidden phenomena in "Su Wen", elaborating on the relationship between the five elements of mutual generation and mutual restraint, as well as the five colors, five flavors, and five organs. He also briefly introduced Hippocrates' theory of bodily fluids, providing readers with a comparison. Morrison integrated the theory of soul in traditional Chinese medicine philosophy with the Catholic/Christian concept of "dividing the soul into three categories", constructing a mutual understanding and verification between the theories of soul in China and the West. He translated the "spirit" of "essence, qi, and spirit" as "anima", and classified the Chinese concept of "spirit" and the Western concept of "soul/anima" as similar concepts, integrating traditional Chinese medicine into a theological system of "body" - "soul" - "dons". Morrison attempted to integrate the traditional Chinese medicine theory of "the five viscera storing the spirit" to explain the soul, and his discourse presented a "mixed nature" between the "three categories of soul" and the "three categories of soul". The difference between him and Julius Caesar reflects the influence of traditional Chinese medicine classics, indicating that his harmonization of the theory of organs and viscera is a "mixed" discourse that combines Chinese and Western cultures.

The theory of four meridians, circulation theory, and the spiritual energy of "blood"

Explored how Morrison compared and reconciled the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine with the Western theory of blood circulation. Morrison explained "meridians" as a collective term for arteries and veins in the "Huaying Dictionary", attempting to break the silence of late Qing missionaries on the theory of meridians. He linked the theory of "qi and blood" in traditional Chinese medicine with the Western "spiritual school", viewing blood as the "soul" or "qi field", thus constructing a harmonious "theology medicine" discourse between the spirit and flesh. Morrison's explanation not only uses modern anatomical terminology, but also integrates traditional Chinese medicine philosophy and Western mysticism, linking the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine with the circulation theory of Western medicine through "sexology", reflecting the harmony of Chinese and Western medical concepts and the tension of Western theories. In addition, he also cited a large number of Chinese classics, connecting the theory of "qi transformation" in traditional Chinese medicine with the theory of circulation in Western medicine, and confirming the spiritual body view of Christianity.

Five concluding remarks

Emphasizing that as the first Protestant missionary of the London Missionary Society, Morrison's research and recognition of traditional Chinese medicine promoted the exchange of Chinese and Western medical cultures. His articles published in the "India China Search for News" and the compilation of medical entries in the "Chinese English Dictionary" have achieved the integration and adjustment of knowledge between Chinese and Western medicine, becoming an important milestone in cultural exchange between China and the West. Morrison integrated the knowledge structures and discourse systems of the East and the West, focused on the philosophical ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, and attempted to use "sexology" as a medium to explore the theoretical foundation and practical resources of mutual verification and learning. Starting from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, he established Tai Chi as the "first cause" through mutual verification between China and the West, revised the concept of "sexology" in the Jesuits of the Ming Dynasty, and connected the Western "binary view of spirit and flesh" through the translation of the "Ling Shu". Morrison also linked the theory of organs between Chinese and Western medicine through the translation system of the "Hua Ying Dictionary", blurring the boundary between the "vaporized body" and the "physiological body". He attempted to use the "Five Organs Concealing the Spirit Theory" in "Su Wen" to deal with the body views of the East and the West, integrating the Western theory of "dividing the soul into three categories" with the Chinese concept of "soul". In addition, he communicated the Western "spiritual school" and physiology with the concept of "qi and blood", cleverly contrasting the meridian circulation of traditional Chinese medicine with the circulation theory of Western medicine, and understanding the soul theory of Christianity. Morrison's introduction not only illuminated the process of the integration of Chinese and Western medicine from the 19th century to the early 20th century, but also reflected the construction mode of modern knowledge in cultural exchange through his cross-cultural integration practice and the "mixed" characteristics presented in his discourse.