Tibetannet

A Tibetan medicine classic has entered into the national heritage archives, symbolizing the recognition of the cultural value of the ethnic medicine in the whole society, Tibet Daily reported.

The Four Volumes of Medicine (FVM) both the handwritten version in gold ink and the printed version on woodblock during the 16th-18th centuries, have long histories and are rich in content. The texts have been preserved completely intact and possess very high academic value. To this day, they are rare works of literature and art, according to the Tibet Autonomous Region Health and Family Planning Commission.

The addition of FVM to China's historical relic list follows the approval of "Mentsikhang"(Tibetan Medicine and Calculation College) by the State Council as the seventh batch of key cultural relics protection in 2013. Therefore, the Tibetan medicine hospital in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is in charge of preserving the FVM has become the only institute who won such an honor in the Tibetan medicine sector.

The successful listing of the FVM as the national heritage represents Tibet's first step in promoting Tibetan medical literature Next Tibet will continue to apply for the FVM to be selected for the "World Memory Directory: the Asia-Pacific Region" as well as the "World Memory Directory", in order to promote theTibetan medicine to the rest of the world, integrate it with other cultures of the world, and to upgrade the protection of Tibetan medical literature to an more advanced level.

Tibetan medicine has a history of over 6,000 years, and boasts many different kinds of ancient books and a complete theoretical system. It has attracted the world attention of the medical field with its rich medical resources, scientific processing and curing crafts. It is a legacy which ethnic Tibetans contributes to the rest of the world.

However, before the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the Tibetan medicine was mostly kept inside the monasteries, which made it difficult to develop. After the liberation, the clinical medical treatment was progressively standardized. But with the rapid development of modern medicine, the traditional Tibetan medicine was faced with the problems of losing its ancient texts, a deficit of qualified inheritors, and preserving the special treatment practices in its development.

Since the democratic reform of Tibet, the central government has attached great importance to the development and preservation of the traditional Tibetan medicine.

It is reported that more than 800 ancient Tibetan medical texts in the Tibet Autonomous Region have already been digitized, and a database has been created for Tibetan medical literature and Tibetan medical prescriptions. More than 100 ancient books and more than 100,000 prescriptions have been entered into the database and are currently open to the public. This means that not only will the tradition of ancient Tibetan medicine be carried on in an effective manner, but it also provides a new impetus for scientific research.