The Beginning of Life

The journey of life begins at the moment of conception, followed by pregnancy, tocolysis and labor. As a baby's immune system is not yet fully developed, newborns often exhibit symptoms such as convulsion, digestive problems, vomiting, diarrhea, poxes and papules. However, through humanity's long history of child rearing, men have also accumulated a wealth of experience and developed ways of dealing with such ailments. This section provides an overview of how women in ancient times sought to conceive, how they dealt with pregnancy, prevented miscarriage and went through labor, as well as how people took care of postpartum women and children. Important gynecological and pediatric works on view include Furen Daquan Liangfang (Good Prescriptions from the Great Compendium on Women's Medicine), Chanbao Zhufang (Recipes for Child Birth), Luxin Jing (Canon of Infantile Fontanel), Xiaoer Yaozheng Zhenjue (Key Techniques for Treating and Examining Children) and Xinkan Renzhai Zhizhi Xiaoer Fanglun (Newly Printed Effective Recipes for Children from Yang Renzhai).