How did the ancient navy ensure medical and health care at sea?

One of the world's advanced technologies in ancient China was navigation technology.

According to American scholar Dupuy and others, as early as the Han Dynasty in China, China's shipbuilding technology was catching up, and hull designs such as rudder, paddle and bulkhead were all initiated by China people. Equally powerful, of course, is China's ancient navy. From the Han and Tang Dynasties to the Song and Ming Dynasties, the expedition of China's ancient navy was also a common glory, and the grandeur of Zheng He's fleet's voyage to the West was even more fascinating. But it often brings a problem: under the ancient medical conditions, how to guarantee the medical and health problems during the large-scale voyage of the navy?

In the modern navy, medical and health problems are undoubtedly major issues. In the ancient navy, this is a thorny issue, especially when it is far from home and enters foreign waters, climate and hydrological bacteria will threaten the health of the fleet at any time. For example, in the era of new navigation routes, even though the Portuguese da Gama fleet, which created a miracle of navigation, was fully guaranteed, less than half of the people finally returned safely, and most of them died of illness.

In the ancient fleet of China, there are many reliable ways to deal with this terrorist problem.

1, you should choose a doctor.

From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, all the navy divisions in China should bring enough reliable doctors.

During the famous Zheng He's voyage to the West, Zheng He's fleet of more than 20,000 people was equipped with 180 doctors. According to the Ming History, Zheng He's fleet was equipped with a doctor for every 150 soldiers. What is this concept? At the same time, among the three most elite battalions in the Ming Dynasty, only 14 doctors equipped100000 troops. In contrast, the medical security level of Zheng He's navy is unprecedented.

At that time, the quality of doctors in Zheng He's fleet was higher than before. According to the historical records of Jiaxing Prefecture and Tongzhi of Jiangnan, there are doctors in the fleet, such as Chen Yicheng, a medical officer in a hospital, Zheng Peng, a famous doctor in Taiping Prefecture, and Kuang Yu, a famous son of Changshu. 180 doctors, each of whom was taken out and placed on the Daming border, are first-class and first-class famous doctors. Before joining the fleet, he made great achievements in rejuvenation.

Such a strong medical team can naturally make the crew more confident in their health.

2. "Humanized" design management of ships

If you want to stay away from the diseases on the voyage, the medical team is of course important, but the health care in daily life is more important. Ancient ships in China paid special attention to "humanized" ship design. Hull should not only pay attention to navigation safety, but also pay attention to comfortable life.

For example, the Song Dynasty ship unearthed in Quanzhou has a humanized design that later generations could not think of: the whole warship is divided into thirteen cabins, including warehouse, food warehouse and living warehouse, and there is also a fresh water cabinet in the kitchen, which is convenient for storing clean fresh water. There are designated toilets on each deck. Daily life is very comfortable.

Such comfortable living conditions at sea also put an end to the occurrence of diseases to the greatest extent.

Equally humane is the diet of the crew during the voyage. The navy of the Tang Dynasty was equipped with dry food, biscuits and various vegetables according to various notes at that time. In the Song Dynasty, it went further. In the Song Dynasty, the big ships that went out to sea by maritime merchants generally had to reserve grain for one year, and even had to raise animals and make wine on board. In the Song Dynasty ships unearthed in Quanzhou, fruit shells were also found at that time, including coconut shells and litchi shells. At that time, China crew's sea diet was so rich.

Moreover, the same object: tea bowl fragments, will also be found on various shipwrecks unearthed in the Ming Dynasty. For example, on the Amin warship in Penglai, Shandong Province, a large number of tea bowls are needed. This also means that drinking tea was very popular in the navy of the Ming Dynasty. The health of soldiers is naturally more secure.

During this unprecedented voyage, Zheng He's fleet paid more attention to the scientific collocation of diet. Zheng He's fleet carried "salt sauce, tea and wine" and other foods. I kept buying vegetables and fruits along the way. There is also a special wooden trough on board, which is planted with fresh ginger and various vegetables. Serious diseases such as scurvy caused by vitamin deficiency are naturally far away.

3. Powerful medical notes

Has Zheng He's fleet, with such adequate medical security, ever been threatened by diseases? It is recorded in Lu Cai's On Ye Ke Cheng in the Ming Dynasty that a soldier in Zheng He's fleet was ill at that time, and then the fleet put him on an island, leaving enough fresh water and food for the soldiers to eat. After living on the island for more than a year, the soldier gradually got better. Then when the fleet came back, it took him back to Daming.

It can be seen that even with such strict protection, under the medical conditions at that time, the disease was inevitable.

But what is commendable is that China never stopped summing up his medical experience during his voyage. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, when wuyue was fighting for hegemony, doctors who were embedded in the army at that time recorded many experiences in health and epidemic prevention. For example, the experience and technology of treating and preventing frostbite came from that era.

Many people in Zheng He's fleet even picked up pens and wrote down the coastal customs. Also recorded a lot of health knowledge. In Ying Ya Sheng Lan, the occurrence time of plagues in Southeast Asia was recorded, and September was regarded as the high incidence period of plagues in Southeast Asia.

Powerful doctors in Zheng He's fleet left powerful medical notes, as well as all kinds of beautiful talks about treatment. Historical records such as Nanyang Ji and Taiwan Province Provincial Records show that Zheng He's fleet sailed all the way and rescued local villagers many times along the way, leaving many beautiful talks so far. Kuang Yu, a doctor of Zheng He's fleet, wrote a book entitled "A View of the Victory of Hua Yi", which recorded the customs of countries along the way. Along the way, these serious doctors also paid attention to various novel drugs, such as frankincense, antelope horn and yellow wax, which were discovered by doctors of Zheng He's fleet. Since then, they have been introduced to China, and they are still essential medicines for life.

The development of medical security and the evolution of technology have been accurately recorded and passed down from generation to generation. China's ancient fleet, these famous or unknown doctors, are undisputed heroes.