| Titre | Âmes et animation du corps. La notion de shen dans la médecine chinoise antique | |
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| Auteur | Catherine Despeux | |
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Revue | Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident |
| Numéro | no 29, 2007 De l'esprit aux esprits. Enquête sur la notion de shen | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | II. Âmes du corps ou âme du monde? Les esprits dans la médecine et les pratiques de soi / Body, Soul, World : Spirits in Chinese Medicine and Self-cultivation |
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| Page | 71-94 | |
| Résumé |
Despeux Catherine. Âmes et animation du corps. La notion de shen dans la médecine chinoise antique. In: Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident. 2007, N°29, De l'esprit aux esprits. Enquête sur la notion de shen. Of self and spirits : exploring shen in China. pp. 71-94. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Résumé anglais |
Animation of the Body. The Notion of Shen in Early Chinese Medical Literature
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, a medical compendium dating to the Han, presents various and sometimes conflicting notions of shen. Rather than being understood in the sense of " spirit ", they most adequately correspond to the notion of a " soul " (in French : âme), a concept much debated in Greek, and later, French philosophy. Shen bears characteristics resembling those associated with qi " breath/energy ", the loss of which leads to death. It is to be preserved as a precious property, and must be prevented from escaping the body or being harmed by external forces or the needle of the medical practitioner who acts as a physician of body and soul. Despite the importance of the heart as its seat, the text further speaks of shen associated with the five organs and of shen associated with various parts of the body, making it difficult to understand whether shen refers to a single entity that assumes several functions according to its location in the body, or whether it refers to a plurality of elements. A basic feature of shen, singular or plural, is that it circulates within the body according to climatic or seasonal changes. The renshen " body soul ", in keeping with the renqi " breath of the body ", moves according to the moon cycle, the age of the person and the time in the year. Different systems were used to calculate these movements, probably reflecting a plurality of views. The Inner Canon twice advances the idea of a jade axis around which the soul constantly moves following a regular course, like stars circling the Pole. The course followed by the human soul within the body was also enacted by the sovereign in the Bright Hall, a symbolic palace that replicated empire and cosmos. body according to climatic or seasonal changes. The renshen " body soul ", in keeping with the renqi " breath of the body ", moves according to the moon cycle, the age of the person and the time in the year. Different systems were used to calculate these movements, probably reflecting a plurality of views. The Inner Canon twice advances the idea of a jade axis around which the soul constantly moves following a regular course, like stars circling the Pole. The course followed by the human soul within the body was also enacted by the sovereign in the Bright Hall, a symbolic palace that replicated empire and cosmos. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/oroc_0754-5010_2007_num_29_29_1086 |
