Ancient and Medieval Chinese Recipes for Aphrodisiacs and Philters

This article surveys recipes for aphrodisiacs and philters from the medical manuscripts discovered in Mawangdui tomb 3 (burial dated 168 BCE) and Dunhuang manuscripts (seventh to tenth centuries CE). Despite medical views that defined sex as a form of physiological and spiritual cultivation, and tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsian medicine (Leiden, Netherlands) Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 91 - 100
Main Author Harper, Donald
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands BRILL 2005
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Summary:This article surveys recipes for aphrodisiacs and philters from the medical manuscripts discovered in Mawangdui tomb 3 (burial dated 168 BCE) and Dunhuang manuscripts (seventh to tenth centuries CE). Despite medical views that defined sex as a form of physiological and spiritual cultivation, and that criticised se 'lust,' the aphrodisiac and philter recipes reveal elements of eroticism in ancient and medieval Chinese views of sex.
Bibliography:href:15734218_001_01_s004_text.pdf
ark:/67375/JKT-HK8C0SXR-J
istex:E01BBD13167AE443AE642CFEB81F2D535E2D1137
ISSN:1573-420X
1573-4218
1573-420X
DOI:10.1163/157342105777996764