MEIDŌ ZU (MEITANG TU)

£27,500 · Offered by Sokol Books

The title of the prints: Meid_(Illuminated hall) is derived from the name of the building in which the ancient Chinese Emperors conducted rituals and ceremonies related to cosmology. Here, the human body is the Meid , and a microcosm of the external world, the model and the image of the universe are depicted within it. In the illustration of three views of the figure, there are twelve main qi energy channels (meridians) handcoloured in red, yellow, white, black, and blue, representing Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood, based on the traditional Chinese philosophy of Wu Xing (Five elements /phases of the universe). The meridians and five phases combine and interact in a profound and complex manner. The invisible meridians run through the body, each corresponding to a particular organ, forming an intricate network of three hundred and forty-nine acu-moxa points, suggestive of constellations in the night sky. The scrolls indicate the location of the acupuncture points and how deep the needle should go, as well as where to and not to apply moxibustion herbs to release or withhold energy. The classical Chinese text would not have been comprehensible to ordinary Japanese so these were designed for scholars. There was no public medical college in Japan at that time and many practising physicians also doubled as teachers, running small private medical schools alongside their practices. Hanging scrolls would have been eminently suited for both purposes. It was believed that acupunctur

• Binding: Hardcover

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