Books by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
It is rarely appreciated how much of the history of Eurasian medicine in the premodern period hin... more It is rarely appreciated how much of the history of Eurasian medicine in the premodern period hinges on cross-cultural interactions and knowledge transmissions. Using manuscripts found in key Eurasian nodes of the medieval world – Dunhuang, Kucha, the Cairo Genizah and Tabriz – the book analyses a number of case-studies of Eurasian medical encounters, giving a voice to places, languages, people and narratives which were once prominent but have gone silent.
This is an important book for those interested in the history of medicine and the transmissions of knowledge that have taken place over the course of global history.
Rashīd al-Dīn (1274–1318), physician and powerful minister at the court of the Ilkhans, was a key... more Rashīd al-Dīn (1274–1318), physician and powerful minister at the court of the Ilkhans, was a key figure in the cosmopolitan milieu in Iran under Mongol rule. He set up an area in the vicinity of the court where philosophers, doctors, astronomers and historians from different parts of Eurasia lived together, exchanged ideas and produced books. He was himself involved in collecting, collating and editing these materials, and the substantial oeuvre that resulted is a gold-mine for anyone studying the transmission of knowledge across cultures. By bringing together contributions from the fields of the history of religion, medicine, science and art, this book examines the cultural dynamics of Rashīd al-Dīn’s circle. It addresses questions such as: How were different or conflicting perceptions mediated? What were Rashīd al-Dīn’s aims in gathering information about different religions and societies? To what extent does Rashīd al-Dīn’s intellectual contribution represent something new and different from its individual components?
Edited Special Issues by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
Asian Medicine, 2021
Special issue of Asian Medicine with a focus on COVID-19 and epidemics in Asian Medicine. The iss... more Special issue of Asian Medicine with a focus on COVID-19 and epidemics in Asian Medicine. The issue is Open Access in response to the pandemic, and all the papers can be downloaded from the URL below or from the link in this page.
https://brill.com/view/journals/asme/16/1/asme.16.issue-1.xml
Articles are both contemporary and historical, and discuss the following themes:
Early COVID pandemic in Wuhan and TCM responses-presenting the research studies done on herbal remedies and public health response.
Institutional difference in Traditional Korean medicine in Korea.
Responses in Tibetan communities in North America and nosological definitions amid global Sowa Rigpa research networks.
A literary reflection from an ICU ward in Singapore.
A preliminary history of Zoonotic Theory in China.
Epidemics in Seventeenth-Century Siam.
Buddist perceptions of and ritual responses to epidemic in early modern China, Japan and Tibet.
Papers by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
In: Lennart Lehmhaus (ed), Defining Jewish Medicine: Transfer of Medical Knowledge in Jewish Cultures and Traditions. , 2021
The Hebrew text referred to as Sefer refu'ot ("Book of Remedies") or Sefer Asaf ("Book of Asaf") ... more The Hebrew text referred to as Sefer refu'ot ("Book of Remedies") or Sefer Asaf ("Book of Asaf") is a very important text not only in the history of the Hebrew medical sciences, but also in the history of medicine as a whole. 1 The text is an extensive medical compendium, containing a kind of 'medical history', sections on anatomy, embryology, pulse and urine diagnosis, seasonal regimen, a medical oath and a long materia medica section. This paper examines the narrative on the origins of medical knowledge as found in the Book of Asaf. This narrative presents the medical knowledge which follows it as deriving from Eurasian input. Narratives on the origins of knowledge such as this one both reflect and construct views on medicine and hence are important in providing a more poly-vocal history of medicine, taking into account local cultures of historiographies. More broadly, taking such accounts seriously can help to write histories of medicine rather than the history of medicine. As Nappi has pointed out, such attempts require taking local diversities in historiography seriously, and translating local differences into a meaningful common conversation. 2 Narratives on the origins and history of medicine-and the history of knowledge more generall-are important within this scope for a number of reasons. Firstly, an analysis of how and why they were constructed can reveal important political, religious, economic and cultural factors at play at the time of construction. Secondly, narratives of this sort raise the large and complicated question of whether and to what extent such accounts actually reflect the nature of the knowledge they describe. In other words, they raise questions like: when and why does a culture/religion/state ideology choose to present/construct itself as multicultural? Are there correspondences between being multi-cultural and of declaring a culture as such? The preface of the Book of Asaf has been known to scholars for a century and a half, although in ways which have caused a fair amount of confusion. 3 The preface was first * Research for this paper was funded by the Wellcome Trust (grant no. 088251). I would like to thank Tamás Visi and Lennart Lehmhaus for their comments on a previous version of this paper. 1 For two recent publications, see Visi 2016 and Yoeli-Tlalim 2018. 2 As called on by Nappi in regards to the history of science at large, see Nappi 2013. 3 The following overview of the history of the study of the Introduction is based on Nutton 2012.
Imagining Chinese Medicine, 2018
The proceedings from the British Library conference were published by the authors in a special is... more The proceedings from the British Library conference were published by the authors in a special issue of Asian Medicine: tradition and modernity 2007, vol. 3, issue 2. Many scholars have helped with the research for this chapter, especially Peter Zieme, Geoffrey Samuel and Dieter Maue. We are also very grateful to Jack Hartnell who shared insights which have led directly to the arguments in this chapter. See Hartnell 2017a. Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim's work was supported by the Wellcome Trust. 1 The earliest European version of the Zodiac Man has been identified as bnf ms. Lat. 7028, fol. 154r, dating to the 11th century.
Asian Medicine and COVID-19: Ethnologies, Histories, Reflections, 2021
Introduction to special issue of Asian Medicine on COVID-19 and epidemics throughout history.
In: Petros Bouras-Vallianatos and Barbara Zipser (eds), Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Galen, Leiden: Brill, 2019, pp. 594-608, 2019
Although one can generally say that the place of Galen in the history of Asian medical systems is... more Although one can generally say that the place of Galen in the history of Asian medical systems is rather minor, such a statement nonetheless requires some qualification. Galen appears in the rich Tibetan literary genre of medical histories as one of the figures who brought medical knowledge to Tibet. More significantly, in India, Galen was a key figure in unani (literally “Greek medicine”), which continues to thrive on the subcontinent. With regards to China, there are a number of anecdotal mentions of Galen in works either referring to China or composed in China. In most of the cases discussed here, Galen comes to Asia through mediating languages, primarily Persian and Syriac, and medical traditions — Islamic medicine in the case of India and Renaissance medicine in the case of the Jesuits in China. Hence, the story of Galen in Asia is to a large degree an extension of these medical and literary traditions.
Two related but separate issues need addressing when trying to assess the place of Galen in Asia. The first issue is an assessment of mentions of Galen in Asian texts and contexts. Narratives on the origins and history of medicine, and knowledge more generally, are important within this regard. Analysis of how and why these narratives were constructed can reveal important political, religious, economic, and cultural factors at play. The second issue is the presence, or lack thereof, of Galenic medical knowledge within Asian traditions. These two issues in turn raise a third one involving the relationship between them: If a tradition declares itself to be influenced by Galenic medicine, does it necessarily mean that it is so? Narratives on the origins of medical knowledge raise the large and complicated question of whether and to what extent such accounts actually reflect the nature of the knowledge they describe. In other words, they raise questions like: When and why does a culture, religion, or state ideology choose to present or construct itself as linked to a particular culture? Are there correspondences between declaring a tradition as linked to a particular tradition and the tradition indeed being linked?
In: Vivienne Lo and Penelope Barrett (eds), Imagining Chinese Medicine, Leiden: Brill, 2018., 2018
In: Vivienne Lo and Penelope Barrett (eds), Imagining Chinese Medicine, Leiden: Brill, 2018, pp. 429-440.
This paper focuses on a Tibetan image of divination found in the Wellcome Images collection (imag... more This paper focuses on a Tibetan image of divination found in the Wellcome Images collection (image number L0035124), illustrating the close association between divination and medicine as taught and practised in the Tibetan medical tradition.
The paper links visual imagery found in this illustration with some of its corresponding theoretical considerations and practical applications. The main focus are two motifs: the turtle and the magic square. The paper analyses some similarities between the Tibetan and Chinese notions illustrated in this image. It also discusses an image depicting the some motifs from the Ilkhanid court in Iran.
Aleph , 2018
The Hebrew medical text referred to as Sefer Refuʾot or Sefer Asaf has long been one of the great... more The Hebrew medical text referred to as Sefer Refuʾot or Sefer Asaf has long been one of the greatest mysteries of Hebrew science with regards to fundamental questions such as the date and place of its composition and the identity of its author or authors. It has been dated anytime between the third and the eleventh centuries, with its composition located anywhere between Persia and southern Italy.
This paper explores some of the Persian lore in Sefer Asaf: the figure of Asaf himself, the similarity with other Persian or Persian-influenced accounts of the origins of the sciences, the appearance of the Indo-Iranian motif of the trees of medicine, the central importance given to Indic medical knowledge, and the form and use of the Persian months in the text.
Previous important contributions to the study of Sefer Asaf have argued for a Syriac connection; several other studies have linked the text to a Persian cultural milieu. The information presented here links those two and argues for dependence on material deriving from the Church of the East in Persia.
The book is a collection of essays offering a glance at the contacts between astrology and medici... more The book is a collection of essays offering a glance at the contacts between astrology and medicine across different cultural contexts, and at different periods of time. The volume includes the following articles: Nils P. Heeßel, Astrological Medicine in Babylonia; Vivian Nutton, Greek ...
Theresia Hofer (ed), Bodies in Balance: The Art of Tibetan Medicine, 2014
Scribes, Texts, and Rituals in Early Tibet and Dunhuang, pp. 53-60. , 2013
The Tibetan medical manuscripts from Dunhuang are few yet they are of great importance for our un... more The Tibetan medical manuscripts from Dunhuang are few yet they are of great importance for our understanding of the development of Tibetan medicine and for the understanding of transmissions of substances and ideas in and around Dunhuang. These medical manuscripts are largely practice-based, but nevertheless include important information for understanding some of their theoretical assumptions. Tibetan medical histories refer to the early stages of Tibetan medicine as multi-cultural, deriving from all great traditions neighboring Tibet. The main focus of this paper will be assessing in what way do the Tibetan medical manuscripts from Dunhuang reflect this multicultural character of early Tibetan medicine by looking at foreign words and mentions of foreign places in these texts.
This paper readdresses the assertion found in much secondary literature that Greek medicine was a... more This paper readdresses the assertion found in much secondary literature that Greek medicine was adopted in Tibet in the seventh and eighth centuries. I discuss some of the traces of Galenic medical knowledge in early Tibetan medicine, and raise the question of why Tibetan medical histories who mention Galen give Galenic medicine a much more significant place than is evidenced in the Tibetan medical literature itself. I discuss some historiographical considerations and argue that the centrality given to Galenic medicine is more indicative of the period in which these sources are written than of the period which they presumably describe.
Asian Medicine, Jan 1, 2007
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Books by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
This is an important book for those interested in the history of medicine and the transmissions of knowledge that have taken place over the course of global history.
Edited Special Issues by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
https://brill.com/view/journals/asme/16/1/asme.16.issue-1.xml
Articles are both contemporary and historical, and discuss the following themes:
Early COVID pandemic in Wuhan and TCM responses-presenting the research studies done on herbal remedies and public health response.
Institutional difference in Traditional Korean medicine in Korea.
Responses in Tibetan communities in North America and nosological definitions amid global Sowa Rigpa research networks.
A literary reflection from an ICU ward in Singapore.
A preliminary history of Zoonotic Theory in China.
Epidemics in Seventeenth-Century Siam.
Buddist perceptions of and ritual responses to epidemic in early modern China, Japan and Tibet.
Papers by Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim
Two related but separate issues need addressing when trying to assess the place of Galen in Asia. The first issue is an assessment of mentions of Galen in Asian texts and contexts. Narratives on the origins and history of medicine, and knowledge more generally, are important within this regard. Analysis of how and why these narratives were constructed can reveal important political, religious, economic, and cultural factors at play. The second issue is the presence, or lack thereof, of Galenic medical knowledge within Asian traditions. These two issues in turn raise a third one involving the relationship between them: If a tradition declares itself to be influenced by Galenic medicine, does it necessarily mean that it is so? Narratives on the origins of medical knowledge raise the large and complicated question of whether and to what extent such accounts actually reflect the nature of the knowledge they describe. In other words, they raise questions like: When and why does a culture, religion, or state ideology choose to present or construct itself as linked to a particular culture? Are there correspondences between declaring a tradition as linked to a particular tradition and the tradition indeed being linked?
The paper links visual imagery found in this illustration with some of its corresponding theoretical considerations and practical applications. The main focus are two motifs: the turtle and the magic square. The paper analyses some similarities between the Tibetan and Chinese notions illustrated in this image. It also discusses an image depicting the some motifs from the Ilkhanid court in Iran.
This paper explores some of the Persian lore in Sefer Asaf: the figure of Asaf himself, the similarity with other Persian or Persian-influenced accounts of the origins of the sciences, the appearance of the Indo-Iranian motif of the trees of medicine, the central importance given to Indic medical knowledge, and the form and use of the Persian months in the text.
Previous important contributions to the study of Sefer Asaf have argued for a Syriac connection; several other studies have linked the text to a Persian cultural milieu. The information presented here links those two and argues for dependence on material deriving from the Church of the East in Persia.
This is an important book for those interested in the history of medicine and the transmissions of knowledge that have taken place over the course of global history.
https://brill.com/view/journals/asme/16/1/asme.16.issue-1.xml
Articles are both contemporary and historical, and discuss the following themes:
Early COVID pandemic in Wuhan and TCM responses-presenting the research studies done on herbal remedies and public health response.
Institutional difference in Traditional Korean medicine in Korea.
Responses in Tibetan communities in North America and nosological definitions amid global Sowa Rigpa research networks.
A literary reflection from an ICU ward in Singapore.
A preliminary history of Zoonotic Theory in China.
Epidemics in Seventeenth-Century Siam.
Buddist perceptions of and ritual responses to epidemic in early modern China, Japan and Tibet.
Two related but separate issues need addressing when trying to assess the place of Galen in Asia. The first issue is an assessment of mentions of Galen in Asian texts and contexts. Narratives on the origins and history of medicine, and knowledge more generally, are important within this regard. Analysis of how and why these narratives were constructed can reveal important political, religious, economic, and cultural factors at play. The second issue is the presence, or lack thereof, of Galenic medical knowledge within Asian traditions. These two issues in turn raise a third one involving the relationship between them: If a tradition declares itself to be influenced by Galenic medicine, does it necessarily mean that it is so? Narratives on the origins of medical knowledge raise the large and complicated question of whether and to what extent such accounts actually reflect the nature of the knowledge they describe. In other words, they raise questions like: When and why does a culture, religion, or state ideology choose to present or construct itself as linked to a particular culture? Are there correspondences between declaring a tradition as linked to a particular tradition and the tradition indeed being linked?
The paper links visual imagery found in this illustration with some of its corresponding theoretical considerations and practical applications. The main focus are two motifs: the turtle and the magic square. The paper analyses some similarities between the Tibetan and Chinese notions illustrated in this image. It also discusses an image depicting the some motifs from the Ilkhanid court in Iran.
This paper explores some of the Persian lore in Sefer Asaf: the figure of Asaf himself, the similarity with other Persian or Persian-influenced accounts of the origins of the sciences, the appearance of the Indo-Iranian motif of the trees of medicine, the central importance given to Indic medical knowledge, and the form and use of the Persian months in the text.
Previous important contributions to the study of Sefer Asaf have argued for a Syriac connection; several other studies have linked the text to a Persian cultural milieu. The information presented here links those two and argues for dependence on material deriving from the Church of the East in Persia.
"The Silk-Roads as a model for exploring Eurasian transmissions of medical knowledge"
(Friday, 24 June 2016, 10:00-12:00,SFB-Villa, Schwendenerstr. 8, 14195 Berlin)
Organised by Project A03/ Teilprojekt A03
"The Transfer of Medical Episteme in the ‘Encyclopaedic’ Compilations of Late Antiquity"
Sponsored by CRC/ SFB 980
"Episteme in Motion. Transfer of Knowledge from the Ancient World to the Early Modern Period"
ReOrienting Histories of Medicine: Encounters Along the Silk Roads (Bloomsbury, 2021) is an important book for those interested in the history of medicine and the transmissions of knowledge that have taken place over the course of global history.
Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim is Reader in History at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is the co-editor of Rashid al-Din: Agent and Mediator of Cultural Exchanges in Ilkhanid Iran, Islam and Tibet: Interactions along the Musk Routes, and Astro-Medicine: Astrology and Medicine, East and West.
Christopher S. Rose is a social historian of medicine focusing on Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 19th and 20th century. He currently teaches History at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas and Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.