Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Ruth Yun-Ju Chen is a historian of mid-imperial China (600–1400). Her research interests lie in the histories of medicine, publishing, and material cultures during this period. Her first book, Good Formulas: Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts, will come out from the University of Washington Press in 2023. This book charts how early print culture reshaped strategies for presenting medical knowledge in Song China (960–1279). Her current project explores the transregional circulation of medical knowledge and aromatic drugs across East Asia and Southeast Asia in Song-Jin-Yuan China (960–1368). She has published articles in Chinese and English language journals and, most recently, “A New Study of Scholar-officials’ Roles in the Printing of Medical Texts in Song China” in the Bulletin of IHP 92.3 (2021) and “The Quest for Efficiency: Knowledge Management in Medical Formularies” in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 80.2 (2021).

Dissertation

1. 〈漢唐之間醫書中的房事疾病與性別〉（臺北：國立臺灣大學歷史研究所碩士論文，2009）。
2.  “Zhang (“Miasma”), Heat, and Dampness: The Perception of the Environment and the Formation of Written Medical Knowledge in Song China (960-1279)” (PhD diss., University of Oxford, Faculty of Oriental Studies, 2015).

Books

1. Good Formulas: Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2023).

Journal Articles

1. 〈陰陽與精血——漢唐之間醫書中的房事疾病與性別〉，《女學學誌：婦女與性別研究》27 (2010)：1-56。（ACI期刊）
2. “Accounts of Treating Zhang (“miasma”) Disorders in Song Dynasty Lingnan: Remarks on Changing Literary Forms of Writing Experience（宋代討論嶺南瘴病治療的文本及其書寫策略）”，《漢學研究》34.3 (2016)：205-254。（THCI core）
3. “The Quest for Efficiency: Knowledge Management in Medical Formularies,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 80.2 (2020.12): 347-380. (AHCI)
4. 〈宋代士大夫參與地方醫書刊印新探〉，《中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊》92.3 (2021.9)：437-507。(THCI)

Book Chapters

1. 〈庶姓家庭的崛起與衰落（龐令圖）〉，收入山口智哉、李宗翰、劉祥光、陳韻如編著，《五代的文武僧庶》（桂林：廣西師範大學出版社，2022），頁138-158。
2. 〈八世文官家族的餘暉（孫拙）〉，收入山口智哉、李宗翰、劉祥光、陳韻如編著，《五代的文武僧庶》（桂林：廣西師範大學出版社，2022），頁171-187。
3. “Yin, Yang and Five Agents (Wuxing) in the Basic Questions and Early Han (202 BCE-220 CE) Medical Manuscripts,” in Vivienne Lo, Michael Stanley-Baker and Dolly Yang, eds., Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine (Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2022), pp. 13-22.
4. 〈從另類到跨域：史語所生命醫療史研究室的發展（1992-2023）〉，收入李貞德主編，《挑戰與新生：中央研究院歷史語言研究所九十五周年所慶論文集》（臺北：中央研究院歷史語言研究所，2024），頁99-117。

Book Editor

1. 山口智哉、李宗翰、劉祥光、柳立言、陳韻如編著，《五代武人之文》（桂林：廣西師範大學出版社，2021）。
2. 山口智哉、李宗翰、劉祥光、陳韻如編著，《五代的文武僧庶》（桂林：廣西師範大學出版社，2022）。

Conference Papers

1. “Song (960-1279) Accounts of Treating South-Endemic Disorders: Changing Readership and Transmission of Medical Knowledge” (paper presented at The 14th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, July 6-10, 2015).
2. 〈藥物與方土——宋代（960-1279）嶺南的辟瘴與治瘴用藥〉，發表於中研院「醫學的物質文化」主題計畫、史語所「生命醫療史研究室」主辦，「醫學的物質文化史」國際學術研討會，2015年11月11- 13日。
3. “Politics of Healing Cultures: Circulation of Drugs in the Far South of Song China” (paper presented at Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Seattle, March 31-April 4, 2016).
4. “Local Experience” (paper presented at Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Asia, Kyoto, June 24-27, 2016).
5. “Why Treat Heat with Heat: Local Availability and the Choice of Preferred Medicines in the Far South of Song China (960-1279)” (paper presented at 9th International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine, Kiel, August 6-12, 2017).
6. “Proof and Personal Knowledge: Changing Ways of Making Argument in Middle Period China (860-1279)” (paper presented at The Second Conference on Middle Period Chinese Humanities, Leiden University, September 14-17, 2017).
7. 〈從藥方與本草看宋代的資訊爆炸與知識寫作的創新〉，發表於「訊息傳播與知識實踐討論會」，臺北：中央研究院歷史語言研究所，2017年10月27-28日。
8. “The Danger of Sweating in the Medical Writings from the Han (202 BCE-220 CE) to the Song (960-1279) Dynasty” (paper presented at “Fluid Matter(s): A Cross-Cultural Examination of Body Fluids and Drugs that Act Upon Them” Conference, Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University, Canberra, December 15-17, 2017).
9. “To be Informative or Handy: Presenting Drug Knowledge in Song China (960-1279)” (paper presented at The Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, at Washington DC, March 22-25, 2018).
10. “Preface (1196) to Easy and Simple Formulas (Yijian fang)” (paper presented at the Medicine and Healing Workshop, at Cornell University, Ithaca, June 15-18, 2018).
11. “Setting New Criteria for Trustworthy Experience-based Evidence in Song China (960-1279)” (paper presented at The Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Denver, March 21-24, 2019).
12. “Setting New Criteria for Trustworthy Experience-based Evidence in Song China (960-1279)” (paper presented at the International Colloquium on Antiquarian Medical Texts, Traditional Medical Knowledge, and Their Circulation and Application (「醫學典籍、醫藥知識及其流通運用」國際學術研討會), National Palace Museum, Taipei, March 27-28, 2019).
13. 〈從朝廷到士大夫：兩宋時醫書的刊刻及其刊刻者身份的變遷〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所講論會，臺北，2019年4月22日。
14. 〈印刷時代的知識流通：兩宋士大夫對醫書刊印的贊助〉，發表於北京大學中國古代史研究中心主辦，「信息溝通與國家秩序國際會議」，北京，2019年11月1日。
15. “The Quest for Efficiency: Knowledge Management in Formularies of Song China (960-1279)”，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所主辦，The Production and Circulation of Textual Knowledge: East and West學術工作坊，臺北，2020年1月10日。
16. 〈書籍出版、論證策略、與作者形象的展示：以南宋《普濟本事方》為例〉，發表於中國文化大學史學系、淡江大學歷史學系合辦，「第七屆海峽兩岸宋代社會文化學術研討會」，臺北，2021年5月6-7日。
17. 〈庶姓家庭的崛起與衰落：龐令圖墓志〉，發表於廈門大學民間歷史文獻研究中心主辦，「第十三屆民間歷史文獻論壇」，廈門，2021年11月28日（線上發表）。
18. 〈宋代醫書中個人經驗記載的興起：以南宋《普濟本事方》為例〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所講論會，臺北，2021年11月29日。
19. “The Material and Sensory Dimensions of Aromatic Drugs in Song China (960-1279).” 發表於Association for Asian Studies主辦，Annual Conference, Association for Asian Studies, Hawai'i, March 24-27, 2022. (virtual presentation)
20. “Publishing with Proof: Empirical Evidence in Medicine in Song China (960-1279).” 發表於Princeton University主辦，Conference on Tang-Song Transitions 2022, Princeton University, June 16-18, 2022. (virtual presentation)
21. “The Material and Sensory Dimensions of Agarwood (chenxiang) in Middle-Period China (960-1279).” 發表於University of Pennsylvania主辦，Global Lives of Medicines: Materials, Markets, and Healing Practices across Asia, University of Pennsylvania, July 11-12, 2022.
22. “The Development of the Research Center on the History of Health and Healing, 1992-2023,” presented at the International Conference on “New Directions in Historical and Cultural Studies in Asia—Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Cooperation between EFEO and Academia Sinica,” held in IHP, Academia Sinica, Taipei, May 17-18, 2023.
23. “When Exotica Become Drugs: Medicinal Use and Material Knowledge of Agarwood (chenxiang) in China (4th-13th Centuries).” 發表於Yale University 主辦，Stuck in the Middle? The Third Middle Period China Humanities Conference (220-1600), Yale University, June 22-25, 2023.
24. 〈從另類到跨域：史語所生命醫療史研究室的發展（1992-2023）〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所主辦，「挑戰與新生－歷史語言研究所慶祝九十五周年學術研討會」，臺北：中央研究院歷史語言研究所，2023年10月17-18日。
25. 〈宋代沉香的藥用與物質知識〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所講論會，臺北，2023年11月27日。
26. 〈宋史研究在台灣近四十年來的發展〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所主辦,「Doing Chinese History in Taiwan and around the World, 1985-2025」工作坊，臺北：中央研究院歷史語言研究所，2025年11月11-12日。
27. 〈宋元政府如何調度醫療資源：以元代醫戶為支點的討論〉，發表於中央研究院歷史語言研究所主辦,「有典有則：唐宋元明的制度、社會與文化學術研討會」，臺北：中央研究院歷史語言研究所，2025年11月26-28日。

Other Writings

1. 〈大疫流行，國家在哪：淺談宋代（960-1279）政府的抗疫措施〉，「歷史學柑仔店」網站，2021.8.6。
2. 〈美國出版英文專書的經驗分享（一）：從面談到簽約〉，「歷史學柑仔店」網站，2023.3.10。
3. 〈「皕宋—故宮宋版圖書觀止」特展中的醫書介紹〉，《故宮文物月刊》511 (2025.10)：19-23。

Book Reviews

1. “Review of Shen Gua's Empiricism by Ya Zuo (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2018),” Journal of Chinese History 4.2 (2020): 591-594.
2. “Review: Healing with Poisons: Potent Medicines in Medieval China, written by Yan Liu,” Asian Medicine 19.1 (2024.7): 223-225.

Education：
2015, Ph.D., University of Oxford, Faculty of Oriental Studies

Current and Previous Positions：
2015.1-2016.8, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
2016.9-2024.11.19, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
2024.11.20- , Associate Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
2022.1-2025.6, Chief Coordinator, History of Health and Healing Research Center, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
2025.7- , Chief Coordinator, Scripta Sinica, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

1. 2022, 專書Good Formulas: Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts，獲得美國亞洲研究學會 (Association for Asian Studies)「首部專書出版獎助」 (First Book Subvention)
2. 2022, 專書Good Formulas: Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts，獲得蔣經國國際學術交流基金會美洲地區出版補助
3. 2024, Wu Ta-yu Memorial Award, National Science & Technology Council, Taiwan
4. 2024, The 13th Academia Sinica Scholarly Monograph Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Good Formulas: Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts)