Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Abstract

How were different types of technical skills controlled in Ancient China? How were these different techniques transmitted? In the following case study of "forbidden techniques" (jinfang 禁方), the author puts forward a tentative analysis of the transmission of secret techniques.
The author maintains that: firstly, the concept of "forbidden techniques" was held in common by both physicians (yijia 醫家) and "gentlemen who possess techniques" (fangshi, shushi 方士、術士). The concept of forbidden techniques did not only pertain to medical prescriptions (yifang 醫方), but also to other types of learning as well, namely "calculations and arts" (shushu 數術) and "recipes and techniques" (fangji 方技). 
Secondly, in medical prescriptions and medical compilations (fangshu方書), the concept of the "forbidden" (jin 禁) appears in at least three guises: (a), "taboos" (biji 避忌); (b), "constraints" (jinjie, zhizhi 禁截、制止); and (c), "prohibitions" (jin'er buchuan, mi'er buxuan 禁而不傳、秘而不宣). These three areas sometimes overlap. "Forbidden techniques" were transmitted mainly through regulated procedures such as transmission rites, and formulas passed on from master to disciple. The "effectiveness" (yan 驗) or "ineffectiveness" (buyan 不驗) of the prescriptions themselves were in fact dependent upon these rites or teachings. Not limited to spells (zhoujin, qijin 咒禁、禁) or to the "arts of the bedchamber" (fangshu 房術) in content, these prescriptions were transmitted both in written texts and orally. On the basis of their pattern of transmission, "proved prescriptions" or "canonic prescriptions" (jingfang: jingyanzhifang, jingdianzhifang 經方：經驗之方、經典之方) were considered to be of a "regular" (chang 常) type, while "forbidden prescriptions" were considered "exceptional" (bian 變). 
Thirdly, there are cases of "fake titles" (weiti 偽題) or " false claims to the possession of forbidden techniques" (tuoming jinfang 託名禁方). Professional competition created a secretiveness about certain prescriptions, and false claims to the possession of forbidden prescriptions at times occurred for a variety of reasons. In some cases, plagiarized forbidden techniques obtained wide renown.
Research on the history of "fangshu" (方術) generally tends to concentrate on the contents of the techniques themselves; less attention has been devoted to the forms or paths of transmission of both text and technique. The origin, nature, and forms of transmission of "forbidden techniques" present us with an opportunity to examine these questions.