Women are obsessed with the new unit. Gender Syriac, gender-selected Classics, monthly selected books, re-interpreting classical literature from a modern gender perspective. Take our collection of books, such as a key, to open up your mind different from the contemporary imagination. May Mother's Day , in addition to the next to the dear mother to offer thanks and blessings, gender Syriac to the "mother" as the theme, selected Li Shende "Women's medical history of China-Han and Tang health care and gender" as the month of the election book. Let's see how the Ancient women became mothers ! (Classical recommendation: Take off the bra, take off the shoes: Gao Yanyi "foot binding" and #freethenipple )

Mother, since ancient times is a woman's life is quite important identity, ancient women how to face the son, production, lactation, care and other maternal daily? What is the difference with contemporary women? Looking back, we will be amazed to find that many of the life situations we take for granted are, from the perspective of historical evolution, only the values that modern people have: it is not the assumption that nature is not immutable.

Monks can also be midwives?!

"Women's History of Chinese Medicine" a book to carry out a story: A man far away to the mountains, looking for a monk, for his daughter-in-law midwifery. This act at that time seemingly shocking, but for the contemporary women, production by men to guide, watch, help, in fact, is a very natural thing. It can be seen that between the ancient and the present, although there are differences, but there are many to echo each other.

The man was asked to deliver the monk because his daughter and sister died in childbirth, so when his daughter-in-law was about to produce, he decided to abandon his customary midwifery and seek a monk who was proficient in healing. However, from the narrative point of view, the monk actually did not have any experience in midwifery, he thought of midwifery is from the story he heard the inference. The last way to do this is to keep the woman in the room and live it herself. The reason is too many people noisy but frighten the maternal, the gas is not smooth naturally will dystocia. (Ancient and modern Zhaoying: one hour One death abortion truth: Don't let abortion women become lonely heterogeneous )

The author Li Shende Use this small story to explore many aspects of the issue, for example, from the monks decorate the maternity ward from the rafter down the horizontal wood to provide for maternal climbing, we are now familiar with the horizontal production is not the normal, should be upright, squatting posture production is more common. In general, more similar to the inside of Korean dramas, the maternal pull two white rope, next to a heap of still palace to help, cushion, mixed, shouting: "The Empress make force ah" scene.

Another example, the story of the maternal birth alone, the monks quite complacent, as his medical skills superb corroboration, written in his book. However, the few words in the text refer to the maternal understanding of the monks, and in the face of their own pain, there will be some luck (presumably, la mayo breath method).

It can be seen that the woman is not ignorant of the way of production, her source of knowledge may be the female elders and midwives, even her own past production experience. These women, who are usually involved in the production of women, are the ones who criticize when monks consider safe midwifery. Therefore, in the monks gadget their skills of the case behind the spontaneous labor, there may be a group of women who silently provide maternal knowledge and comfort, in the records of eminent monks hidden and not obvious.

In addition, this story is included in the works of eminent monks, "gas", and was included in the Tang Dynasty of the Book of the "Chey" in his compilation of "The party", and then by the Wu Zetian era Wang Yu included in the Chinese medical classics "foreign Taiwan Secret". Li Shende found that this praise men than women's medical knowledge, by male writing, male collection, compilation, showing the mastery of discourse power of men, more easily affect other people's perceptions and insights. However, the more difficult to master the right to speak of women, may be most of the time actually engaged in the teaching and operation of production knowledge of the people. (like classical: through time and space to the Tang Dynasty: Deep faces are not in demand)

All the speculations that derive from this little story show that what we take for granted may not have been altered or transformed, for example: women do not have to lie down to have children. And we believe in authority, trust experts at the same time, have you ever thought of who has the right to speak? Who tells us who is more believable? Are there any exact data and studies to prove the expert authority's claim? For example, we believe that there is a "gas-side" of the monks "their own relatively safe" new theory, but although the treatment of the man has a female second sister died in childbirth, but there are many women in the midwife and the help of female relatives and friends of natural childbirth. And in the story of the maternal, if there is no calm in the unrest, their own knowledge of the gas, and is not able to successfully produce children alone?

Is it a question of a doctor's profession to produce a tender?

From this special eminent monk midwifery story, the reverse inference is the ancient woman general production Image: A group of women around the maternal side, someone to help her comb the scattered hair, someone to help her face with cold water, someone to help her massage abdomen, when she shouted pain someone with experience or expertise to tell her to give birth to force, or not anxious to relax. If not born, but also in the house to walk, evacuation muscles, soothing mood.

The ancient woman's way of production seemed more reassuring and soothing than lying in the obstetric table waiting to open a finger and two fingers.

It is not impossible to imagine the production of ancient women. Taiwan now has a gentle production promotion association, providing the knowledge and consulting services of gentle production. The concept of gentle production began in the 1980 's, people slowly found that production does not necessarily require medical intervention, as long as a little assistance to women, maternity can be spontaneous labor. French doctors then offered midwifery at their clinics to help women produce upright postures, to choose to squat or float in water, and to take a series of photographic photographs.

The concept of gentle production has developed so far, and has been gradually systematized and perfected. A pregnant woman who wants to choose a gentle production will not be put in the house by a monk, and after the "education before the line", he will start to find a way to live. (Ancient and modern Zhaoying: Dear Baby, mother is so born to you: Gentle production full record )

You need to do a lot of homework in advance to take different ways of production also need to prepare a plan in advance, decide where to live, whether to have a company, want to take what posture, and the modern medical process in a dragon-style treatment: WAN, shaving, shearing perineum, pregnant women must fully understand, decide whether they want to use.

In other words, to decide whether to do this or not, pregnant women must spend more psychological understanding and understanding, supplemented by doctors for maternal and fetal status assessment, make the final decision. Only pregnant women who are evaluated as low-risk can choose to produce softly. If the mother or fetus itself is in danger, it must be produced in the company of the doctor so that it can be rescued and handled at any time.

So the gentle production seems to be adding more trouble to moms who are going through a hard pregnancy, so why do people keep pushing?

The key to the gentle production or not is to choose. (Classical extension: A child can also be born at home: Another choice for pregnant women---gentle production )

Hope to be the master of their own body, this body whether to get a knife or a needle, to bear the tear or neat cut, I know why, but also can decide how to do. Some people feel that in the throes of the hospital, the doctor will help you deal with it, some people think I want to decide how to live and where to live, some people think I want a doctor to accompany me, but I do not want to be cut perineum. We are an independent person, for the imagination of production, the understanding of medical care, the degree of acceptance of other people involved, how can it be the same?

I remember a mother who had long promoted the gentle production told me, "I'm going to be the mother of a child and bear a new life." If I gave birth to him, I can only lie helpless in the production stage, let the Doctor for me to decide what to do now, I know nothing about everything, how can I believe that I have the ability to afford a person's life? 」

When ancient women were producing in gentle

We have been accustomed to the hospital, everything to listen to the doctor, accustomed to follow the mother to go to the ward to visit the maternal, accustomed to everyone around the obstetric table on the pain called, the lower body after the knife, but also compare which Doctor sewing line more flat. However, habit is sometimes a terrible thing, because after the habit, we will not think: why must this?

Talking to a doctor about how to have a baby, or even having a baby at home, seems like a strange thing to look at in modern people's minds. But from the book "Women's History of Chinese Medicine," we find that, whether we are accustomed to lying in life, or to accompany a male doctor, for the ancient women, is also a very strange thing. History, let us know that the production of this matter is not a constant truth.

The story of the father-in-law dared to Lin daughter-in-law to the priest to midwifery, then, now we have no courage to take back their own body autonomy, challenge the established production authority? (Recommended to you: new media Applications!) "#我也睡着了" defending the rights of doctors as persons )

After all, from the spread of the story text of the monk midwifery, we see that authority is shaped, and many possibilities are hidden behind the word of authority.

The history of Chinese Medicine for women

The midwifery and derivation discussion of eminent monks is only the beginning of the history of Women's Chinese Medicine. This book from the Son, production, abortion, lactation, female medicine, care and other directions, the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, women as a "possible" mother, how to face the social expectations of various functions.

It can be concluded that the study and exploration of ancient times is not entirely based on the curiosity to reconstruct the past, nor on the specialized field of a few researchers. This month, the gender Syriac tries to extend the theme of motherhood to discuss the issues facing women all over the ages: What are the different coping attitudes of the present and the past, such as the child, production, and lactation? What's the similarity?

From the introduction of the author's Li Shende, we can see that the challenges that the ancient women need to face are still our hearts:

"Because of the traditional Chinese gender division of labor, women must be responsible for daily health care." To be a midwife, of course, requires medical knowledge. But even the general health of women guarding their families will inevitably involve the conduct of medical care. Whether it is the mother of child-rearing children, daughter care parents, daughter-in-law Shang, wife to serve her husband, and even the maid to help breast-feeding, as a nanny, I am afraid all have a set of medical ideas and knowledge. Women in health care work, both in line with social ethics, but also to meet the expectations of the people, not only have no negative views, and occasionally will be praised. Sometimes, a woman must take care of the number of relatives more than she can load, she had to have a choice, so that the abandoned relatives, or illness, or bereavement. Even so, government decrees or public opinion may not be lambasting, but might be condoned on the basis of compassion. 」

A woman's life seems to provide all sorts of medical care and care in every aspect, like a living book of medical history.

Next week the gender Syriac, we want to discuss is the ancient woman's Ask the child the question, introduced a no son deserted the love song. (Ancient and modern Zhaoying: God, morals and infertility )


5/28 with my mother for the second Mother's Day, the city square to greet our big women 's times together.