腦為一身之主：從「艾羅補腦汁」看近代中國身體觀的變化

From Heart to Brain: Ailuo Brain Tonic and the New Concept of the Body in Late Qing China

「身體觀」是個模糊的用詞，所涵蓋的範圍之廣，可以從身體所代表的象徵意義，到人體功能的實際運作。本文所指的身體觀偏向後者，指的是一般大眾對自己身體的看法，特別是體內器官的職掌與統御關係。近代中國身體觀的變化當中，最引人注意的首推由「心」到「腦」的轉折，傳統中國向來以心為全身的主宰，腦則較不重要，甚至不在五臟六腑之列。但進入十九世紀中葉，隨著西方醫學知識的傳入，心的主宰地位開始出現動搖，原先在中國身體觀中無足輕重的「腦」，逐步被提到「一身之主」的地位。對於此一轉折，近年來學界已開始有所討論，不過主要集中於醫學知識的傳承，對於此轉變在消費文化及日常生活等方面的意義尚有待分析，本文即計劃從商業史的角度，藉清末大量出現的補腦藥為案例，加入此一討論。本文主張，西方醫學知識的傳入，固然對知識界造成衝擊，但新身體觀的深入與普及，實有賴於中外藥商的積極參與及推動。

Chinese concepts of the body experienced tremendous change in the late nineteenth century. After the introduction of the science of anatomy from the West, Chinese ideas of the brain, heart, blood, and kidneys were never the same. Of those changes, the most stunning was a new idea of the function of the brain. Rather insignificant in the past, the brain, along with the nervous system, replaced the heart as the center of the body and thus as the source of volition, will, and memory. Though medical historians have done much to illuminate the impact of this transformation on intellectuals and physicians, little research has traced its impact on Chinese consumer culture and daily life. This article examines this transformation from the perspective of the commercial world. By analyzing the surge of Ailuo Brain Tonic and other brain-related stimulants in the late Qing, I argue that the medicine men selling and promoting brain tonics played an essential role in this transformation. The drugstores sold not only drugs but also the new concept of the brain.