英文摘要 |
As the royal court of the Qing Dynasty lowered its concern for local medicine treatment, the resources allocated for local medicine and pharmacies gradually diminished, resulting in a lack of basic medical resources. Costs for private doctors and pharmaceutics services became excessively expensive, causing in reluctance of the public in seeking medical services. As a result, many turned to drug vendors for help, who provided medicine that were both cheap and ready-made. The activities of drug vendors were reflected in the archive records of drug vendor arrests of the ruling era from Yongzheng Emperor to Daoguang Emperor. This study uses government archives, medical records and manuscripts of the public, to first provide a descriptive account of major drug vendor arrests, to understand the royal court's attitude towards them. Secondly, this study will analyze the background, motive of selling drugs as well as the properties behind their medicine. Lastly, it will review the promotional methods and tools used by drug vendors, in hopes of attaining a more comprehensive understanding of the activities and images of these border-crossing, nomadic vendors. |