farfel_n09_074_606

606
Michael Janiel
Rockport, Texas
Aug. '04
$37.00

See #513 Thailand: Mid 19th Century
Illustrated medical manual on thick mulberry paper (Khoi paper) from
folding book. Text in Thai Script
in black ink on 5 ruled lines. Some staining
+ fraying. 2 leaves of text with outer
leaf as a cover.
each leaf, 120x367 mm;

- The folding book (Parabaik) was used for both
Buddhist + secular Thai texts of general literature
as well as practical writings such as official
documents + letters. The use of the folding book
was widespread in Thailand, Burma +
Cambodia + was also known in China , Tibet
Nepal + some parts of India.
- The beauty of Thai writing lies in the straight
lines of its letters connected by sharp bends,
corner + circular flourishes. Spaces are not left
between words but rather between long phases,
+ this greatly affects the appearance of the
written language.
- Traditional medicine in Thailand was
recorded in Numerous texts deriving from various
foreign systems of medicine, including Chinese,
Indian + Arabic. Disease was ascribed to
'winds' or vapours inhabiting the body as
in pre-modern western medicine, as well as
to bile + to mucus. Channels in the body
terminated in the pressure points known to
us by way of Chinese acupuncture +
Japanese Shiatsu pressure massage.