Landscaped Environment and Health in Han China (208 BCE–220)

Abstract

Medical and Taoist sources written or compiled during the Han dynasty (208 BCE–220) provide the first accounts, reflections, and theories on the self, on disease, and on the relationships between humans and the world in which they live. This chapter focuses on this particular period of time which, in fact, lays important foundations for Chinese society and culture. Relying mainly on medical and Taoist sources, it firstly sheds light on how the self was thought of and represented at this time and examines how the links between human beings and their environment were conceived of. It then focuses on what, for humans and in the environment, were thought of as potential threats to health and how the image of an ideal landscape was thus constructed, that is, a landscape into which humans could fit perfectly and live healthy lives. Finally, we analyze how this ideal landscape was supposed to work to preserve good health in humans.