Koreans. The Korean peninsula played an important part in transmitting Chinese medicine to Japan. From the seventh to the eighth century Korean magician-healers, herbalist apothecaries, and doctors were frequently responsible for the care of Japanese emperors. Eventually the Japanese did away with these mediators and instead sent their own students to China directly or brought over Chinese masters. Korean medical texts were written in Chinese. In the fifteenth century the Korean court physicians and medical officials were required to produce an encyclopedia containing the Chinese classical prescriptions of all periods from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Collection of Classified Medical Prescriptions (1445) provides an excellent introduction to the history of medicine in China.

Japanese. As early as 608 two Japanese studied medicine in China and returned home after fifteen years to...