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A Chinese medical doll, also known as a diagnostic doll or "Doctor's lady" is a type of small sculpture of a female figure, historically used in China and parts of Asia as a
A Chinese medical doll, also known as a diagnostic doll or "Doctor's lady" is a type of small sculpture of a female figure, historically used in China and parts of Asia as a diagnostic tool
Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " cause and effect". In systems engin ...
.
History
In China, the dolls have been recorded as early as the 15th century Ming Dynasty, with some still seeing use into the 1950s. During this time, the prevailing attitudes of feminine modesty made it improper for a woman to gesture or describe parts of her own body. Because of this, when seeing a physician, a woman would indicate medical issues by referring instead to the respective anatomy of the doll. The dolls depicted a nude woman, lying either on her side or back, positioned in such a way that a user would be able to point to every part of the body. They are typically made of ivory or jade and are uncolored, often with an accompanying pedestal shaped like a couch or bed made of ivory or wood. It is not uncommon, especially on older figures, for the woman to be depicted with small pointed feet, representative of the practice offoot binding
Foot binding, or footbinding, was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change their shape and size. Feet altered by footbinding were known as lotus feet, and the shoes made for these feet were kno ...
which was common in China until the 20th century. The figures typically measure anywhere from 75mm to 155mm in length. In addition to the functional form, many of the dolls depict aesthetic additions including jewelry, fans
Fan commonly refers to:
* Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling
** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling
* Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
, and shoes
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
, and some feature colored hair, typically painted with lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.
Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
.
Visits to physicians by women during this time were restricted by attitudes of modesty and contact between genders, as physicians were almost always men. Visits by women to doctors were often conducted with a screen made of bamboo between the two, with the woman only reaching her hands out from behind the screen to interact with the medical doll. These dolls were typically owned by the physicians themselves, however upper-class clientele would sometimes have their own customized dolls, and some would even send a servant in place of themselves to describe their condition.
See also
*Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
*Women in China
Like women in many other cultures, women in China have been historically oppressed. For thousands of years, women in China lived under the patriarchal social order characterized by the Confucius teaching of “filial piety.” In modern China ...
References
{{Traditional Chinese medicine, state=collapsed Traditional Chinese medicine Chinese sculpture Nude sculptures