The state of pharmacy in China during the second half of the XIX century (a study of Russian doctors’ works)

The article describes the principles of organization and operation of various urban pharmacies in China during the XIX century, gathered from the manuscript materials of physicians who worked in Beijing under the Orthodox Mission and the Russian Embassy throughout the XIX and early XX centuries. According to the notes of Russian doctors, Chinese pharmacies significantly differed from European ones in their operational principles, level of responsibility to clients, and the types of medicines offered. The scientific relevance of the article is connected to the insufficient study of the development and specific characteristics of medicine in China. The originality lies in the uniqueness of historical sources – unpublished archival documents of medical practitioners – and their introduction into the scientific discourse. The aim of the article is to characterize the operation of various types of Chinese pharmacies in the XIX century and the principles of preparing the most popular forms of medicine. The findings lead to the conclusion that the principles of Chinese pharmacology and the organization of pharmacy operations in China, as described by physicians P. A. Kornievsky, A. A. Tatarinov, and others, differ significantly from European practices, which is often explained by the influence of specific features of Chinese culture, philosophy, and beliefs on everyday life of Chinese people and the development of Chinese medicine.