A Study on External Treatments of Foreign Bodies in the Throat Described in the Dunhuang Old Tibetan Medical Document St 756

This article focuses on the external treatment methods for removing foreign bodies (FBs) stuck in the throat, as recorded in the Old Tibetan Document St 756 from Dunhuang. Building upon existing research, the author provides new interpretations of the relevant keywords, phrases, and content of the manuscript. It is argued that the translation of kha che dar as “Kache silk” (Kashmir silk) is more accurate than “Persian brocade”. Similarly, srin bal is understood as “silk thread” rather than cotton. Ske rtsa g·yas g·yos, mjlng pa, and mgul respectively refer to the “sides of base of the neck”, “back of the neck” and “throat”. Based on the original photograph of the manuscript, a correction is made from the previously mis-transcribed phrase phra log chu log to phra log tshur log, based on references to Tibetan medical literature and interviews with contemporary Tibetan medical practitioners. It is suggested that the term should be understood as “gently rocking up and down or left and right [the patient's neck]” rather than “regurgitation” or “repeatedly swallowing [the silk ball] and then pulling it out”. By examining records on the treatment of FBs stuck in the throat in Vedic, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Byzantine, Chinese, and Tibetan medical texts, the article concludes that the external treatment method described in St 756 represents a combination of the “upward expulsion” (through inducing vomiting or traction) and “downward expulsion” (by striking the neck to dislodge the foreign body into the digestive tract), which were commonly practiced in Eurasia during the medieval period. The inclusion of various ancient medical techniques, including the treatment for FBs stuck in the throat, serves as evidence for the interconnectedness of Eurasia in terms of technology and culture.