Beautiful music refines one’s character, purifies the soul, and brings comfort. But did you know that music was originally intended to cure illness? This can be traced back to Cangjie’s creation of characters, as the character for “medicine” (藥) is derived from the character for “music” (樂). From its very inception, music has been used to treat illnesses and restore balance and well-being — in other words, it is the ancestor of medicine.
The evolution of the Chinese character for medicine
The Chinese have long known that music can cure illness. Initially, the focus of the character for “medicine” was on “music.” In oracle bone inscriptions, there was not yet a clear distinction between “music” (樂) and “medicine” (藥) — they were one and the same. The character for music originally depicted strings stretched over a wooden frame, representing an early stringed instrument and the practice of ritual music.
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