Medical Ethics in Imperial China

The ethics of Chinese physicians were formulated during the Confucian era and advocated the interests of the general public. Medical resources in China were distributed to shamans (up to this century), Buddhist monks, Taoist hermits, Confucian scholars, itinerant and established physicians, laymen, midwives, and many others. Conflict over distribution of those resources affected everyone. Independently practicing physicians acquired more and more control. Ethical debates were used to centralize resources among physicians. Prognosis has become increasingly significant as a means of protection and reputation. A formulated ethics from the elite group of physicians must not only subject itself to the values dominating society but create values in the advanced medical regions; e.g., allocation of resources to preserve life.