18世纪前西方有关“身体、锻炼与健康”的文献学考察

通过大量的文献分析可知,18世纪前西方关于“身体、锻炼与健康”方面的认知与实践活动经历了相当漫长的历史岁月。在这一千多年的历史长河中,人们的身体健康观念一直被古希腊及古罗马时期的医学及哲学理论所支配,公元1世纪基督教建立以来人们的健康观念还受到“宗教、巫术以及外界环境论”的影响。文艺复兴之后,新理论和新知识的出现使人们渐渐摆脱蒙昧,在身体健康的实践活动中逐渐的由“体液排出”“放血疗法”过渡到“身体锻炼”上来并开始关注锻炼的形式和效率。总体上来看,18世纪前西方身体健康观念经历了由从蒙昧走向科学、从必然走向自由以及从“身体内在调整”过渡到“身体外在锻炼”的过程,在这个过程中,关爱自我、关心身体是永恒的主题。

A Philological Study on “Body,Exercise and Health” in the West before the 18 th Century

Analysis of relevant literature shows that cognition and practical activities on“body, exercise and health”have a long history in the West before the 18th history. Over the millennium before the 18th century, people’s concept of health was dominated by theories of medicine and philosophy in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. After the establishment of Christianity in the 1st century, people’ s concept of health was also influenced by“religion, witchcraft and theories on external environment”. After the Renaissance, the emergence of new theo-ries and knowledge liberated people from ignorance, and people’ s health activities transformed from“body fluid discharge”, and “bloodletting” to “physical exercise”, and people started to stress the form and efficiency of exercise. Generally, the changes in the Western concept of health before the 18th century was a transition from ignorance to science, from inevitability to freedom, from“adjustment within the body” to“external body work-out”. In the transition, the theme of self-care and body care never changed.