A copy of Ling Shu published during the Song dynasty. (Not the recently discovered text.) Image via Bejing Digital Museum A very rare Chinese medical text published during the Southern Song Dynasty period (1127-1279)was recently found in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Historians believe the three volume, 38 page book was originally written by a Chinese doctor in the seventh century. It contains prescriptions for the treatment of 30 different ailments and includes precautions about each remedy. The covers of the book are missing but officials at the Tateyama Municipal Museum report that the text is clearly legible and the pages of the book are devoid of damage. The book was referred to in a 14th century Chinese bibliography, but this is the first time a copy of the text has been found. No originals are known to exist in China. The book was discovered in a storehouse owned by a well-known samurai family and it contains the ex-libris stamp of Kanazawa Bunko, the library of another samurai family that was established circa 1275. Rare China medical book discovered