今日一般社會大眾的認知中，女性在絕經前後有所謂的「更年期」。這個明治時代日本醫師為轉譯西方climacteric一字而造作的新詞，如今常成為對譯menopause的中文語彙。絕經的社會學、公共衛生，和中西醫婦科學論著汗牛充棟，但歷史學的貫時性考察卻數量有限，僅針對近代以來歐美發展的分析，稍見斬獲。這些探索西方身體觀和生命觀的歷史論著，逼使中國史學者反身直視自己的醫療傳統，留意東西雙方在認知和對治絕經時，是否存在根本差異？本文將先回顧這些難能可貴的貫時性研究，包括學者努力釐清「更年期」此一漢字詞彙和兩個西方術語百多年來的糾葛，然後介紹目前鳳毛麟角的中醫絕經史論文，並以其中涉及的經典觀念，說明中國醫學文獻在論述女性永久停經時的意見演變，特別是「七七數盡」的常態化和「五十行經」的病理化。本文盼為中醫絕經史提供範例，並拋磚引玉，引起學者興趣，從貫時性的角度鑽研此一性別與醫療交涉的議題。

Gengnianqi, the modern Chinese translation of “menopause,” is actually Chinese pronunciation of the Japanese kōnenki, a term coined by physicians of the Meiji (1868-1912) era when they encountered European ideas of climacteric. Social scientists and public health scholars have devoted tremendous efforts to critique the medicalization of a natural life stage in the twentieth century, but historians have so far shown little interest in the subject. A few diachronic analyses, however, have gone back hundreds of years and examined early modern medical documents to demonstrate the complexity of issues surrounding menopause in European and American histories. These studies invite historians of Chinese medicine to reflect on their own lengthy tradition and its range of views in understanding the termination of menses. The first part of this article introduces these excellent diachronic studies, including research on the tangled relations between kōnenki, climacteric, and menopause. The second part then investigates a set of two terms in traditional Chinese medical texts to show the changing perceptions and treatments of women who still menstruated after the canonical age for termination at fortynine. Hopefully, this brief survey will provide a basis for comparison, not only between the modern and the traditional but also between Chinese and Euro- American medical histories on the issue of menopause.

更年期；絕經；七七數盡；五十行經；性別