The Lives of Chinese Medicine: The Legendary Stories of Ten Great Physicians Through the Ages
Biǎn Què · Huà Tuó · Zhāng Zhòngjǐng · Huángfǔ Mì · Gě Hóng · Sūn Sīmǐao · Qián Yǐ · Lǐ Dōngyuán · Lǐ Shízhēn · Yè Tiānshì — Three Thousand Years of the Medical Way, Ten Great Masters
“The physician is one of benevolent heart and benevolent art;
without a benevolent heart, one cannot be entrusted; without a benevolent art, one cannot be relied upon.」」 (「夫医者，仁心仁术也；无仁心，则不可托；无仁术，则不可任。」)— Song · Shengxin Lu · On Medicine (《省心录·论医》)
In the three thousand years of Chinese medicine, hundreds of canonical texts, thousands of famous physicians, dozens of schools, tens of thousands of formulas — this vast and boundless great history must, in the end, be told through “persons.”
Qihuang Library today selects ten of the most representative great physicians — Biǎn Què (扁鹊) · Huà Tuó (华佗) · Zhāng Zhòngjǐng (张仲景) · Huángfǔ Mì (皇甫谧) · Gě Hóng (葛洪) · Sūn Sīmǐao (孙思邈) · Qián Yǐ (钱乙) · Lǐ Dōngyuán (李东垣) · Lǐ Shízhēn (李时珍) · Yè Tiānshì (叶天士) —
They — some were geniuses, some were late bloomers; some were born of noble houses, some rose from humble origins; some lived a hundred years, some died young in their prime; some rose to the rank of Imperial Physician, some lived in reclusion in the mountains.
But they all share one name — “Great Physician (大医).”
“Whenever a great physician treats disease, he must quiet the spirit and fix the will, without desire or demand; he must first give rise to a great compassionate heart and a heart of pity, vowing to save the suffering of all sentient beings.」」 (「凡大医治病，必当安神定志，无欲无求，先发大慈恻隐之心，誓愿普救含灵之苦。」)
— Tang · Sūn Sīmǐao, Beiji Qianjin Yaofang · The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication (《备急千金要方·大医精诚》)
I. Overview of the Physicians of Qihuang
| № | Physician | Dynasty | Courtesy / Style Name | Place of Origin | Honorific | Representative Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biǎn Què (扁鹊) | Spring and Autumn / Warring States | Qín Yuèrén (秦越人) | Zhèng, Bóhǎi (渤海郡郑) | Ancestor of pulse studies, ancestor of medical formulas | Nan Jing (《难经》, attributed) |
| 2 | Huà Tuó (华佗) | Eastern Han | Yuánhuà (元化) | Qiáo, Péi State (沛国谯县) | Ancestor of external medicine | (Qingnang Shu 《青囊书》, lost) |
| 3 | Zhāng Zhòngjǐng (张仲景) | Eastern Han | Given name Jī (机) | Nányáng commandery (南阳郡) | Medicine Sage (医圣) | Shanghan Zabing Lun (《伤寒杂病论》) |
| 4 | Huángfǔ Mì (皇甫谧) | Western Jin | Shì’ān (士安), Mister Xuanyan (玄晏先生) | Cháonà, Āndìng (安定朝那) | Founder of acupuncture | Zhenjiu Jiayijing (《针灸甲乙经》) |
| 5 | Gě Hóng (葛洪) | Eastern Jin | Zhìchuān (稚川), Baopuzi (抱朴子) | Jùróng, Dānyáng (丹阳句容) | Patriarch of “Daoist medicine” | Zhouhou Beiji Fang and Baopuzi |
| 6 | Sūn Sīmǐao (孙思邈) | Tang | (c. 581–682) | Huáyuán, Jīngzhào (京兆华原) | Medicine King (药王) | Qianjin Yaofang and Qianjin Yifang |
| 7 | Qián Yǐ (钱乙) | Northern Song | Zhòngyáng (仲阳) | Yùnzhōu (郓州) | Sage of Pediatrics | Key to Therapeutics of Children’s Diseases (《小儿药证直诀》) |
| 8 | Lǐ Dōngyuán (李东垣) | Late Jīn | Gǎo (杲), Míngzhī (明之), Old Man of the Eastern Wall (东垣老人) | Zhēndìng (真定) | Ancestor of the School of Spleen and Stomach | Piwei Lun and Nei Wai Shang Bian Huo Lun |
| 9 | Lǐ Shízhēn (李时珍) | Ming | Dōngbì (东璧), Bīnhú (濒湖) | Qíchūn (蕲春) | Summit of materia medica | Bencao Gangmu (《本草纲目》) |
| 10 | Yè Tiānshì (叶天士) | Qīng | Guì (桂), Xiāngyán (香岩) | Wú Xiàn (吴县) | Foremost of the Four Masters of Warm Diseases | Linzheng Zhinan Yian (《临证指南医案》) |
Ten great physicians — spanning from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to the mid-Qīng, nearly two thousand three hundred years — they compose the “epic of persons” in the three thousand years of Chinese medicine.
II. Biǎn Què: Ancestor of Pulse Studies, Ancestor of Medical Formulas
“To know by looking is called divine; to know by hearing is called sagely; to know by asking is called skillful; to know by palpation is called artful.」」 (「望而知之谓之神，闻而知之谓之圣，问而知之谓之工，切而知之谓之巧。」)
📜 Life
Biǎn Què (扁鹊), c. 407–310 BCE, of the Qín (秦) surname, given name Yuèrén (越人), a native of Zhèng, Bóhǎi Commandery (渤海郡郑) (in the northern part of present-day Rènqiū, Héběi) — the first famous physician in the history of Chinese medicine to have a formal biography. The Shiji · Biǎn Què Canggong Lie Zhuan (《史记·扁鹊仓公列传》) is the chief historical source for him.
📜 Three Medical Incidents
🩺 Diagnosing the Marquis of Qí by Looking
“When Biǎn Què passed through the state of Qí, the Marquis of Qí entertained him as a guest. Upon entering the court, Biǎn Què said: ‘ Your lordship has a disease in the còulǐ (texture of the skin and flesh); if not treated, it will deepen.’** The Marquis said: ‘** I have no disease.’** Biǎn Què departed, and the Marquis said to his attendants: ‘** Physicians are greedy for profit; they wish to make a name by treating those who are not ill.’** Five days later, Biǎn Quue came again and said: ‘** Your lordship has a disease in the blood vessels.’** … Five days later, Biǎn Què came again and said: ‘** Your lordship has a disease in the stomach and intestines.’** … Five days later, Biǎn Què looked at the Marquis from afar and turned back. The Marquis sent someone to ask him the reason. Biǎn Què said: ‘** When the disease is in the còulǐ, decoctions and hot compresses can reach it; in the blood vessels, the needle and stone can reach it; in the stomach and intestines, wine and fermented grain can reach it; when it is in the marrow, even the god of fate is helpless. Now it is in the marrow; therefore I make no request.’** Five days later, the Marquis fell ill, sent to summon Biǎn Què; Biǎn Què had already fled. The Marquis died.」」 (「扁鹊过齐，齐桓侯客之。入朝见曰：「君有疾在腠理，不治将深。」桓侯曰：「寡人无疾。」扁鹊出，桓侯谓左右曰：「医之好利也，欲以不疾者为功。」后五日，扁鹊复见，曰：「君有疾在血脉。」……后五日，扁鹊复见，曰：「君有疾在肠胃。」……后五日，扁鹊望桓侯而还走。桓侯使人问其故。扁鹊曰：「疾之居腠理也，汤熨之所及也；在血脉，针石之所及也；在肠胃，酒醪之所及也；其在骨髓，虽司命无奈之何。今在骨髓，臣是以无请也。」后五日，桓侯体病，使人召扁鹊，扁鹊已逃去。桓侯遂死。**」)
— Shiji · Biǎn Què Canggong Lie Zhuan (《史记·扁鹊仓公列传》)
The idiom “to hide one’s illness and refuse the physician (讳疾忌医)” arose from this story.
🩺 Diagnosing the Crown Prince of Guó as “Corpse-Like Reversal”
Biǎn Què passed through the state of Guó — the Crown Prince of Guó had “died” for half a day — Biǎn Què examined him and said: “Corpse-like reversal (尸厥)” (similar to shock or apparent death) — combining needling, moxibustion, hot compresses, and decoctions — the Crown Prince “revived” — “the whole world said Biǎn Què could raise the dead” — Biǎn Què said: “It is not that I can raise the dead; this one was destined to live.」」
🩺 Through Hándān as a Specialist in “Below-the-Belt” Diseases
Biǎn Què “followed the customs and adapted” — passing through Hándān (邯郸) (where women were numerous) he became a “physician of below-the-belt diseases” (gynecologist) — passing through Luòyáng (雒阳) (where the elderly were numerous) he became a “physician of the ears, eyes, and impediment” — entering Qín (where children were numerous) he became a “physician of children” — this is the earliest recorded specialization in Chinese medicine.
📜 Two Major Contributions
First — The origination of the “Four Examinations” (四诊) (looking, listening-smelling, asking, and palpation) — the diagnostic method of using all four examinations — still today the core of Chinese diagnostic practice.
Second — “Ancestor of pulse studies” — according to the Shiji — Biǎn Què was the ancestor of pulse studies — “to this day, those who speak of the pulse, all begin with Biǎn Què.」」
📜 Famous Words
“What patients worry about is the multitude of diseases;
what physicians worry about is the paucity of methods.」」 (「人之所病，病疾多；医之所病，病道少。」)— Nan Jing · The Sixty-First Difficulty (《难经·六十一难》) (words attributed to Biǎn Què)
Source: Shiji · Biǎn Què Canggong Lie Zhuan (Western Han · Sīmǎ Qiān); Han Feizi · Yu Lao (《韩非子·喻老》), article on “hiding illness and refusing the physician”; The Nan Jing is traditionally attributed to Biǎn Què, but in fact is a pseudonymous work of the Eastern Han.
III. Huà Tuó: Ancestor of External Medicine, Inventor of the Mafei Powder
“The physician is one of intuition;
it is only when he acts by intuition that he becomes the superior physician.」」
📜 Life
Huà Tuó (华佗, c. 145–208 CE), courtesy name Yuánhuà (元化), also named Fū (旉), a native of Qiáo Xiàn, Péi State (沛国谯县) in the late Eastern Han (present-day Bózhōu, Ānhuī) — a contemporary of Zhāng Zhòngjǐng — and the most famous “ancestor of external medicine” in the history of Chinese medicine.
📜 The Five-Animal Frolic and the Mafei Powder
🐒 The Five-Animal Frolic (五禽戏)
Huà Tuó created the “Five-Animal Frolic” — imitating the movements of five animals: tiger, deer, bear, ape, and bird — compiled into a daoyin (导引, therapeutic gymnastics) routine — the earliest “medical gymnastics” in China — still today the core method of Chinese daoyin and health cultivation — according to the Book of Later Han · Biography of Huà Tuó (《后汉书·华佗传》), Huà Tuó’s disciple Wú Pǔ (吴普) was “in his nineties, with keen hearing and sight, and strong, complete teeth” — the merit of the Five-Animal Frolic.
💊 The Mafei Powder (麻沸散)
Huà Tuó invented the “Mafei Powder (麻沸散)” —
“If disease forms in the interior, beyond the reach of needle and medicine, let the patient first take the Mafei Powder with wine. Once intoxicated and insensible, the abdomen and back may be cut open, and the mass removed.」」 (「若疾发结于内，针药所不及者，令先以酒服麻沸散，既醉无所觉，因刳破腹背，抽割积聚。」)
— Book of Later Han · Biography of Huà Tuó (《后汉书·华佗传》) (Southern Dynasties · Fàn Yè)
This is the earliest “general anesthesia surgery” in the history of world medicine — 1,650 years earlier than the American Morton’s use of ether anesthesia (1846).
📜 The Mystery of the Composition of the Mafei Powder
The recipe of Huà Tuó’s Mafei Powder is already lost — according to the multi-faceted research of modern scholars — it may have consisted of jimsonweed (曼陀罗, yáng jīn huā), raw wild aconite (生草乌), fragrant angelica (香白芷), Chinese angelica (当归), chuanxiong (川芎), raw pinellia (生半夏), and others — of which jimsonweed contains scopolamine — a potent anticholinergic drug — which does have a good analgesic effect — the “Traditional Edition of the Transmission of Huà Tuó’s Mafei Powder Recipe” published by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2017 — is precisely this combination.
📜 The Tragedy of a Generation’s Greatest Physician
The story of Huà Tuó and Cáo Cāo — is one of the most famous doctor-patient stories in Chinese history — according to the Book of Later Han and Records of the Three Kingdoms — Huà Tuó treated Cáo Cāo’s “head-wind (头风)” — Cáo Cāo “did not heed” Huà Tuó’s recommendation of “a craniotomy” — suspected that Huà Tuó “wished to harm him” — had Huà Tuó thrown into prison — in 208 — Huà Tuó was put to death — on his deathbed — he gave the Qingnang Shu (《青囊书》) he had written to a prison clerk — the clerk, fearing Cáo Cāo’s law — dared not accept it — Huà Tuó “asked for a fire and burned it” — a generation’s greatest physician — a medical book — were lost from that moment on — this is one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Chinese medicine.
📜 Transmission to His Disciples
Huà Tuó had three disciples — Wú Pǔ (吴普) (transmitted the Five-Animal Frolic), Fán Ā (樊阿) (skilled in acupuncture), Lǐ Dāngzhī (李当之) (authored the Lǐ Dāngzhī Yào Lù (《李当之药录》)) — all three were famous physicians of the Jìn dynasty — and so Huà Tuó’s medicine was transmitted — among them, Wú Pǔ’s Wú Pǔ Běncǎo (《吴普本草》) — was an early work of Chinese materia medica studies.
Source: Book of Later Han · Biography of Huà Tuó (Southern Dynasties · Fàn Yè); Records of the Three Kingdoms · Book of Wei · Biography of Huà Tuó (Jìn · Chén Shòu); Péng Jǐngshān, Studies on Huà Tuó, Liaoning Science and Technology Press, 1985.
IV. Zhāng Zhòngjǐng: Medicine Sage, Ancestor of Cold-Damage Studies
“Diligently I sought the ancient teachings, and broadly gathered remedies from all sides.」」
📜 Life
Zhāng Zhòngjǐng (张仲景, c. 150–219 CE), given name Jī (机), a native of Nányáng Commandery (南阳郡) (present-day Nányáng, Hénán) — a physician of the late Eastern Han — venerated by later generations as the “Medicine Sage (医圣)” — placed on a par with Confucius (“the Supreme Sage”), Mencius (“the Second Sage”), and Dù Fǔ (“the Sage of Poetry”) — he is the only “Medicine Sage” in Chinese history.
Note: Neither the Book of the Later Han nor the Records of the Three Kingdoms contains a biography of Zhāng Zhòngjǐng — his life is known chiefly from the Jìn author Huángfǔ Mì’s Preface to the Zhenjiu Jiayijing, and the Tang author Gān Bózōng’s Mingyi Lu (《名医录》).
📜 “Moved by the Ruin of Those Gone Before”
In the late Eastern Han — during the Jiān’ān reign — great plagues raged — Zhōngjǐng’s clan originally numbered more than 200 people — in less than ten years — “two-thirds of those who died perished, and seven-tenths of cold-damage (cases)” — Zhōngjǐng was “moved by the ruin of those gone before, grieved that he could not save those cut off untimely” — “diligently sought the ancient teachings, and broadly gathered remedies from all sides” — vowed to write — and composed the Shanghan Zabing Lun in sixteen scrolls.
📜 Three Major Contributions
First — The establishment of the “pattern identification and treatment (辨证论治)” clinical system — “Observe the pulses and patterns; perceive what reversal has occurred; treat according to the pattern at hand” (Article 16 of the Shanghan Lun) — the “soul” of Chinese clinical medicine — still guiding Chinese clinical practice.
Second — The establishment of “six-channel pattern identification (六经辨证)” — “Tàiyáng, Yángmíng, Shàoyáng, Tàiyīn, Shàoyīn, Juéyīn” — not merely six meridians — but six stages, six categories of pattern-aggregates — the pattern-identification outline of externally-contracted heat disease — laying the foundation for the later warm-disease school.
Third — Recorded 113 (or 112) formulas — used 151 medicinals — “the crown of all formulas” — Guìzhī Tāng (桂枝汤, Cinnamon Twig Decoction) — “restoring yang and rescuing reversal” — Sìnì Tāng (四逆汤, Frigid-Extremities Decoction) — “soothing the liver and harmonizing the stomach” — Xiǎo Cháihú Tāng (小柴胡汤, Minor Bupleurum Decoction) — still today the commonly used formulas of Chinese clinical practice.
📜 Posthumous Honor
The Western Jìn’s Grand Physician Wáng Shūhé — collated the scattered and lost Shanghan Zabing Lun — dividing it into the Shanghan Lun and the Jingui Yaolüe — Zhōngjǐng’s teaching — was thus transmitted for a thousand years — this is one of the most important “school transmissions” in the history of Chinese medicine.
📜 Famous Words
“Above, to treat the illness of one’s lord and parents; below, to save the wretched of the poor and lowly; in the middle, to preserve one’s own body in wholeness, in order to nurture one’s life.」」 (「上以疗君亲之疾，下以救贫贱之厄，中以保身长全，以养其生。」)
— Shanghan Zabing Lun · Preface (《伤寒杂病论·原序》)
Source: Shanghan Zabing Lun · Preface (Eastern Han · Zhāng Zhòngjǐng); Qián Chāochén, Comprehensive Documentary Study of the Shanghan Lun, Xueyuan Press, 1993.
V. Huángfǔ Mì: Founder of Acupuncture, Scholar-Physician
“Without reading the Neijing, one does not know acupuncture;
without reading the Jiayi, one does not know the acupoints.」」
📜 Life
Huángfǔ Mì (皇甫谧, 215–282 CE), courtesy name Shì’ān (士安), self-styled Mister Xuanyan (玄晏先生) — a native of Cháonà, Āndìng (安定朝那) (present-day Língtái, Gānsù) — a scholar and physician of the Western Jìn — the “founder of acupuncture.”
📜 From “Foolish Child” to “Late Bloomer”
Huángfǔ Mì was born of noble lineage — a great-grandson of the famous Eastern Han general Huángfǔ Sōng (皇甫嵩) — but before the age of 20 — he “wandered without restraint” — and was looked upon by his neighbors as a “foolish child” — after the age of 20 — moved by the severe admonition of his aunt Lady Shì (任氏) — he awakened in a single night — shut his door and took up his books — and at last became a great Confucian scholar — “People leave their children a chest full of gold; I teach my child but a single classic” — Lady Shì’s teaching — the model of Chinese maternal instruction.
📜 “Taking Illness as the Origin of Medicine”
At the age of 42 — Huángfǔ Mì fell prey to “wind-impediment” — half his body was paralyzed — a hundred remedies availed nothing — and he nearly took his own life — he himself says in the Preface to the Zhenjiu Jiayijing:
“… and yet does not know the matter of medicine — that is what is called a wandering soul!」」
It was precisely this grave illness — that led him to resolve to study medicine — “to collect the three texts — the Suwen, the Zhenjing, and the Mingtang Kongxue Zhenjiu Zhiyao“ — “to prune their superfluous words, eliminate their repetitions, and distill their essentials” — and to compile the Zhenjiu Jiayijing — testing the method on his own body, writing the book out of his own illness — the title “Acupuncture Sage” is well deserved.
📜 The Zhenjiu Jiayijing
12 scrolls, 128 chapters, c. 110,000 characters — the earliest and most complete monograph on acupuncture extant in China — defining 349 acupoints — originating the “arrange by bodily region” method — standardizing the needling, moxibustion, and prohibitions of acupuncture — still today the core textbook of acupuncture — and one of the chief references for the WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations.
Source: Book of Jin · Biography of Huángfǔ Mì (Tang · Fáng Xuánlǐng); Zhenjiu Jiayijing, People’s Medical Publishing House collated and annotated edition, 1996.
VI. Gě Hóng: Unity of Dao and Medicine, Saving the World in Emergencies
“Above he could refine the elixir and seek the Dao; below he could rescue the dying at his elbow.」」
📜 Life
Gě Hóng (葛洪, 283–343 CE), courtesy name Zhìchuān (稚川), self-styled Baopuzi (抱朴子, “Master Who Embraces Simplicity”) — a native of Jùróng, Dānyáng (丹阳句容) (present-day Jùróng, Jiāngsū) — an Eastern Jìn Daoist, chemistry pioneer, and physician — the model of “unity of Dao and medicine” in the history of Chinese medicine.
📜 Triple Identity
🧪 The Daoist
Gě Hóng — founding father of the “Elixir-Cauldron (丹鼎派) school” of Daoism — authored the Baopuzi (《抱朴子》) in 70 scrolls of inner and outer chapters — the inner chapters discuss the Dao, the outer chapters discuss Confucianism — “Embrace the uncarved block and hold the One; be tranquil, indifferent, and few in desire” — a milestone in the history of Daoism.
🧪 The Chemist
The Baopuzi · Inner Chapters (《抱朴子·内篇》) records — “Cinnabar (HgS), when heated, becomes mercury; and through accumulated change, returns again to cinnabar” — “Lead is white in nature, yet when calcined becomes cinnabar; cinnabar is red in nature, yet when refined becomes lead” — this is the earliest recorded “oxidation-reduction reaction” in the history of world chemistry — hundreds of years earlier than Europe — Gě Hóng was the founding father of Chinese chemistry.
💊 The Physician
The Zhouhou Beiji Fang (《肘后备急方》) — “Zhouhou (肘后)” means “a small book that can be hung behind one’s elbow to carry on one’s person” — the earliest “portable emergency manual” in China — a medical book written for the poor — “choosing mostly medicines easy to obtain and materials of low cost” — the earliest practice of “medicine for the common good.”
📜 The Eight-Character Mantra That Inspired Tū Yōuyōu
“Take a handful of qīnghāo (sweet wormwood), soak in two shēng of water, wring out the juice, and drink it all.」」 (「青蒿一握，以水二升渍，绞取汁尽服之。」)
— Zhouhou Beiji Fang · Formulas for Treating Cold-Heat and Various Malarias (《肘后备急方·治寒热诸疟方》)
These eight characters — directly inspired the 2015 Nobel laureate Tū Yōuyōu — who read them aloud in her Stockholm lecture — “A 1,700-year-old Chinese text gave us our inspiration.」」
Source: Book of Jin · Biography of Gě Hóng (Tang · Fáng Xuánlǐng); Wáng Míng, Collated and Annotated Baopuzi Neipian, Zhonghua Book Company, 1985; Tū Yōuyōu, “Artemisinin: A Gift from Traditional Chinese Medicine to the World,” Nature, 2011.
VII. Sūn Sīmǐao: Medicine King, “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication”
“A great physician is marked by dedication and sincerity.」」
📜 Life
Sūn Sīmǐao (孙思邈, c. 581–682 CE), a native of Huáyuán, Jīngzhào (京兆华原) in the Tang dynasty (present-day Yàozhōu Qū, Tóngchuān, Shǎnxī) — the hundred-year-old Medicine King — never took office in his life — both Emperor Tàizōng and Emperor Gāozōng successively invited him to serve — and he “firmly declined” — devoting himself only to the work of saving the world and giving life — venerated by later generations as the “Medicine King (药王).”
📜 The Qianjin Fang in 60 Scrolls
The Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (《备急千金要方》), 30 scrolls (652) + the Qianjin Yifang (《千金翼方》), 30 scrolls (682) — totaling 60 scrolls, more than 8,200 formulas — the “encyclopedia” of Chinese clinical medicine — the greatest individually compiled work in the history of Chinese medicine.
📜 “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication” — The Millennium of Medical Ethics
The first scroll of the Qianjin Yaofang — “On the Study of the Great Physician” and “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication” — the highest model of Chinese medical ethics — placed on a par with the Hippocratic Oath — still today the standard text of the oath taken by Chinese medical students at their entrance into the profession.
“Jīng (精)” — mastery of medical skill; “Chéng (诚)” — utter sincerity of medical virtue.
📜 Ten World-Firsts
- Catheterization of the bladder with a scallion stalk (1,200 years earlier than the West)
- Animal thyroid for goiter
- Diagnosis of diabetes by “sweet urine” (1,000 years earlier than the West)
- Gynecology and pediatrics placed first in clinical practice
- Origination of the “Ā-shì point”
- Thirteen ghost points (Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate)
- “Foods Suitable for the Five Zang” and dietary therapy
- Integration of the Indian “Four Greats” with Chinese medicine
- Time-honored formulas such as Wēn Pí Tāng, Xī Jiǎo Dì Huáng Tāng, Dú Huó Jì Shēng Tāng
- “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication” — medical ethics for a millennium
📜 Famous Words
“Human life is of supreme importance, more precious than a thousand pieces of gold;
to save a person with one prescription is a virtue beyond this.」」 (「人命至重，有贵千金；一方济之，德逾于此。」)— Beiji Qianjin Yaofang · Preface (《备急千金要方·序》)
Source: Old Book of Tang · Biography of Sūn Sīmǐao (Later Jìn · Liú Xù); New Book of Tang · Biography of Sūn Sīmǐao (Song · Ōuyáng Xiū); Qianjin Yaofang and Qianjin Yifang (originals), People’s Medical Publishing House punctuation-and-collation editions.
VIII. Qián Yǐ: Sage of Pediatrics
“The viscera and bowels of children are soft and weak, prone to deficiency and prone to excess, prone to cold and prone to heat.」」
📜 Life
Qián Yǐ (钱乙, c. 1032–1113 CE), courtesy name Zhòngyáng (仲阳) — a native of Yùnzhōu, Northern Song (郓州, 山东) (present-day Dōngpíng, Shāndōng) — the “Sage of Pediatrics” — placed on a par with the “Medicine Sage” Zhāng Zhòngjǐng — the founding father of Chinese pediatrics.
📜 Three Incidents
🏥 “Devoted to One Calling for Nearly Forty Years”
Qián Yǐ “devoted himself to one calling for nearly forty years” — he practiced only pediatrics his whole life — “Five generations of physicians, with pediatrics as the first specialty” — still today the model of “specialty dedication” in Chinese clinical practice.
👑 Cured the Imperial Son of Emperor Shénzōng
Qián Yǐ cured the “hysteria” of the son of Emperor Shénzōng of the Song — was appointed to the Hanlin Medical Office — and awarded the purple-gold fish-pouch — but he “did not seek fame, and there were many such occasions” — he devoted his whole life to clinical practice — and did not seek official rank or title.
🧠 Created the “Six-Ingredient Dìhuáng Wán (地黄丸)”
Qián Yǐ took Zhāng Zhòngjǐng’s “Kidney-Qi Pill” — removed the Fùzǐ and Guìzhī — and created the “Dìhuáng Wán” — the “Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill” — the “millennium-famous formula” of Chinese clinical medicine — still today one of the commonly used formulas of Chinese clinical practice.
📜 The Key to Therapeutics of Children’s Diseases
Collated by his disciple Yán Xiàozhōng — 3 scrolls — completed in 1119 CE — the earliest extant monograph on Chinese pediatrics — founding the “five-zang pattern-identification” pediatric system — recording many formulas — “Xiè Bái Sǎn,” “Xiè Huáng Sǎn,” “Dǎo Chì Sǎn,” “Yì Gōng Sǎn” — still today the commonly used formulas of Chinese clinical practice.
Source: Song · Liú Qí, Biography of Qián Zhòngyáng; Key to Therapeutics of Children’s Diseases (People’s Medical Publishing House punctuation-and-collation edition, 1991).
IX. Lǐ Dōngyuán: Ancestor of the School of Spleen and Stomach, Opening the New Way of Supplementing Earth
“Internal injury to the spleen and stomach gives rise to all diseases.」」
📜 Life
Lǐ Dōngyuán (李东垣, 1180–1251 CE), given name Gǎo (杲), courtesy name Míngzhī (明之) — later styled Dōngyuán Lǎorén (东垣老人, “Old Man of the Eastern Wall”) — a native of Zhēndìng, late Jīn (真定, 河北正定) — a famous physician of the early Yuán — the “ancestor of the School of Spleen and Stomach” — and the “patriarch of the School of Supplementing Earth.”
📜 The “Yìshuǐ School” and the “School of Supplementing Earth”
Lǐ Dōngyuán studied under Zhāng Yuánsù (张元素) — Zhāng Yuánsù founded the “Yìshuǐ School” — advocating “channel-entry of drugs” and “visceral pattern identification” — Lǐ Dōngyuán was the cumulative master of the Yìshuǐ School — he inherited the tradition and independently founded the “Spleen-and-Stomach Doctrine” — the name “Supplementing Earth” arose from this.
📜 The Revolution of “Sweet and Warm to Remove Great Heat”
“Sweet and warm to remove great heat” — the first use of sweet and warm drugs (huángqí, rénshēn) — to treat “fever of internal injury” — this is a subversive change in clinical thinking — in the past, it was assumed that fever must be treated with cold-and-cool drugs — Lǐ Dōngyuán discovered that the fever caused by “internal injury to the spleen and stomach, with the central qi fallen” — must be treated with “sweet and warm” drugs — this is a clinical revolution.
📜 The Piwei Lun in 3 Scrolls
Completed in 1249 CE — 3 scrolls — main contents:
- “The spleen and stomach are the root of the postnatal”
- “When qi falls, disease arises”
- The doctrine of “yin fire”
- The pathogenesis of “internal injury from food and overstrain”
Representative formulas:
- Bǔ Zhōng Yì Qì Tāng (补中益气汤, Tonify the Middle and Augment Qi Decoction) — treats “spleen deficiency with qi falling” — still today one of the most commonly used formulas of Chinese clinical practice;
- Shēng Yáng Yì Wèi Tāng, Dāng Guī Bǔ Xuè Tāng, Zhǐ Shí Dǎo Zhì Wán …
📜 Scholarly Influence
Lǐ Dōngyuán’s doctrine — directly opened the way for the Yuán physician Zhū Dānxī’s “School of Nourishing Yin” — directly influenced the Míng physician Zhāng Jǐngyuè’s “School of Warming and Supplementing” — the core of the School of Supplementing Earth (补土派) in Chinese medicine — still today guiding Chinese clinical practice in digestion, immunity, sub-health, and other fields.
Source: Jīn · Lǐ Dōngyuán, Piwei Lun, Nei Wai Shang Bian Huo Lun, and Lanshi Micang; People’s Medical Publishing House punctuation-and-collation editions.
X. Lǐ Shízhēn: The Summit of Materia Medica
“The excellence of the physician lies in the investigation of things.」」
📜 Life
Lǐ Shízhēn (李时珍, 1518–1593 CE), courtesy name Dōngbì (东璧) — styled Bīnhú (濒湖) — a native of Qíchūn, Húběi (蕲春, 湖北) (present-day Qíchūn County, Huánggāng, Húběi) — the greatest materia medica scholar of the Ming — a world-class natural scientist — cited by the English biologist Darwin as “the Chinese encyclopedia.”
📜 “Thirty Years to Write One Book”
Lǐ Shízhēn — three times failed the provincial examinations — from the age of 23 he carried on his father’s medical practice — and discovered that the ancient materia medica contained “errors uncountable and omissions beyond reckoning” — at the age of 27 he resolved to rewrite the materia medica — 27 years — more than 800 kinds of reference books — more than 1,000 on-the-spot investigations — three major revisions of the manuscript — in 1578 — at the age of 52 — the Compendium of Materia Medica was completed — first printed in 1596 — three years after Lǐ Shízhēn’s death.
📜 Three Major Systems
First — The “outline-and-detail” classification — 16 sections, 60 classes, 1,892 medicinals — the most complete classification in Chinese materia medica studies.
Second — The materia medica view of “things of the same kind together; things classified by their kind” — breaking through the “three grades” classification.
Third — The research method of “truth comes from practice” — “walking ten thousand li, seeking information from all directions” — he himself gathered, cultivated, dissected, and personally tasted the herbs.
📜 International Influence
In 1606 transmitted to Japan — in 1659 the Latin translation appeared — in the 18th–19th centuries — translations into English, French, German, Russian and many languages — Charles Darwin cited it in On the Origin of Species — Joseph Needham called it “the summit of sixteenth-century Chinese natural science.”
Source: Ming · Lǐ Shízhēn, Compendium of Materia Medica, Jīnlíng edition (1596); Qián Chāochén and Wēn Chánglù, Comprehensive Studies on Lǐ Shízhēn, Zhongyi Guji Chubanshe, 2003.
XI. Yè Tiānshì: Foremost of the Warm-Disease School, Defense-Qi-Nutritive-Blood
“Warm evil enters from above, first invading the lung, and counter-transmits to the pericardium.」」
📜 Life
Yè Tiānshì (叶天士, 1667–1746 CE), given name Guì (桂) — styled Xiāngyán (香岩) — a native of Wú Xiàn, Jiāngsū (吴县, 江苏) (present-day Sūzhōu) — the most outstanding warm-disease physician of the Qīng — the “foremost of the Four Masters of Warm Diseases” — the “light of Qīng medicine,” standing in parallel to the “Four Masters of the Jīn and Yuán.”
📜 Learning from Many Teachers
Yè Tiānshì from the age of ten began to study medicine under a teacher — he followed father and teachers, seventeen in all — “whenever he heard of someone skilled at treating disease, he would immediately go and study under them” — he was the most famous “learn from many teachers” figure in the history of Chinese medicine — this way of learning — remains the model for Chinese clinical advanced study to this day.
📜 The Defense-Qi-Nutritive-Blood Pattern Identification
Yè Tiānshì created the “defense, qi, nutritive, and blood” four-stage pattern identification — a revolution in warm-disease pattern identification — still today guiding Chinese clinical treatment of epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, influenza, COVID-19, and others.
📜 The Linzheng Zhinan Yian
Compiled by his disciple Huá Xiùyún (华岫云) and others — completed in 1764 — 10 scrolls — recording more than 2,500 clinical cases — the “treasure book at one’s desk” of Chinese clinical practice — still today required reading in Chinese clinical medicine.
Source: Qīng · Yè Tiānshì, Linzheng Zhinan Yian (original), Shanghai Science and Technology Publishing House, 1959; Qīng · Wáng Mèngyīng, Wenre Jingwei (original), People’s Medical Publishing House punctuation-and-collation edition, 2003.
XII. The Common Points of the Ten Great Physicians
“The Great Physician, marked by dedication and sincerity, is the same through a thousand years.」」
📊 The “Four Great Common Points” of the Ten Physicians
1. The Clinic as the Foundation
Biǎn Què’s “four examinations,” Huà Tuó’s “Mafei Powder,” Zhāng Zhòngjǐng’s “pattern identification and treatment,” Huángfǔ Mì’s “arrange by bodily region,” Gě Hóng’s “portable emergency,” Sūn Sīmǐao’s “clinical encyclopedia,” Qián Yǐ’s “pediatric pattern identification,” Lǐ Dōngyuán’s “sweet and warm to remove heat,” Lǐ Shízhēn’s “truth from practice,” and Yè Tiānshì’s “defense-qi-nutritive-blood” — all their theories — came from the clinic — were for the clinic — and returned to the clinic — this is the “root” of Chinese medicine.
2. The Benevolent Heart as the Foundation
Biǎn Què’s “following the customs and adapting,” Huà Tuó’s fearlessness of the powerful in treating the common people, Zhāng Zhòngjǐng’s “above, to treat the illness of one’s lord and parents; below, to save the wretched of the poor and lowly,” Huángfǔ Mì’s “vow to save all,” Gě Hóng’s writing the Zhouhou for the poor, Sūn Sīmǐao’s “Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication,” Qián Yǐ’s “did not seek fame, and there were many such occasions,” Lǐ Dōngyuán’s “saving countless lives,” Lǐ Shízhēn’s “ten thousand li of seeking and gathering,” Yè Tiānshì’s “treating all equally” — all their conduct — was the embodiment of “benevolence” — “The physician is one of benevolent heart and benevolent art” — this is the “soul” of Chinese medicine.
3. The Classics as the Source
All the great physicians — took the Neijing as the root — the Shanghan as the method — the Bencao as the medicine — “read the classics, do clinical work, follow the great teachers” — still today the “three great secrets” of growing as a Chinese physician — this is the “source” of Chinese medicine.
4. Transmission as Continuity
Biǎn Què transmitted to his son Què — Huà Tuó transmitted to his disciples Wú Pǔ, Fán Ā, and Lǐ Dāngzhī — Zhāng Zhòngjǐng transmitted to Wáng Shūhé — Huángfǔ Mì transmitted to his disciples — Gě Hóng transmitted to his wife Bào Gū (鲍姑) — Sūn Sīmǐao transmitted to his disciples — Qián Yǐ transmitted to Yán Xiàozhōng — Lǐ Dōngyuán transmitted to Luó Tiānyì (罗天益) — Lǐ Shízhēn transmitted to his sons Jiànyuán and Jiànfāng — Yè Tiānshì transmitted to his disciples Huá Xiùyún and Wú Jūtōng — “master leads apprentice” + “read the classics” — dual-track transmission — this is the “passing on” of Chinese medicine.
XIII. The “Spirit-Map” of the Ten Great Physicians
“The soul of the great physician, passed on through a thousand years.」」
Biǎn Què · Opened the Eye — the originality of “looking, listening, asking, and palpating,” gave Chinese medicine its “diagnostic method.”
Huà Tuó · Broke the Barrier — the revolutionary nature of “Mafei Powder,” gave Chinese medicine its “external medicine.”
Zhāng Zhòngjǐng · Set the Outline — the systematic nature of “pattern identification and treatment,” gave Chinese medicine its “clinical medicine.”
Huángfǔ Mì · Fixed the Points — the standardizing of “349 points,” gave Chinese medicine its “acupuncture.”
Gě Hóng · Saved the World — the universal benefit of “elbow-emergency,” gave Chinese medicine its “popular” character.
Sūn Sīmǐao · Set the Virtue — the moral nature of “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication,” gave Chinese medicine its “medical ethics.”
Qián Yǐ · Opened the Specialty — the specialty nature of “pediatric pattern identification,” gave Chinese medicine its “pediatrics.”
Lǐ Dōngyuán · Opened the School — the school nature of “Spleen-and-Stomach Doctrine,” gave Chinese medicine its “schools.”
Lǐ Shízhēn · Reached the Summit — the cumulative nature of “Compendium of Materia Medica,” gave Chinese medicine its “science.”
Yè Tiānshì · Opened the New — the revolutionary nature of “defense-qi-nutritive-blood,” gave Chinese medicine its “warm-disease studies.”
XIV. A Word from Qihuang Library
“Ten great physicians strung together the ‘epic of persons’ in three thousand years of Chinese medicine;
ten kinds of spirit condensed into the ‘soul’ of three thousand years of Chinese medicine.」」
Today’s Chinese medicine — when we take the pulse — we think of Biǎn Què’s “looking, listening, asking, and palpating”; when we perform surgery — we think of Huà Tuó’s “Mafei Powder”; when we write a prescription — we think of Zhāng Zhòngjǐng’s “pattern identification and treatment”; when we select acupoints — we think of Huángfǔ Mì’s “349 points”; when we apply artemisinin — we think of Gě Hóng’s “eight-character mantra”; when we take the entrance oath — we think of Sūn Sīmǐao’s “The Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication”; when we treat children — we think of Qián Yǐ’s “five-zang pattern identification”; when we regulate the spleen and stomach — we think of Lǐ Dōngyuán’s “Tonify the Middle and Augment Qi”; when we consult the materia medica — we think of Lǐ Shízhēn’s “ten thousand li of seeking and gathering”; when we combat warm-disease — we think of Yè Tiānshì’s “defense-qi-nutritive-blood.”
These ten great physicians — have never left us — they remain in our pulse-pillow, our needle-tube, our prescription, our page — sharing every heartbeat of Chinese medicine.
“Biǎn Què, Huà Tuó, Zhòngjǐng, Huángfǔ Mì,
Gě Hóng, Sīmǐao, Qián Yǐ, Dōngyuán, Shízhēn;
Tiānshì opened the new heaven of warm-disease,
the Great Physician’s Sincere Dedication is the heart of a thousand years.」」
Qihuang Library, together with you — looking back on the legends of a thousand years of great physicians — seeing how Chinese medicine has been transmitted from generation to generation — seeing how Chinese medicine has been renewed again and again — moving forward to Chinese medicine’s “age of specialties” — moving forward to Chinese medicine’s “future.”
In our next installment — we shall take “the specialty” as our organizing thread — to review “formularies, pulse texts, acupuncture, pediatrics, gynecology, surgery” — six great branches — to see how Chinese medicine went from “an undifferentiated mass of traditional medicine” — to “a tree of disciplines with spreading branches and abundant leaves” — to let us see the “inner structure” of Chinese medicine.
📜 Ten great physicians, legends through the ages;
The torch of the medical Way, passed on without end.