From the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty
This is the birth of traditional Chinese medicine, a period moving from mythos to logos. As seen in the mythology of Pangu and the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang 三皇), the Chinese started interpreting nature and the human body from a rational perspective instead of solely from a divine one. Various disciplines such as astronomy, geography, and mathematics developed in the academies of the time, which also influenced medicine. The concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, created to understand nature, became the foundational theories of medicine. The theories of meridians and Chinese herbal medicine were systematized. While Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism all influenced the formation of traditional Chinese medicine, Taoism, with its natural scientific character, had the greatest influence, contrasting the religious asceticism of Buddhism and the humanities-oriented nature of Confucianism.
-Key records and heritage:
- Medical books in the Mawangdui tomb (Ma Wang Dui Yi Shu 马王堆医书) : early insight into meridian and Chinese herbal medicine theories
- Yellow Emperor's Inner Classics (Nei Jing 内经) : an unknown authorship spanning from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Later Han Dynasty, was compiled by several people and formed the basis of fundamental theories.
- Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases (Shang Han Lun 伤寒论) : clinical record of Chinese herbal medicine prescriptions.
- Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing 神农本草经) : medical herbs
From the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties
The Chinese medicine that was conceived in the Han Dynasty was completed in this era through clinical verification. The number of Chinese herbal medicines and prescriptions greatly increased. Acupuncture and moxibustion, pulse diagnosis, and various clinical books were published.
- Key records and heritage:
- Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold (Qian Jin Yao Fang 千金要方) by Sun Simiao.
- Pulse Classic (Mai Jing 脉经) by Wang Shuhe.
- Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing 针灸甲乙经).
Song Dynasty
The accumulated clinical experience of Chinese medicine led to the publication of various encyclopedic books. The number of Chinese herbal medicines, which was about 300 during the Han Dynasty, increased to about 2000 in the Song Dynasty (Zheng He Ben Cao 政和本草). The prescriptions of the Shang Han Lun increased from 370 to 5,000 in the Tang Dynasty's Qian Jin Fang, and to 17,000 in the Song Dynasty's Taiping Shenghui Fang (Taiping Sheng Hui Fang 太平圣惠方). This was also a period when Buddhism, which was dominant during the Tang Dynasty, declined and Confucianism developed.
- Key records and heritage:
- Taiping Holy Prescriptions for Universal Relief (Taiping Sheng Hui Fang 太平圣惠方).
Jin and Yuan Dynasties
This was the period of Mongolian rule. Scholars, who refused to serve the Mongolians, began to study Chinese medicine. They were called Ruyi 儒医. They integrated Confucian theory into Chinese medicine and began to explain pathology from a new perspective, leading to the creation of various schools.
- Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty (Si Da Jia 四大家)
- Liu Yuan-Su advocated for the use of cold and cooling herbs.
- Zhang Cong-Zheng promoted the use of downward-draining substances.
- Li Gao emphasized the use of spleen and stomach tonifying substances.
- Zhu Zhen-Heng focused on using yin-nourishing substances.
Ming Dynasty
Doctrines in the Yuan Dynasty were refined, validated, and verified during the Ming Dynasty. Physicians wrote and published many encyclopedia-type medical books.
- Key records and heritage:
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu 本草纲目).
- Grand Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng 针灸大成).
- Introduction to Medicine (Yi Xue Ru Men 医学入门).
Qing Dynasty
This period was marked by the Manchurian occupation. Hong Taiji declared the Qing Dynasty in 1636. Influenced by the West, the importance of anatomy was raised. Treatment for infectious diseases developed, exemplified by the 'Wen Bing' (warm disease) theory. The Qing Dynasty marks the birth of a new school of thought proposing its own ideas on the origin of disorders and their complementary treatments. Many valuable theories and herbal formulas were developed during this time.
- Key records and heritage:
Systematic Differentiation of Warm Disease (Wen Bing Tiao Bian 温病条辨). by Wu Ju-Tong in 1798.
Correcting the Errors in the Forest of Medicine (Yi Lin Gai Cuo 医林改错) by Wang Qingren (1768-1831).
Chinese and Western Organs Summary (Hua Yang Zang Xiang Yue Zuan 華洋臟象約纂, 1892) by Zhu Peiwen.
Books to remember
- Medical books in the Mawangdui tomb (Ma Wang Dui Yi Shu 马王堆医书).
- Yellow Emperor's Inner Classics (Nei Jing 内经).
- Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases (Shang Han Lun 伤寒论).
- Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing 神农本草经).
- Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold (Qian Jin Yao Fang 千金要方).
- Pulse Classic (Mai Jing 脉经).
- Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing 针灸甲乙经).
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu 本草纲目).
- Grand Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng 针灸大成).
- Introduction to Medicine (Yi Xue Ru Men 医学入门).
- Systematic Differentiation of Warm Disease (Wen Bing Tiao Bian 温病条辨).
- Correcting the Errors in the Forest of Medicine (Yi Lin Gai Cuo 医林改错).