Zhang Zhongjing
Encyclopedia
Zhang Zhongjing formal name Zhang Ji, was a Han Dynasty
physician and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han Dynasty. He established medication principles and summed up the medicinal experience up until that time, thus making a great contribution to the development of traditional Chinese medicine
.
, held an official position in Changsha and lived from approximately 150 to 219 AD. Exact dates regarding his birth, death and works vary, but an upper limit of 220AD is generally accepted.
During his time, with warlords fighting for their own territories, many people were infected with fever
s. Zhang's family was no exception. He learned medicine by studying from his townsfellow Zhang Bozu, assimilating from previous medicinal literature, and collecting many prescriptions elsewhere, finally writing the medical masterpiece Shanghan Zabing Lun . Shortly after its publication the book was lost during the wars that ravaged China during the period of the Three Kingdoms
. Due to Zhang's contribution to Traditional Chinese medicine he is often regarded as the sage of Chinese medicine.
Zhang's masterpiece, Shanghan Zabing Lun, was collected by later people and edited by his disciple Wang Shuhe into two books, namely the Shang Han Lun
(傷寒論, lit. "On Cold Damage"), which was a discourse on how to treat epidemic infectious diseases causing fevers prevalent during his era, and the other, highly influential doctrine Jinkui Yaolue
(金櫃要略, lit. "Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer"), a compendium of his clinical experiences. These two texts have been heavily reconstructed several times up to the modern era. Revered for authoring the Shāng Hán Zá Bìng Lùn, Zhang Zhongjing is considered to have founded the Cold Damage or "Cold Disease" school of Chinese medicine and is widely considered the seminal expert to this day.
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
physician and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han Dynasty. He established medication principles and summed up the medicinal experience up until that time, thus making a great contribution to the development of traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
.
Biography
Though extremely well known in modern Chinese medicine and considered one of the finest Chinese physicians in history, very little is known about his life. According to later sources he was born in NanyangNanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...
, held an official position in Changsha and lived from approximately 150 to 219 AD. Exact dates regarding his birth, death and works vary, but an upper limit of 220AD is generally accepted.
During his time, with warlords fighting for their own territories, many people were infected with fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
s. Zhang's family was no exception. He learned medicine by studying from his townsfellow Zhang Bozu, assimilating from previous medicinal literature, and collecting many prescriptions elsewhere, finally writing the medical masterpiece Shanghan Zabing Lun . Shortly after its publication the book was lost during the wars that ravaged China during the period of the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
. Due to Zhang's contribution to Traditional Chinese medicine he is often regarded as the sage of Chinese medicine.
Zhang's masterpiece, Shanghan Zabing Lun, was collected by later people and edited by his disciple Wang Shuhe into two books, namely the Shang Han Lun
Shang Han Lun
The Shang Han Lun or Shang Han Za Bing Lun , known in English as the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders or the Treatise on Cold Injury, is a Chinese medical treatise that was compiled by Zhang Zhongjing sometime before the year 220, at the end of the Han dynasty...
(傷寒論, lit. "On Cold Damage"), which was a discourse on how to treat epidemic infectious diseases causing fevers prevalent during his era, and the other, highly influential doctrine Jinkui Yaolue
Jinkui Yaolue
Jingui Yaolue , Synopsis of Golden Chamber in medical book or Essential Medical Treasures of the Golden Chamber in prescription book is a classic clinical book of traditional Chinese medicine written by Zhang Zhongjing at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and was first published in the Northern...
(金櫃要略, lit. "Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer"), a compendium of his clinical experiences. These two texts have been heavily reconstructed several times up to the modern era. Revered for authoring the Shāng Hán Zá Bìng Lùn, Zhang Zhongjing is considered to have founded the Cold Damage or "Cold Disease" school of Chinese medicine and is widely considered the seminal expert to this day.
See also
- Hua TuoHua TuoHua Tuo was an ancient Chinese physician who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The Records of Three Kingdoms and Book of Later Han record Hua as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery. He used a general anesthetic combining wine with a...
- Compendium of Materia MedicaCompendium of Materia MedicaBencao Gangmu , also known as Compendium of Materia Medica, is a Chinese materia medica work written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty. It is a work epitomizing materia medica in the Ming Dynasty. The Bencao Gangmu is regarded as the most complete and comprehensive medical book ever written in the...
- Traditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
- Huangdi
- Chinese herbologyChinese herbologyChinese Herbology is the theory of Traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in Traditional Chinese medicine ....
- Li ShizhenLi ShizhenLi Shizhen , courtesy name Dongbi , was one of the greatest Chinese herbologists and acupuncturists in Chinese history. His major contribution to medicine was his 27-year work, which is found in his epic book the Bencao Gangmu...
- Song CiSong CiSong Ci was a forensic medical expert active during the Southern Song Dynasty who wrote a groundbreaking book titled Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified ....
- List of Chinese physicians