Famous Chinese Doctors

Details and information on four of China’s most famous doctors and physicians.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the oldest form of medicine still in use today. While many of us are familiar with TCM and its various forms, how much do we know about the dedicated individuals responsible for it becoming the number one form of alternative medicine?

Here we reopen the history books to find out more about the doctors that helped shape the modern face of Chinese medicine.

1 - Hua Tuo (华佗) 140-208

Hua Tuo was born in 140 A.D., during the latter stages of the Han dynasty in the ancient state of Pei, which is now the province of Anhui. Hua is credited with being the first Chinese person to use anaesthesia during surgery, and he is famous for his acupuncture treatments and for developing the book called the “Exercise of the Five Animals,” which followed his in-depth studies of the movements of the bear, tiger, crane, deer and ape.

As Hua became famous for his medical prowess and his ability to determine and heal illness, he came to the attention of Cao Cao, the leader of the Cao Wei kingdom. Cao Cao regularly suffered from chronic headaches, and upon hearing about Hua, summoned the healer to his residence for a consultation. Hua used acupuncture techniques to relieve Cao of his headaches, and Cao was so impressed he ordered Hua to remain as his personal physician. Hua resented this, and began to devise ways of returning home to spend time with his wife. When Hua’s long absences began to irritate Cao, he found out about Hua’s deception and promptly sentenced him to death.

2 - Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景) 150-219

Arguably China’s most important herbalist and practitioner of medicine, Zhang Zhongjing was born in Nanyang and lived in the city of Changsha. Like Hua Tuo, Zhang was a doctor during the Han dynasty and is revered for writing a comprehensive book on Chinese medicine that summarized medical expertise to date, and described over 100 different herbal formulas and remedies. The book was eventually split into two parts, and has since become the basis for hundreds of additional books and studies. Zhang’s thoughts on gynecology, and his remedies to overcome infertility and assist women during pregnancy, are still in use today.

Among Zhang’s specialities were his ability to treat fevers and diseases, and his studies of gynecology. Zhang spent a considerable amount of his early years studying the effects fevers and infectious diseases were having on the general population. He began to develop herbal remedies to provide relief for patients, and started to catalog those that were most effective. Zhang’s remedies and experience helped form the crux of his famous book entitled “Treatments on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases.”

3 - Sun Simiao 孙思邈 (540-682)

The proclaimed ‘King of Chinese Medicine,’ Sun Simiao was the pre-eminent doctor during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Sun is famous for writing two books that presented a clear summary of Chinese medicine to date, and for his dedication and exemplary treatment of his patients.

Sun was known as a child genius who had studied Chinese arts in depth before turning his attention to medicine. He was one of the first practitioners to look at the nutritional benefits of certain edible items such seaweed and sheep’s liver.

Sun’s two books - “Essential Formulas for Emergencies” and “Supplement to Essential Formulas” - are both known as landmark books in Chinese medicine. Sun also wrote a book on the hippocratic oath doctors should take, and a portion of that text is still studied by Chinese medical students today. In the book, Sun writes that great physicians should treat every patient equally, as if he or she were one of the doctor’s own relatives.

4 - Li Shizhen 李时珍 (1518-1593)

Li Shizhen made a significant contribution to Chinese medicine through his book “Compendium of Materia Medica,” which took Li 27 years to complete. It contains over 1,892 individual entries and illustrations that includes details of over 1,000 herbs and over 11,000 different prescriptions. In addition to being a renowned herbalist, Li also specialized in acupuncture and naturalism.

Li lived during the Ming dynasty and was born in what is now Qizhou, Hubei Province. His grandfather and father were both physicians, however, Li’s father encouraged him to take the civil service exams and work for the government. Li failed the state exam three times and his father ended up taking him on as an apprentice. Ironically, Li’s work as a physician resulted in him in taking up a government position at the Imperial Medical Institute in Beijing, but Li left shortly afterwards to return to his preferred profession of medicine.

As Li began to read more medical literature, he noticed that much of the information was vague or incomplete, and so he began the arduous task of cross referencing the publications of the time to compile his own book. Li’s “Compendium of Materia Medica” is still regarded today as the premier reference for herbal remedies and treatments, and it has been translated into many different languages.