Zhang Zhongjing’s Influence on Chinese Medicine

Zhang Zhongjing was a Chinese physician from the Han Dynasty. He was known for many things such as establishing some of the earliest Chinese medical ideologies, thus having a great impact on the development and evolution of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is considered to be one of the finest Chinese physicians in history,

 

Whilst Zhang Zhongjing has left a historic impact on TCM, not much is known about his life. This is predominantly due to the fact that he lived over 1500 years ago. According to later sources, Zhang Zhongjing was born in Nanyang, a city located in the south western region of Henan province in China and lived from approximately 150 to 219 AD. During this time, he held the position as an official in Changsha. As he was exposed to the aspects of the ongoing war at the time, he soon discovered that there were infectious diseases affecting many people who were fighting for their territories, including his own family.

 

This motivated him to learn medicine from Zhang Bozu, his town’s fellow and later teacher. He collected many prescriptions and studied from texts of medicinal literature, such as “Huangdi Neijing” 《黄帝内经》, which is translated as “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic.”

 

After many years of studying, he wrote the famous medical masterpiece “Shanghan Zabing Lun” 《伤寒杂病论》, which is translated as “Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases.” The book was lost during the war period of the Three Kingdoms; however it was collected and reorganised by later physicians from the Jin and Song Dynasties, including Wang Shuhe （王叔和）.

 

The original text was organised two separate books, known as the “Shanghan Lun” 《伤寒论》, which is translated as “Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Disease”, and the “Jingui Yaolue” 《金匮要略》, which is translated as “Synopsis of Golden Chamber” The first of the two books had a focus on treating epidemic infectious diseases prevalent during his era. The second of the two books was a compilation of various clinical experiences, focusing mainly on internal diseases.

 

To this day, Zhang Zhongjing is still widely recognised in the TCM world as the most influential Chinese doctor and physician, and is often referred to as one of the founder of TCM.