The Tang Dynasty was the most culturally brilliant period in Chinese history, especially during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
In this great era, the renowned physician Sun Simiao, while writing the preface to his monumental work Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold), clearly articulated the origins and transmission of the medical path.
Sun Simiao stated: “The Yellow Emperor received the mandate, created the Nine Needles, and, along with the masters Qibo and Leigong, thoroughly discussed the meridians, addressed questions, and meticulously examined the principles, thus forming the classic texts, which later generations could rely upon and flourish. … During the Spring and Autumn period, there were the gentle physicians, and during the Warring States period, there was Bian Que; in the Han Dynasty, there were Zhang Zhongjing and the great Hua Tuo, all of whom explored the profound and subtle aspects of medicine.”
Sun Simiao explained that the medical path originated with the Yellow Emperor, Qibo, and Leigong, and that the successors of this path included the gentle physicians of the Spring and Autumn period, Bian Que of the Warring States, and Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo of the Han Dynasty.
This article will explore the following three points:
1. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) originates from the medical path of the Yellow Emperor, which in turn comes from “the Supreme Deity.”
2. TCM is “Daoist Medicine.”
3. Ancient Chinese medicine was quite advanced.
TCM generally refers to the traditional medicine primarily created by the Han Chinese laboring people, and is also known as Han Medicine. TCM is defined in contrast to Western medicine. Before Western medicine was introduced to China, TCM was not commonly referred to as such, but had unique and rich terminologies.
TCM embodies the experiences and theoretical knowledge of ancient Chinese people in their struggle against diseases, gradually forming and developing into a medical theoretical system under the guidance of primitive materialism and spontaneous dialectical thinking through long-term medical practice.
TCM is based on the theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, viewing the human body as a unity of Qi (vital energy), form, and spirit. Through the four diagnostic methods of “observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation,” it seeks to explore the causes, nature, and location of diseases, analyze pathogenesis, and assess changes in the internal organs, meridians, Qi, blood, and body fluids, determining the balance of pathogenic and healthy factors, thus arriving at a diagnosis and categorizing syndromes. Based on the principle of syndrome differentiation, it formulates treatment methods such as “sweating, vomiting, purging, harmonizing, warming, clearing, tonifying, and reducing,” employing various therapeutic modalities including herbal medicine, acupuncture, tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage), cupping, qigong, and dietary therapy to achieve a harmonious balance of Yin and Yang for recovery.
TCM originated in primitive society, and by the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, TCM theories had already taken shape, with the emergence of anatomy and medical specialization, and the adoption of the “four examinations”. Treatment methods included stone therapy, acupuncture, decoctions, moxibustion, guiding exercises, and incantations. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that “the medical path is interconnected.” This influence can be traced back to the texts of the Huang-Lao Daoist school, particularly the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon), which is one of the four classic texts of traditional Chinese medicine and the earliest medical classic in China’s medical treasury. It is also a monumental work studying human physiology, pathology, diagnostics, treatment principles, and pharmacology.
Theoretical foundations were established in TCM, including the theories of “Yin-Yang and the Five Elements,” “pulse diagnosis,” “organ theory,” “meridian theory,” “etiology,” “pathogenesis,” “symptoms,” diagnostic methods, treatment principles, and “health preservation” and “astrology” theories. Later developments in TCM and health preservation began to use Yin-Yang and the Five Elements to explain human physiology, leading to the emergence of medical artisans, gold needles, and copper keys.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the famous physician Zhang Zhongjing recognized the “Eight Principles” (Yin-Yang, exterior-interior, deficiency-excess, cold-heat) and summarized the “Eight Methods”. Hua Tuo was renowned for his expertise in surgery and anesthesia, and he created the health exercise “Five Animal Frolics.” In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao summarized previous theories and experiences, collected over 5,000 prescriptions, and employed syndrome differentiation in treatment, earning him the highest respect for his medical ethics, thus being revered as the “King of Medicine.”
After the Tang Dynasty, Chinese medical theories and texts were widely disseminated to Korea, Japan, Central Asia, and Western Asia. During the Song Dynasty, the Song government established the Hanlin Medical Academy, and medical specialization approached completion, unifying acupuncture points that had been confused due to transcription errors, and publishing the Illustrated Canon. From the Jin and Yuan Dynasties onward, TCM began to decline. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Warm Disease School and the Modern Prescription School gradually replaced the Classical Prescription School of TCM. The publication of Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) in the late Ming Dynasty marked the decline of pharmacology in TCM. During the same period, Mongolian and Tibetan medicine were influenced by TCM. In Korea, Dongyi medicine also saw significant development, exemplified by Heo Jun’s Dongyi Baojian (Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine).
1. TCM originates from the medical path of the Yellow Emperor, which comes from “the Supreme Deity.”
The Huangdi Neijing is universally recognized by physicians throughout the ages as a sacred text, containing many chapters that describe the origins and transmission of the medical path:
The medical path originates from the Supreme Deity;
The order of transmission of the medical path: Supreme Deity → Ancestor Teacher → Qibo → Yellow Emperor → Leigong.
1. The medical path originates from “the Supreme Deity,” later transmitted to the Yellow Emperor.
01. The Supreme Deity transmitted the medical path to the Ancestor Teacher, who then transmitted it to Qibo.
Qibo was the teacher of the Yellow Emperor (the Yellow Emperor referred to him as the Heavenly Teacher). Qibo often spoke of his teacher (the Ancestor Teacher), and Qibo’s teacher was the one who inherited from the Supreme Deity.
Thus, Qibo said: “This is a secret of the Supreme Deity, transmitted by the Ancestor Teacher.”
The Supreme Deity is the emperor of the heavenly realm (the ruler), and the scriptures do not elaborate on this, perhaps it is also a secret within a secret.
In the Suwen: Six Sections on Organ and Form, the Emperor said: “I have heard of the meetings of the sixes and nines; the Master speaks of accumulated Qi and fullness, I wish to know what Qi is? Please, Master, enlighten me and resolve my doubts.” Qibo replied: “This is a secret of the Supreme Deity, transmitted by the Ancestor Teacher.”
02. Qibo transmitted the medical path to the Yellow Emperor.
The Huangdi Neijing is divided into two parts: Suwen and Ling Shu.
Most chapters (112 chapters) are dialogues between the Yellow Emperor and the Heavenly Teacher Qibo, while the later chapters of Suwen from Zhuozhi Jiaolun to Jie Jingwei Lun are teachings from the Yellow Emperor to Leigong. There are also some texts where the Yellow Emperor inquired about medicine from Biao Gao (the Grand Teacher), Shao Yu, Shao Shi, and Gui Yu Qu, with a few texts lacking dialogue.
There is also the Huangdi Waijing, or Waijing Weiyan (transmitted in the Qing Dynasty in the medical texts of Chen Shiduo), which is a record of Qibo answering medical inquiries from Biao Gao, Gui Yu Qu, Leigong, Shao Shi, Rong Cheng, and Niao Shi, among other ministers of the Yellow Emperor.
In the Waijing Weiyan: The Reversal of Yin and Yang, the Emperor said: “Indeed, it is recorded in the Waijing, to be transmitted to the ministers, so that they may all hear the ultimate truth and wander together in the boundless fields.”
Thus, the Huangdi Neijing is a dialogue between the Yellow Emperor and Qibo and other ministers, while the Huangdi Waijing is a dialogue between Qibo and other ministers of the Yellow Emperor, and the two are distinct.
03. The Yellow Emperor transmitted the medical path to Leigong, becoming the root of TCM transmission in later generations.
The term “medical path” first appeared in the Suwen: The Teaching of the Ultimate, where the Yellow Emperor asked Leigong if he could comprehend the medical path.
Leigong replied that he could recite it and understand some, but could not fully grasp it.
The Yellow Emperor then told Leigong that the medical path could “know the celestial phenomena above, the geography below, and the human affairs in between,” and imparted the medical path to Leigong.
The Emperor said: “Good. Do not fail in this; this is all about the Yin-Yang, exterior-interior, and the mutual responses of male and female, and the path knows the celestial phenomena above, the geography below, and the human affairs in between, which can be long-lasting, to teach the common people, and there is no doubt of danger. The medical path can be transmitted to later generations and can be a treasure.”
Leigong said: “Please accept the path, I will recite and understand it.”
2. The transmission of the medical path.
01. Ritual: The Blood Oath of Arm Cutting
The Ling Shu: Prohibitions describes the ritual of the Yellow Emperor transmitting the medical path to Leigong (the transmission of the medical path) as being very solemn and grand, requiring the cutting of the arm and blood oath:
① Three days of fasting.
② The righteous sun receives the oath.
③ Entering the fasting room, Leigong cuts his arm and takes the blood oath.
④ The Yellow Emperor blesses: “Today is the righteous sun, blood oath to transmit the method; if anyone dares to betray this word, they will surely suffer calamity.”
⑤ Leigong bows again and says: “I, the disciple, accept it.” The Yellow Emperor then held his hand with the left and received the text with the right, saying: “Be cautious, be cautious, I speak this for you.”
02. Secret Transmission Method: Oral Transmission and Heart Teaching
“Oral transmission and heart teaching” is a secret transmission method of Daoism, known only to a few outsiders, where the master imparts the “heart method” of the scriptures to the disciple.
The heart method is the most critical part; without knowing the heart method, even knowing the scriptures does not reveal how to use them.
Records of oral transmission and heart teaching in the Huangdi Neijing are as follows:
In the Ling Shu: Oral Inquiry, there is a record of “oral transmission”:
The Yellow Emperor, in leisure, dismissed those around him and asked Qibo: “I have heard of the classic of the Nine Needles, discussing the reversal and order of Yin-Yang, the six classics are complete, I wish to inquire orally.”
Qibo avoided his seat and bowed, saying: “What a good question! This is what the Ancestor Teacher orally transmitted.”
In the Ling Shu: Teacher’s Transmission, there is a record of “heart storage”:
The Yellow Emperor said: “I have heard from the Ancestor Teacher that there is something stored in the heart, not written in the prescriptions. I wish to hear and store it, then apply it to govern the people above and to care for my body below, so that the people have no illness, and the upper and lower are harmonious, virtue flows down, and descendants have no worries, transmitted to later generations, without end. Can I hear it?”
03. The Transmission of the Medical Path in Later Generations
Wang Bo was a person from the early Tang Dynasty (the famous Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng is his work), and Cao Yuan was a friend of Wang Bo, living in Chang’an at that time.
According to the New Book of Tang: Biography of Wang Bo, Wang Bo befriended Cao Yuan and learned many secret medical techniques from him.
Thus, in the preface to the Huangdi Eighty-One Difficulties, he revealed the lineage of the transmission of the medical path:
Qibo → Yellow Emperor → Nine Masters → Yi Yin → Shang Tang → Six Masters → Jiang Taigong → Wen Wang → Nine Masters → Yi He → Six Masters → Bian Que → Nine Masters → Hua Tuo → Six Masters → Huang Gong → Cao Yuan.
2. TCM is “Daoist Medicine.”
The Huangdi Neijing explains the principles of human medicine through “Yin-Yang and the Five Elements,” calling it the medical path, and is the sacred text for treating diseases and preserving health.
The Dao De Jing by Laozi centers on the “Dao” and explains the principles of the universe’s operation, serving as the sacred text for Daoist cultivation.
Both together constitute the core of “Daoism.”
1. Treating Diseases, Preserving Health, Cultivating
According to Daoist hierarchy, the lower level is divination and feng shui (minor Dao), the middle level is treating diseases (medical Dao), and the upper level is cultivation (great Dao).
01. Treating Diseases
Most ancient cultivators also practiced medicine, as the principles of the medical path and cultivation are interconnected; moreover, practicing medicine not only helps the world and saves people but also accumulates virtue and does good.
Many famous ancient physicians were also cultivators, including Ge Hong, Tao Hongjing, Yang Xuancao, Yang Shangshan, Sun Simiao, Wang Bing, Wang Huaiyin, Liu Wanshu, Ma Danyang, Cui Jiayan, Li Shizhen, Sun Yikui, Zhang Jingyue, Fu Qingzhu, and Chen Shiduo.
Because cultivation allows for deeper understanding of the principles of heaven, earth, and humanity, it has led to great medical achievements.
02. Preserving Health
Treating diseases addresses “existing illnesses,” while the more skilled (the upper craftsman) treats “preventive health”; preserving health aims to prolong life and is a necessary stage for entering cultivation.
The Suwen: Discussion on Ancient Heavenly Truth outlines two key points of Daoist health preservation:
Health preservation principle: Harmony of Yin and Yang, balance of form and spirit.
The human body consists of form (the tangible) and the primordial spirit (the intangible), and health preservation must balance both.
The Daoist principle is Yin-Yang; Laozi said: “All things bear Yin and embrace Yang, and the Qi is harmonized.” (Dao De Jing, Chapter 42)
The human body is also composed of Yin and Yang, and health preservation aims to achieve harmony of Yin and Yang.
Thus, the Suwen: Discussion on Ancient Heavenly Truth states: “Those who understand the way follow Yin and Yang, harmonize with the techniques, eat and drink in moderation, maintain regularity in daily activities, do not engage in excessive labor, thus can achieve harmony of form and spirit, and live to a hundred years before departing.”
Health preservation principle: Inner tranquility, clarity of mind, and minimal desires.
Daoists refer to the physical body as the “stinking skin bag,” which is acquired after birth; the essence of Daoist health preservation is to maintain the primordial true Qi, emphasizing the cultivation of spirit (inner tranquility, minimal desires, and valuing virtue and truth).
Thus, the Suwen: Discussion on Ancient Heavenly Truth states: “Tranquil and void, true Qi follows, the spirit guards within, how can illness arise?”
Therefore, one should be free of desires, have a peaceful heart, work without fatigue, and follow their desires, all achieving their wishes.
Thus, they enjoy their food, wear what they like, and delight in their customs, without envying each other, hence the people are called simple.
Thus, desires cannot disturb their eyes, and lust cannot confuse their hearts; the wise and foolish are not afraid of material things, thus they align with the Dao.
Therefore, those who can live to a hundred years without decline do so because their virtue is complete and not endangered.
03. Cultivation, Daoist cultivation to become a true person.
Daoist cultivation aims to become a true person, with the essence of cultivation being “refining essence into Qi, refining Qi into spirit, returning spirit to void, and merging void with the Dao.”
Through cultivation, the tangible “essence” is transformed into higher energy intangible substances (“Qi,” “spirit,” “void”), which is to transform the “tangible” into the “intangible.”
The Suwen: Discussion on Ancient Heavenly Truth specifically describes the Daoist cultivation of the true person as “grasping heaven and earth, mastering Yin and Yang, breathing in essence, guarding the spirit independently, with muscles unified, thus can live longer than heaven and earth, without end, this is the Dao’s birth.”
Merging void with the Dao can lead to becoming a true person, who is one with the Dao.
Zhuangzi said: “The Dao is… the birth of heaven and earth… born before heaven and earth and not aging, long in ancient times and not growing old.” (Nanhua Jing: The Great Master)
Heaven and earth are born from the Dao, and the true person is in harmony with the Dao, thus the true person can master heaven and earth, living longer than heaven and earth, achieving immortality.
Because the true person can unite with the Dao, they can cultivate into an “intangible” body, and with an “intangible” body, they will not suffer from “tangible” ailments, thus free from illness and pain, and can “live longer than heaven and earth, without end.”
It is said that the Yellow Emperor visited Guang Chengzi (a Daoist true person) at Kongtong Mountain, and Guang Chengzi imparted the Yin Fu Jing (a method of cultivation) to him. Later, the Yellow Emperor devoted himself to cultivation, achieving enlightenment at the age of 120, becoming an immortal and ascending to heaven on a dragon.
The Yellow Emperor is the first person in Chinese history to achieve Daoist enlightenment and ascension, thus revered as the ancestor of Daoism, alongside Laozi, known as “Huang Lao.”
2. “Divine Physicians” have “Divine Miracles.”
Many famous ancient physicians were cultivators, as Daoism has a complete system for treating diseases, preserving health, and cultivation principles, and through cultivation, they could develop extraordinary abilities, thus exhibiting many “divine miracles,” among which the most renowned “divine physicians” are Bian Que and Hua Tuo.
01. Bian Que’s “Art of Penetrating Walls” and Hua Tuo’s “Divine Vision”
Bian Que’s “Art of Penetrating Walls”:
In the Ming Dynasty, Sun Yikui discussed the three jiaos (the three burners) as intangible, presenting Bian Que and Hua Tuo’s extraordinary abilities as evidence.
At that time, the medical community popularized Chen Wuze’s theory that “the three jiaos are the size of a palm.”
Sun Yikui countered this by citing historical records of Bian Que’s “Art of Penetrating Walls” (seeing a person’s internal organs through walls), questioning why Bian Que did not say the three jiaos are the size of a palm, but instead referred to them as “intangible Qi.”
Hua Tuo’s “Divine Vision”:
Sun Yikui also quoted He Yiyang (the Immortal Lady) who said: “It is said that Hua Tuo has divine vision, placing a person naked in the sun, seeing their internal organs, thus creating diagrams for later generations to use as treatment standards. During the Three Kingdoms period, there were many killings; Hua Tuo’s medicine cannot be said to lack insight; how could he not mention the three jiaos as such and not record it?”
Hua Tuo also possessed the ability to see through internal organs like Bian Que; during the turmoil of the Three Kingdoms, many were killed, and if the three jiaos were indeed the size of a palm, Hua Tuo would certainly have mentioned it and illustrated it in the Neizhao Tu (Internal Reflection Diagram).
Why did Hua Tuo, like Bian Que, refer to the three jiaos as intangible?
02. Bian Que and Hua Tuo’s “Surgical Procedures”
The Liezi (written by Liezi, a Daoist true person) recorded Bian Que’s “Heart Transplant Surgery,” where two living people (Gong Hu and Qi Ying) exchanged hearts.
However, after the successful heart transplant, the two went to the wrong houses, Gong Hu returned to Qi Ying’s house, and Qi Ying returned to Gong Hu’s house, leading to disputes and bringing the matter to the authorities, later Bian Que explained the situation.
The Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han both recorded Hua Tuo’s miraculous abdominal surgery, first using the anesthetic “Mahuoshan” to put the patient to sleep, then performing an incision, cutting the intestines, removing a tumor (accumulation), then suturing and applying a divine ointment.
03. Zhang Yuanshu’s “Strange Dream”
In the Jin Dynasty, Zhang Yuanshu (Jie Gu Laoren) once told Zhang Jifu (Lan Quan Laoren) about a peculiar dream he had.
One night, Zhang Yuanshu dreamed that someone opened his heart with an axe and chisel, then placed several scrolls inside, seeing the title of the book as Neijing Zhuzhi Beiyao (Essential Prescriptions of the Inner Canon), and then suddenly woke up, feeling a sharp pain in his heart, thinking it was an ominous sign, thus he did not dare to tell others.
However, from that day on, Zhang Yuanshu’s understanding deepened (a kind of extraordinary ability, including his heart’s connection with the heavenly eye), fully comprehending the teachings of the Yellow Emperor, Qibo, and Bian Que, and he pioneered the concepts of ascending and descending, floating and sinking, and returning to meridians in herbal medicine.
This was later revealed in the preface of Yixue Qiyuan written by Zhang Jifu for Zhang Yuanshu.
Ancient great physicians exhibited “divine miracles” in treating diseases because TCM is a culture of divine transmission.
“Divine transmission culture” is primarily reflected in two aspects:
The tangible medical principles (texts) of the medical path are transmitted by the divine (the Supreme Deity);
The intangible connotations of the medical path reflect the “divine miracles” (extraordinary abilities) of cultivation.
Because TCM is “Daoist Medicine,” and Daoism consistently integrates treatment, health preservation, and cultivation through the “Dao.”
Through Qibo and his Ancestor Teacher, the Yellow Emperor received the medical path from the Supreme Deity, and later received the Yin Fu Jing from Guang Chengzi and achieved enlightenment, which is the best evidence that TCM is a culture of divine transmission.
Modern TCM only inherits the surface (prescriptions and experiences), while regarding the essence of TCM (the medical path) as superstition, thus failing to demonstrate miraculous effects in treating diseases.
Moreover, modern TCM has abandoned the established medical path (the Huangdi Neijing), yet reveres the research methods of modern Western medicine as the standard, leading to the loss of the medical path. (The original text has been abridged)
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