Famous Chinese herbalist Sun Simiao
2 min readSun Simiao（581-682）was born in Shaanxi Province.He completed two 30-volume works on medical裂practice that established his place as a central figure in the field of herbal medicine.He has been worshipped as the“King of Medicine” and considered the first to have presented issues related to ethics of medical treatment.
Sun Simiao recorded his experience with herb formulas and his knowledge of medic ine in his famous 30volume work，printed in 652：Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies，the title usually shortened to Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold. The book presented
life-saving remedies，hence the title reflecting their great value.It was not merely a collection of formulas（of which there were an astonishing 4，500），but a treatise on medical Picture 1-8 Sum Simiao practice that reviewed works since the Han Dynasty.He described 519 different genuine medicinal materials that could be found in 133 counties and included treatises on acupuncture，moxibustion，massage，diet，and exercises.So comprehensive in scope was this treatise that later authorities declared it the first encyclopedia of clinical practice.
A second book by Sun Simiao is a supplement to his early one，it is called Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold. The content is based on 30 years of subsequent experience with special attention to folk remedies.It was printed at the end of his life in 682.This work of 30 volumes also serves as a materia medica with 800 medicinal materials，providing details about the collection and preparation of 200 of them.He presented some new herbs，especially ones from foreign countries.In addition，the supplement presented about 2，000 more formulas.Both of Sun’s books are still reprinted today，compiled as one:Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold.
As to his general philosophy of health，he believed people should keep moving，but he thought it was damaging to do too much hard labor.He was an advocate of proper nutrition and the use of massage therapies，physical exercises and breathing exercises.Sun suggested that travelers should take with them some remedies and a guidebook to formulas so that they could deal with emergencies that might crop up，such as injuries，bites，and skin sores.
