Four Great Medicinal Masters during Jin and Yuan Dynasties
5 min readSong and Yuan dynasties were a prime period for development of ancient Chinese science and technology,
with scientists and specialists of many disciplines coming forth in large numbers, particularly in maths, agriculture and medicine each represented by four great masters in the discipline. Influenced by Confucian ideology of Song dynasty, the four great therapists of traditional Chinese medicine criticized their counterparts during Jin and Tang dynasties, claiming that they only attached importance to collection of prescriptions and tended to pay little attention to study of medical theories. On the basis of their clinical practice and exploration of medical theories, traditional Chinese medicine opened up an unprecedented prospect in theoretical studies that could be represented by the four different schools: the school of “cold caused illness therapy”represented by Liu Hejian, of “lower body parts therapy”by Zhang Zihe, of “tonic for spleen and stomach” by Li Dongyuan, and of “nourishment for vitality”by Zhu Danxi.
Liu Hejian (1120-1200), also Liu Wansu by his courtesy name,a native of Hebei (present-day Hejian of Hebei province) in Jin dynasty, was the first of the four, asthe founder of the school of “cold caused illness therapy” as well as one of the founders for plague studies. Heconducted in-depth studies of Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon and found that one more climatic reference(i.e.extremity) should be supplemented to the original six ones to the five pathogenic factors. According to his own pathology,”the vitality energies all over the body vary unexceptionally in correspondence with the five pathogenic factors and six climatic references”, and extremity in any of the factors and subsequent plagues are attributed to disorder of other factors. Excessive cold may shift to the dominant excessive heat-major causes for most illness, or vice versa, which formed his theory of excessive heat. Intreatment he developed further Zhang Zhongjing’s theory on exogenous febrile disease and advocated the use of bodycooling herbs for treatment of thirst and hotness,a unique therapy known as the school of cold caused illness therapy.
His masterpieces in traditional Chinese medicine include Plain Questions on Pathology for Common Diseases and Analysis of Prescriptions for Common Diseases in Plain Questions. His disciples and apprentices included Ma Zongsu, Jingshan Futu and Zhang Zihe. Luo Zhiti, teacher of Zhu Danxi, was a student of Liu Hejian’s disciple.
Zhang Zihe(approximately 1156-1228), also Zhang Congzheng by his courtesy name, native of Kaocheng of Suizhou prefecture during Jin dynasty(present-day Lankao of Henan province), was born into a family engaged in medicine for generations. He once worked as a military doctor and then as a physician of the Imperial College of Medicine and was even promoted to be a minister. But as he sought no fame and wealth, Zhang declined the official position and continued to work as a therapist. He received his training under master Liu Hejian and developed his own theory of “combating pathogen”: all pathogenetic factors for illness, internal or external, could be pathogens.
In actual treatment, he mainly adopted the”diaphoretic, emetic, or purgative therapy for lower body parts three therapies”, and became the founder of that kind of therapy.
Zhang had no objection to the nourishment therapy but gave priority to getting remove toxins from food intake. In addition, he also advocated psychological treatment through control of one sentiment over another leaving behind a good number of clinical cases of mental troubles.
He wrote the great work Confucians’ Duty to Their Parents, in 18 volumes, and had several followers including Ma Zhiji and Chang Renming.
Li Dongyuan (1180-1251), also Li Gao, native of Zhending (present-day Zhengding of Hebei province) during Jin dynasty, did not make up his mind to study medicine until the age of 20 after his mother’s death of misdiagnosis. He learned from master Zhang Yuansu and carried forth the master’s theoretical school of Yishui, at a time when epidemic diseases characterized by swelling and redness of face prevailed with a very low rate of cure.
Trace-to-the-source minded and experienced with many successful healing cases, he became one of the best therapists of his time. As the founder of the theory on traditional Chinese medicine for “spleen and stomach”diseases, he maintained that hundreds of diseases werecaused by harm in the spleen and stomach to a certain degree, due to wrong diet, fatigue from hard work and sufferings caused by the seven human emotions. In medical treatment, he mainly turned to the therapy of rise of positive vitality in the spleen and pioneered thedevelopment of a preparation for invigorating the spleen-stomach and replenishing vitality and to heat up the weak body by sweet and temperate heat relieving process.
Since the role of spleen-stomach is placed at the “soil”in the Five Elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine, his therapist school was known as school of “soil nourishing”. His masterpieces include Treatise on Spleen and Stomach, Interpretations for Internal or External Caused Diseases, and Secretes from the Orchid Chamber.
His disciples included Wang Haogu and Luo Tianyi.
Zhu Danxi(1281-1368), also Zhu Zhenheng, native of Yiwu of Wu prefecture (present-day Yiwu of Zhejiang province) in Yuan dynasty, studied Confucianism during childhood and youth. While in his middle age, he converted to the study and practice of traditional Chinese medicine, because many of his relatives died from wrong treatment.
He was formally apprenticed to master Luo Zhiti. In his belief, the human body tended to have sufficient positive vitality but inadequate negative one in most cases, and that life originated from “ministerial fire”in regular physiological activities and any change in the fire could be morbigenous to varied diseases. In medical treatment, he advocated to the nourishment of negative vitality and minimizing fire by clear-heart and peaceful-mind therapy, based on which he created the school of “negative vitality nourishing”. He opposed the view of “absolute cause ofcold”, the abuse of wet, hot, fragrant and dry herbs, the blind faith in “one therapy for all diseases”, and the intake of alkahest. Instead, he favoured cautious application of the diaphoretic, emetic, or purgative therapy, prescription to specific cases, diet for vitality nourishment, and dialectical treatment. His masterpieces include Further Discourses on the Properties of Things and Elucidation of Dispensary Formulas, and he taught several disciples including Wang Li, Zhao Yide, Dai Wenli, and Zhao Daozhen.
