Wang Haogu (; 1200–1264),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Haizang (), was a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

physician and writer. He authored a treatise on insanity and its remedies, in addition to a '' materia medica'' that uniquely categorised drugs according to the theory of the '' wuxing'' (Five Phases).

Career

After becoming a ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' (graduate of the highest imperial examinations), Wang studied medicine with . Wang was a native of Zhaozhou,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

, while Li resided in the nearby county of

Zhending Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and h ...

. Wang was particularly influenced by Li's philosophy of "flexible" medication. His ''Yinzheng lüeli'' () builds on Li's writings and provides, for the first time, a "replenshing therapy for a mad patient". In the book, which comprises twelve volumes and recounts some of his experiences as an army phyiscian, Wang distinguishes between ''yang'' madness and ''yin'' madness. He notes in the appendix that he borrowed an "anti-fire" remedy from the '' Shanghan lun'' or ''Treatise on Cold Injury'' to treat a woman who was suffering from ''yang'' madness. However, he criticises the ''Shanghan lun'' for glossing over ''yin'' madness, and recommends his own remedy for it, which involves

aconite Aconite may refer to: *'' Aconitum'', a plant genus containing the monkshoods *Aconitine Aconitine is an alkaloid toxin produced by various plant species belonging to the genus ''Aconitum'' (family Ranunculaceae), known also commonly by the na ...

and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. Wang's formulas became the standard cures for insanity in 15th-century China. Wang rejected the standard pharmalogical practices that had emerged during the

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

and

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

dynasties. His three-volume '' materia medica'', titled ''Tangye bencao'' () and compiled around 1246, was a unique attempt at categorising drugs according to the theory of '' wuxing'' (Five Phases), instead of in terms of animals, minerals, and plants. Wang is credited with being the first to observe that croton seeds or ''ba dou'' (), which were already widely known to be a laxative, also had anti-

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

properties. Later in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, physician Li Shizhen was able to successfully treat diarrhea with croton seeds too, after reading Wang's writings.

Career

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