Sun Simiao (; died 682) was a Chinese physician and writer of the Sui and

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. He was titled as China's King of Medicine (, Yaowang) for his significant contributions to

Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

and tremendous care to his patients.

Books

Sun wrote two books - ''

Beiji qianjin yaofang ''Beiji qianjin yaofang'' (), literally ''Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies'', is a Chinese medical text by Sun Simiao first published in 652. A sequel was published in 682. Contents Comprising thirty ''juan'' or scrolls ...

'' ("Essential Formulas for Emergencies

orth Orth can refer to: Places * Orth, Minnesota, an unincorporated community in Nore Township, Minnesota, United States * Orth an der Donau, a town in Gänserndorf, Lower Austria, Austria * Orth House, a historic house in Winnetka, Illinois, United S ...

a Thousand Pieces/Catty of Gold") and ''Qian Jin Yi Fang'' ("Supplement to the Formulas of a Thousand Gold Worth") - that were both milestones in the history of Chinese medicine, summarizing pre-

medicine. The former listed about 5300 recipes for medicines, and the latter 2000. He also put forth the “Thirteen measures to keep health”, which claimed that actions like touching hair, rolling eyes, walking, and shaking heads improved health.Sun Simiao, King of Medicine, Cultural China
/ref>
Apart from this, he is known for the text "On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians," often called " the Chinese Hippocratic Oath," or called " Dayi Heart", which comes from the first chapter of the first of the above-mentioned two books. This portion of the book is still a required reading for Chinese physicians. The following is an excerpt of the text:

A Great Physician should not pay attention to status, wealth or age; neither should he question whether the particular person is attractive or unattractive, whether he is an enemy or friend, whether he is a Chinese or a foreigner, or finally, whether he is uneducated or educated. He should meet everyone on equal grounds. He should always act as if he were thinking of his close relatives.

The work ''Essential Subtleties on the Silver Sea'' (, yínhǎi jīngwēi) was probably written by Sun Simiao. It was published at the end of the

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 fif ...

(1271−1368) and has had wide influence on the Chinese ophthalmology until today.Agnes Fatrai, Stefan Uhrig (eds.): Chinese Ophthalmology – Acupuncture, Herbal Therapy, Dietary Therapy, Tuina and Qigong. Tipani-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2015, . In addition to his medical work, Sun also experimented in Chinese '' waidan'' external alchemy and may have been an initiated Daoist adept. The sinologist

Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin (11 May 1931 – 24 June 2022), also known as Xiwen (), was an American sinologist, historian, essayist, educator, and writer. He taught first at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania until his r ...

says Sun Simiao's famous ''Danjing yaojue'' "Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics"

… is as close to a modern laboratory handbook as anything we are likely to find in ancient literature. Following a preface and a catalogue of elixir names, there is a set of detailed specifications for necessities of the laboratory, including the ''liuyini'' "six-one" lute which was universally employed in Chinese pharmacology and alchemy for the hermetical sealing of reaction vessels. Finally, there are the recipes themselves: ingredients grouped at the beginning, with weight and advance preparation clearly noted, and perspicacious, concise directions for compounding and using the products.

References

Bibliography

External links

Sun Simiao: Author of the Earliest Chinese Encyclopedia for Clinical Practice
— Subhuti Dharmananda {{Authority control 682 deaths 7th-century Chinese physicians 7th-century Chinese writers Chinese centenarians Men centenarians Chinese medical writers Chinese non-fiction writers Sui dynasty physicians Sui dynasty writers Northern Wei people Northern Zhou people Physicians from Shaanxi Tang dynasty science writers Writers from Tongchuan