 Chinese Medicine |
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| History
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The theoretical framework of Chinese medicine was established before 2000 BC. A great deal of ancient medical knowledge is preserved in pre-Chin (221-207 BC) Inner Cannon (Nei Ching), a comprehensive record of Chinese medical theories up to that time.
The Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) produced an authoritative and valuable practical guide to the treatment of illness (even for the present day), the Treatise on Diseases Caused by Cold Factors (Shang Han Lun) by Chang Chung Ching.
One of the best known Chinese medical works is the Materia Medica (Pen Ts'ao Kang Mu), compiled in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 AD) by Li Shih Chen. This encyclopedic work heralded a new era in the history of pharmacology. It includes descriptions of 1,892 different kinds of medicines.
These works have all been translated into several foreign languages, and have exercised a profound influence on both Oriental and Western medicine.
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