Ming and Qing Taoist Medical Masters and Their Major Achievements

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Taoist medicine flourished and developed, and some new characteristics emerged, mainly manifested in two aspects: the relationship between Taoism and medicine became closer, and many Taoist practitioners were proficient in both Taoist techniques and medical skills. Since the Ming Dynasty, many essence of Taoist medicine have been mostly absorbed into the basic theory and clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine, promoting the innovation of traditional medical theory and the prosperity of health preservation in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its main characteristics are the maturity of the theory of the Gate of Destiny, the theory of the intersection of the heart and kidney, and the theory of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians becoming the guiding ideology of health preservation and clinical medicine.
During the Ming Dynasty, Taoist medicine was fully developed, and many medical experts who integrated Taoist medical ideas emerged, achieving many important accomplishments. Firstly, it had a significant impact on the study of herbal medicine during the Ming Dynasty. For example, Li Shizhen referred to a large number of Taoist medical works since the Jin Dynasty when compiling the “Compendium of Materia Medica”. According to his volume one “Preface Example: Introduction to the Hundred Books of Ancient and Modern Classics and History”, there are 440 books cited in the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, of which more than 40 are Taoist books. Gu Jingxing, a Ming Dynasty scholar, pointed out, “It’s not a coincidence that Li Shizhen claimed to be a deity
The local herbal book “Dian Nan Ben Cao” edited by Lan Mao is also an example of the influence of Taoist medicine on herbal medicine. Lanmao, also known as Yanxiu, was a native of Shiyangshan, Yanglin Qianhu, Yunnan Province. He was originally from Luoyang, Henan Province and was born in the 30th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1397 AD). He passed away in the 12th year of the Chenghua reign (1476 AD). Lanmao gave himself the nicknames “Heguang Daoist”, “Dongtian Fengyue Zi”, and “Xuanhu Zi”. He was also known as “Mr. Zhi’an” because he inscribed a plaque on his pavilion that read “Zhi’an”. Lanmao’s study of medicine originated from his mother. Lanzi, due to her mother’s illness, has been paying attention to this technique for more than thirty years. Her studies have all delved into its roots and gained the profound knowledge of ancient people. Her formula and bait are precise and accurate. She does not care about branches and leaves. After adding several doses, she has been cured without fail. Lanmao is not only skilled in medical techniques, but also has extensive knowledge of Taoist alchemy, literature, opera, painting, and geography, and has written extensively. In addition to medical books such as “Dian Nan Ben Cao” and “Yi Men Lan Yao”, there are also refined and nourishing works such as “Xing Tian Feng Yue Tong Xuan Ji”, “Sheng Lv Fa Meng”, and “Xuan Hu Ji” that have been passed down.
The Dian Nan Materia Medica is the most abundant and well preserved local herbal book in ancient China. According to the preface titled “Ming Dynasty Southern Yunnan Yanglin and Guangdao Ren, Zhi An Lanmao Compiled and Recognized”, it is said that “Yu You was fond of herbal medicine, studied its nature and taste, distinguished the geographical situation, and observed the flow of veins. However, Southern Yunnan is different. It is the main vein of Kunlun and is close to the western sky, so it is surrounded by reverse water. Often, strange flowers and grasses are produced in the city of Yunnan and have not been recognized for a long time. After leaving his heart for several years, he distinguished several types of immortal grasses and combined them with the various natures of vegetables, plants, and trees in central Yunnan. He also wrote two volumes of” Essentials of the Medical School “, which specially saved the people’s diseases and passed them on to future generations as an eternal strategy for benefiting the world. Later, some scholars sincerely sought for this purpose. Never let your heart be blinded by the desire to save the sick. If you can hold onto good intentions and help me save lives, you will receive divine and divine blessings, and your blessings will not be shallow. Those who practice medicine should understand and comprehend the pulse, and their response should be as loud as a bell. However, do not lightly spread the word about strange flowers and plants to bandits. Be cautious and cautious.” – “Dian Nan Ben Cao” Has high value and influence in the field of herbal medicine. Wu Qijun, a botanist in the Qing Dynasty, cited 70 pieces of information from “Dian Nan Ben Cao” in his famous works “A Study of Plant Names and Practices” and “A Study of Plant Names and Practices”.
Secondly, Taoist medicine had a significant impact on the fundamental theoretical innovation of Ming Dynasty physicians. Sun Yikui’s medical achievements are a typical case. Sun Yikui, also known as Wenyuan, Dongshu, and Shengzi, is from Xiuning County, Anhui Province. He wrote thirty volumes of “Chishui Xuanzhu” and two volumes of “Yizhi Xuyu”, as well as five volumes of “Birth and Child Medical Cases”. Chishui Xuanzhu “and” Yizhi Xuyu “are two important medical works by Sun Yikui, which have a certain status and influence in the history of traditional medicine development. Sun Yikui was deeply influenced by Taoism, which is first reflected in his medical philosophy that connects medicine and Taoism. He believes that the “truth” of the dual cultivation of life and death in Taoism is helpful for the development of medicine, emphasizing that medical practitioners should refer to and observe the “truth”. Therefore, under the guidance of Daoist Luo Fu, Sun Yikui named the medical book “Chishui Xuanzhu” based on the fable of “Xiang Mu De Zhu” in Zhuangzi’s “Heaven and Earth”. Furthermore, based on the content of Sun Yikui’s medical works, he is skilled at assisting immortals in medicine. In Volume 10 of “Chishui Xuanzhu”, many commonly used alchemy formulas and their refining methods in Taoism are quoted, such as “taking red lead method”, “making white lead method”, “making spiritual lead method”, “making real earth method”, “Baozhu Dan”, “Yin refining autumn stone method”, “Yang refining autumn stone method”, “refining Fu Huo Huang Ya method”, “refining Huang Ya method”, “San Miao Dan”, “San Yuan Dan”, “Wu Jing Wan”, “Zi Xu Yan Ling Dan”, “Zi Shi Zi San San” and so on. Sun Yikui also made significant contributions to the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine. He introduced the understanding of the kidney and destiny gate in Taoist internal alchemy since the late Tang and Five Dynasties into medicine, and systematically expounded the theory of the vital gate – the movement of qi between the kidneys; The Gate of Destiny is located between the two kidneys, containing a small amount of true qi. Human life activities rely on the activation of true qi, so true qi is also known as dynamic qi or original qi, and the place where it occurs is called the Gate of Destiny. He believed that the meaning of destiny is “like the Tai Chi of Confucianism and the Xuan Mu of Taoism”. Sun Yikui’s exposition on the theory of destiny predates the representative medical scholars Zhao Xianke and Zhang Jiebin, making positive contributions to the development of traditional medical theory in the Ming Dynasty.
Thirdly, other Ming and Qing medical scholars who integrated Taoist medical ideas also made important theoretical contributions. Zhou Shenzhai established the theory of heart kidney interaction and heart kidney non interaction as the basis for human physiology and pathology; Fu Qingzhu wrote “Fu Qingzhu Women’s Health”, which has important reference value for the clinical practice of gynecology in later generations; Zhu Dengyuan wrote “Heart Medicine Collection”, and the characteristic of treating psychogenic diseases in clinical practice is to directly use internal alchemy as the main treatment method.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Taoist medicine gradually merged into the development of traditional Chinese medicine and became an integral part of it.