Huangdi Neijing Su Wen(Plain Questions: Yellow Emperor's Internal Canon of Medicine), is the earliest medical book available in China. Legend has it that it is a record of discussion between the Yellow Emperor and his six ministers, including Qi Bo and Lei Gong. But actually it is a reflection of medical science accomplishment in China in the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), not a product of any single person in any single period. Based on the many incomplete versions of the book full of errors then, Wang Bing of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) took great pains in supplementing and proofreading, classified the contents, and added many notes, as a result. It took him 12 years to complete his new version of the book in the first year of the Baoying reign (762 AD). The whole book is in 24 volumes, containing 81 chapters, offering a great convenience to learners of later generations, and making a great contribution to the collation of ancient medical classics.
The book expounds many principles of harmony between human and nature, physiology, anatomy, pathology, diagnosis, regimen, prevention , treatment of diseases, and son on materialistically and dialectically. It has become the footstone of Chinese medical science,the source of the theoretic system of traditional Chinese medicine, and the basis for clinical diagnosis of various diseases. Thus, later generations regard it as the "classical medical book", a necessary book for learners of traditional Chinese medicine.
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