From Bamboo and Silk Medical Texts to the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases:A Study on the Origins and Development of Zhang Zhongjing's System for Diagnosing and Treating Cold Damage Diseases
YIN Ming
REN Yulan
ZHANG Qi
Abstract：Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases is revered as the"Ancestor of Medical Formulas".In the course of its transmission,it was divided into two parts:Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber.Later physicians regarded Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases as the authoritative text for studying external pathogenic diseases.However,Zhang Zhongjing's medical theories were not without roots.The medical texts from bamboo and silk scrolls reflect the clinical experiences of treating cold damage diseases prior to Zhang Zhongjing.Cold damage originally referred to external diseases caused by exposure to cold pathogens,which were prevalent in the northwest border regions during the Han Dynasty.Over time,the concept of"cold damage"gradually broadened in meaning.Zhang Zhongjing absorbed ideas from the bamboo and silk medical texts,such as the notion that the three Yang meridians govern the exterior and that the three Yin syndromes are more severe.He inherited the sweating method used in these early texts but emphasized the timing and intensity of sweating.He also developed safe and effective formulas for inducing perspiration,thereby refining other treatment methods beyond the sweating therapy.His work not only inherited some theoretical concepts and clinical experiences from the bamboo and silk medical texts,but also introduced original innovations,achieving a synthesis of ancient and modern theories and practices both within and outside China.This has significant reference value for the future development of traditional Chinese medicine.
Keywords：Bamboo and silk medical textsTreatise on Cold Damage DiseasesMeridian TheorySweating methodOrigins and development
Publication Date：2025-09-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-09-30(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1507-1511 )