The four major classics of traditional Chinese medicine are "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic", "The Difficult Classic", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases", and "Shen Nong's Materia Medica"
1. "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic"
"Hanshu·Yiwenzhi·Fangjilue" contains four traditional Chinese medicine classics: Medical Classics, Jingfang, Shenxian and Fangzhong. Among them, the medical classics include: eighteen volumes of Huangdi's Inner Canon, thirty-seven volumes of "External Canon"; nine volumes of "Bian Que's Inner Canon", twelve volumes of "External Canon"; thirty-eight volumes of "Bai's Inner Canon", and "External Canon". The Sutra has thirty-six volumes and the Side Chapters have twenty-five volumes. Except for the Huangdi Neijing, all other medical classics have been lost.
2. "Difficult Classics"
A theoretical work on traditional Chinese medicine. The original name is "The Eighty-one Difficulties of the Yellow Emperor", 3 volumes. The original title was written by a native of Qin and Yue. "Difficulty" means "asking difficult questions" or "difficult solutions". "Jing" refers to the "Nei Jing", that is, the "Nei Jing" for questioning. The author puts forward what he considers to be the difficult and doubtful points, and then explains and explains them one by one, and gives a constructive explanation of some issues.
The whole book is divided into eighty-one difficulties, discussing one by one many issues such as the function and form of the human body's organs, pulse conditions in diagnosis, and acupuncture on the meridians. However, according to research, the book is a pseudonymous work. It was written before the Eastern Han Dynasty (some say it was during the Qin and Han Dynasties). The book is compiled in the form of questions and answers, that is, hypothetical questions and answers, to explain the problems, so it is called "The Classic of Difficulties".
3. "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases"
At the beginning of the 3rd century AD, Zhang Zhongjing read a lot of books, collected many prescriptions, and spent his whole life writing "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" Book. What Chinese medicine calls typhoid fever is actually a general term for all external diseases, including infectious diseases such as plague.
The book was written around 200 to 210 AD. In an era when paper was not widely used and printing was not invented, this book was probably written on bamboo slips. In 219, Zhang Zhongjing died. Without the author's protection, "Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases" began its journey in the human world. In that era, the dissemination of books could only rely on hand-copied copies, which was very difficult to spread.
4. "Shen Nong's Materia Medica"
"Shen Nong's Materia Medica", also known as "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", referred to as "Ben Cao Jing" or "Ben Jing", is the earliest existing pharmaceutical monograph in my country. . The author is unknown, "Shennong" is the pseudonym. There have been different opinions on the year of its writing since ancient times. It may be said that it was written during the Qin and Han Dynasties, or it may be said that it was written during the Warring States Period. The original book was lost long ago, and the current version was compiled by later generations from ancient herbal books.
The book was first recorded in "Sui Shu Jing Ji Ji", which contains "Shen Nong's Materia Medica, four volumes, Lei Gong's annotations". "Old Tang Book Records" and "Tang Book Records" both record "Shen Nong's Materia Medica, three volumes", Song Dynasty's "Tong Zhi Yi Wen Lue" records "Shen Nong's Materia Medica, eight volumes, Tao Yiju's Annotations", Ming Dynasty's "National History Classics Records" "Shen Nong's Materia Medica, three volumes" is recorded. "Qing Shi Manu Yi Wen Zhi" records "Shen Nong's Materia Medica, three volumes".