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This book is abbreviated as Chao's Etiology, also known as Chao's Zhubing Yuanhou Lun, Treatise on Causes and Manifestations of Various Diseases. During the Sui Dynasty's Daye era, the Sui imperial physician Chao Yuan-fang was ordered to compile it with Wu Jingxian and others. It was completed in the sixth year of Daye (610). The entire book consists of fifty volumes and sixty-seven categories. This book is the first medical theoretical work commissioned by the imperial court and collectively written in China. The earliest extant version of this book is the Yuan Dynasty block-printed edition, and the commonly seen version is the 1955 photolithographic edition by the People's Medical Publishing House.

Zhubing Yuanhou Lun provides detailed explanations of the causes, mechanisms, and changes of 1739 types of syndromes. The comprehensive collection of diseases is unprecedented, and the analysis of the etiology and pathology of various diseases, as well as the classification and description of symptoms, is of a high level. The book uses diseases as its framework, and under each category of disease, it discusses the concepts, causes, mechanisms, and symptoms of various diseases, including internal diseases, five sense organ diseases, surgical diseases, traumatology, skin and anorectal diseases, as well as gynecological, obstetric, and pediatric diseases. The discussion focuses on the causes and symptoms, involving prevention, health preservation, conduction exercises, external treatments, and some surgical techniques, but it does not include prescriptions.

This book has made multifaceted contributions to traditional Chinese medicine, developing the theories of predecessors in etiology and pathology. For example, it identifies goiter in mountainous areas as being caused by drinking iodine-deficient "sand water," and provides detailed observations and systematic, accurate descriptions of the changes and outcomes of various diseases, highlighting the unique symptoms of each disease, which is of significant importance in clinical differential diagnosis.

In terms of syndrome classification, it meticulously records the diseases before the Sui Dynasty, categorizing them systematically. The book also introduces abdominal surgical procedures, such as intestinal anastomosis, wound suturing, and vascular ligation for hemostasis, reflecting the high level of ancient Chinese surgical techniques.

Zhubing Yuanhou Lun has preserved many precious ancient Chinese medical materials, and later medical practitioners highly regard this book, which also has a certain influence on foreign medicine. It is the first specialized monograph on etiology and symptomatology in China, with high academic value.