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Zhang Ji (150~219), styled Zhongjing, was a native of Nanyang, Nanyang County (present-day Nanyang, Henan Province), and a medical scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhang Ji was well-versed in literature from a young age and had a strong interest in medicine. He studied medicine under Zhang Bozu from the same county and later served as the governor of Changsha, earning the nickname "Zhang of Changsha." His medical prescriptions were also known as "Changsha Prescriptions." Zhongjing once visited the renowned scholar He Yong from his hometown when he was young. Yong told him, "You are meticulous in thought but lack a lofty demeanor; in the future, you will become a great physician." This prediction came true. (From "The Separate Biography of He Yong")

During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, pestilence was rampant. Zhongjing's family lost two-thirds of its members to illness within less than a decade, with seven out of ten deaths caused by cold-damage disease. He diligently studied ancient medical texts such as Suwen, Lingshu, Bashiyi Nan, Yin-Yang Grand Treatise, and Tairu Yaolu. He inherited the fundamental theories of classical medical texts like Neijing and extensively collected treatment methods from other physicians. Combining his rich clinical experience and insights, he elevated these practices to a theoretical level and creatively authored the epoch-making medical masterpiece Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. Through relentless study and long-term medical practice, Zhang Zhongjing became an outstanding clinical physician, revered by later generations as the "Sage of Medicine."

Zhang Zhongjing was not only highly skilled in medicine but also possessed noble medical ethics. He believed that a physician's duty was to heal and save lives. Besides having exceptional medical skills, a doctor must also have a responsible work attitude and a spirit of innovation. He expressed great indignation towards those who practiced medicine carelessly, such as "measuring the pulse inadequately" or "prescribing medicine hastily," which endangered lives. He sharply criticized mediocre doctors who were helpless in the face of pestilence but clung to outdated family techniques and traditions. He also refuted superstitious beliefs like "relying on shamans and praying to gods," pointing out that such practices would only lead to failure. It was precisely this spirit of opposing superstition, avoiding complacency, emphasizing practice, diligent study, and daring to innovate that made him the "Sage of Medicine." Zhang authored the 16-volume Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases (210), which was later lost. However, it was reconstructed by later physicians and divided into the now-popular Treatise on Cold Damage and Jingui Yaolue.

Zhang Zhongjing's academic thoughts are primarily reflected in his work Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. Building on the predecessors' ideas of "syndrome differentiation and treatment," he established a comprehensive set of principles for syndrome differentiation and treatment. He also made significant contributions to the development of Chinese medicine etiology and the formulation of Chinese medical prescriptions.

1. The theory of three yin and three yang was created to discuss cold-damage disease, and the zang-fu organ theory was used to discuss Zabing, laying the foundation for syndrome differentiation and treatment. Zhang Zhong-jing combined the strengths of the "medical classics" and "classical formula" schools, integrating them into one. Based on the fundamental theory of three yin and three yang differentiation in Suwen﹒Re Lun, he creatively summarized the complex syndromes and their progression in external-contraction diseases, proposing a relatively complete system of three yin and three yang differentiation. He also organically connected the theories of Neijing, including zang-fu organs, meridians and collaterals, and etiology, as well as knowledge of diagnosis and treatment. He applied therapeutic methods such as sweating, vomiting, purging, harmonizing, warming, clearing, dispersing, and tonifying, along with the selection of specific formulas and medicinal substances. For the generation, development, and syndrome differentiation and treatment of external-contraction febrile diseases, he proposed practical guidelines and specific treatment measures. In various fields of Zabing, Zhang Zhong-jing started from the concept of holism, based on the zang-fu organ and meridian and collateral theory, using simple descriptive methods to discuss the etiology, pathogenesis, and principle-method-recipe-medicinal of each disease in varying detail. He proposed a method of syndrome differentiation that combines disease and syndrome based on the zang-fu organ, meridian and collateral pathogenesis, and the four examinations and eight principles. Zhang Zhong-jing focused on studying Zabing disease by disease, which is beneficial for deepening the understanding of many diseases and has significant advantages.
2. developed the theory of etiology and pathogenesis. "A thousand diseases do not exceed three categories: first, the invasion of evil into the zang-fu organs through the meridians and collaterals, which is the internal cause; second, the transmission through the limbs and nine orifices, leading to blockage and obstruction, which is the external cause affecting the skin; third, injuries caused by sexual activities, weapons, insects, and beasts. By detailing these, all causes of diseases are covered." This summarizes complex etiologies into three major categories and explains the relationship between these different causes and the occurrence of diseases. This can be considered the earliest and relatively clear etiology theory in Chinese medicine, later known as the theory of three causes of disease. Regarding the occurrence of diseases, Zhang Zhongjing believed that whether a disease occurs depends on the strength of the body's healthy qi, emphasizing the scientific viewpoint that healthy qi is the root and pathogenic qi is the branch.
3. Contributions to Chinese medical formulas. Zhang's clinical prescriptions were rigorous in method, accumulating rich experience in establishing treatment methods based on syndromes, unifying prescriptions with methods, and modifying prescriptions according to syndromes. These included many important principles of formula composition, earning him the title of the ancestor of Chinese medical formulas. Zhang Zhongjing's formulas are also known as the "ancestor of all formulas." In the Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, there are 113 formulas recorded, using 87 types of medicinal substances, while in the Jingui Yaolue, there are 262 formulas recorded, using 116 types of medicinal substances. Zhang Zhongjing's formulas, having undergone long-term clinical practice, have proven to be highly effective and are still widely used by medical practitioners both domestically and internationally. Some of these formulas have even been made into ready-made medicines following the original prescriptions. Zhang Zhongjing not only summarized the experiences of the Chinese people in combating diseases in the early 3rd century but also further established the principles of using principle-method-recipe-medicinal and syndrome differentiation treatment, closely integrating Chinese medicine theory with clinical practice. This laid an important foundation for the development of Chinese medicine in later generations and made outstanding contributions to the development of medicine in China. Many of the treatment principles and methods he established are still widely used in clinical practice today.