Zhang Gao, a native of Xin'an (She County, Anhui) in the Song Dynasty, was a renowned expert in medical history. Born into a family of famous physicians, his great-uncle Zhang Kuo was a celebrated medical master during the Northern Song Dynasty, and both his grandfather Zhang Hui and father Zhang Yanren were highly skilled in medicine.

Zhang Gao inherited the family's medical knowledge from a young age, blending Confucian studies with medicine. He engaged in clinical practice while also collecting and organizing historical medical materials and secret prescriptions. Known as a Confucian physician, he became the first generation of famous doctors in Xin'an. He authored the ten-volume "Yishuo," which records the experiences of physicians and medical texts through the ages, diagnostic methods, and treatments for various complex and difficult conditions.