A native of Pujiang, Wuzhou (now part of Zhuji County, Zhejiang), Dai Shi-yao (1307-1349) came from a family with a long tradition of Confucian scholarship and several generations of medical practice. His father, Dai Shi-yao, was the elder brother of the literary figure Dai Liang. Dai Shi-yao abandoned Confucian studies early in life to pursue medicine. His younger brother, Siwen, also known by his courtesy name Yuanzhi and pseudonym Yizhai, was also renowned in medicine. In the third year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan dynasty (1343), Dai Shi-yao took his sons, Si Gong and Si Wen, to Yiwu to study under the tutelage of Danxi. Dai also studied medicine under Luo Zhi-ti.

During the Hongwu period, recommended by Shi Kui of the Taiyiyuan, Dai became a royal physician. He gained the favor of Zhu Yuanzhang and was awarded the title of Digong Lang, a rank eight royal physician. At the beginning of the Jianwen era, he was promoted to the position of Taiyiyuan envoy. In the first year of the Yongle era (1402), after submitting four petitions, he was finally granted permission to retire.

Dai was meticulous in clinical diagnosis and precise in medication. His works include "Secretly Transmitted Essential Prescriptions and Classified Formulas" , "Excerpts from Materia Medica" , "Classified Symptoms and Medication" ; "Exploring the Teacher's Intentions" , and he also edited and supplemented Zhu Dan-xi's "Jingui Gouxuan" , among others. "Secretly Transmitted Essential Prescriptions and Classified Formulas" was published in 1443, primarily discussing the treatment of internal diseases.

"Exploring the Teacher's Intentions" was written to elaborate on the unexpressed intentions of Danxi. Originally without a printed edition, it was obtained by Wang Ji during the Jiajing period and was edited and published by Wang's disciple Chen Jue, with the title given by Wang. It consists of 2 volumes.

Dai respected Danxi and was highly precise in the diagnosis and treatment of the six depressions. He pointed out that abnormal transmission and transformation are key to causing depression, and among depression syndromes, those caused by the middle jiao are the most common, deepening Danxi's theory of the six depressions. Dai thoroughly studied the theories of Liu Wan-su, Zhang Zi-he, and Li Dong-yuan, selecting the best from each without adhering strictly to any one school, showing no sectarian bias.