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Ding Gan-ren, styled Ze Zhou, was born in 1865 in Menghe Town, Tongjiang Township, Wujin County, Jiangsu Province. From a young age, he was exceptionally intelligent and could compose essays effortlessly. He initially apprenticed under Ma Zhongqing of Weitang and his elder brother Ding Songxi, and later under the master craftsman Ma Peizhi. Ding Gan-ren studied diligently, immersing himself in learning regardless of the seasons, accumulating a wealth of knowledge. He mastered both the internal and external medical techniques of the Ma family, including throat medicine, and fully inherited their true teachings. After completing his studies, he began practicing medicine in Menghe and Suzhou, and later moved to Shanghai, where his reputation flourished, resonating across the Yangtze River. At that time, many foreign residents in Shanghai sought treatment from Ding Gan-ren.

Shanghai was a hub for renowned physicians, and Ding Gan-ren's practice was among the best. He was unwilling to keep his life-saving techniques to himself and aimed to promote Chinese medicine and nurture the younger generation. Thus, he resolved to establish educational institutions. Together with his colleagues Xia Yingtang and Xie Liheng in Shanghai, he raised funds to start schools. In 1917, he founded the Shanghai Chinese Medicine Specialized School, and two years later, he established a Women's Chinese Medicine Specialized School. Students from all over the country flocked to these institutions, producing a large number of highly skilled Chinese medicine practitioners. Later, Ding Gan-ren further established two Guangyi Chinese Medicine Hospitals in southern and northern Shanghai, both equipped with outpatient and inpatient departments for student internships and practical training, thus spreading his influence nationwide. Among his students, many excelled, including Cheng Menlian, Huang Wendong, Wang Yiren, Zhang Bosou, Qin Bowei, Xu Banlong, Zhang Cigong, and Wang Shenxuan, all of whom were top graduates from the early years of the Shanghai Chinese Medicine Specialized School. In 1920, Ding Gan-ren initiated the establishment of the "National Medical Association," the first organization to unite physicians of Chinese medicine, fostering mutual learning and collaboration. To advance medical research, he launched the "National Medical Journal" and founded the "Jiangsu Chinese Medicine Federation," serving as its first president, thereby strengthening connections within the national Chinese medicine community. He maintained a humble attitude towards learning, often saying, "Learning is endless, and one should broaden their horizons." He frequently interacted with contemporaries such as Wang Lianshi, Yu Tinghong, Tang Rongchuan, and Zhang Yuqing, continuously absorbing the strengths of various schools.

Ding Gan-ren was charitable and treated patients equally, regardless of their wealth, often waiving fees for the poor and even providing free medicine. He was passionate about public welfare, sometimes donating all his consultation fees to schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations, offering free medical care and medicine, distributing porridge and cotton clothes, and establishing free schools, Yanglao (SI6) homes, and orphanages. In his hometown, he actively contributed to community welfare, such as setting up the Wujin-Danyang Yisha Ferry Bureau, Menghe Infant Reception Center, Menghe Elderly Home, and Tongjiang Literary Society. He generously donated to build bridges and roads, never hesitating. Ding Gan-ren's excellent medical skills and high moral character earned him deep respect from the community, and his deeds are still celebrated by neighbors and friends.

Ding Gan-ren was erudite, not only focusing on the four major Chinese medicine classics—Neijing, Nan Jing, Cold-Damage Disease Zabing Lun, and Shennong Bencao Jing—but also studying works such as Maijing, Yimen Falu, Zhangshi Yitong, Wenre Jingwei, and Shibuzhai Yishu, which he designated as required reading for his students. He frequently quizzed and assessed his students to encourage diligent study, resulting in outstanding academic achievements and a steady stream of talented individuals. He was also strict with his own learning, often reading Neijing in his spare time and gaining deep insights. He also studied the essential techniques of various disciplines in Yizong Jinjian, as its prescriptions were practical and useful for clinical practice. According to his students, Ding Gan-ren often read late into the night, with the lights in his study burning until the early hours. He applied his learning to practice, often quoting key phrases from Neijing in his medical records, linking theory with practice, thereby emphasizing the importance of theory and enhancing students' understanding. Thus, Ding's medical cases were well-reasoned and methodical, detailing tongue coatings and pulse manifestations, with accurate diagnoses, followed by pattern identification and prescription, greatly inspiring later learners.

Ding Gan-ren was already renowned nationwide in his middle age. In his later years, he remained vigorous and his medical practice was extremely busy, yet he continued to work diligently and meticulously. He was serious in his teachings and strict with his apprentices, earning deep respect and affection from both students and patients. In the past, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in his capacity as the President, presented him with a golden plaque inscribed with the words "Extensive Benevolence and Aid to the Masses," which was hung in the hall of his clinic on the old Baike Road in Shanghai, as a mark of commendation.

Ding Gan-ren passed away in the summer of 1926 at the age of 62. His funeral was attended by renowned figures from various fields, as well as representatives from overseas Chinese and the embassies of six countries, making it an unprecedented grand event. Ding Gan-ren was buried at Fengshan, Gaoqiao, Menghe, his hometown. His tomb and gravestone remain intact to this day, and have recently been renovated by the local government.

Academically, Ding Gan-ren revered Zhang Zhong-jing's "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases," and based his clinical prescriptions on the six-meridian differentiation. He believed that mastering the principles of the six-meridian differentiation was key to analyzing conditions and prescribing medication. He once said that there are two major approaches in clinical practice: one is the six-meridian diseases in the "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases," and the other is the miscellaneous diseases in "Jingui Yaolue." These two books are the main references for the differentiation and treatment in Chinese medicine, and neither can be omitted. Ding Gan-ren was proficient in internal, external, gynecological, pediatric, throat diseases, and difficult miscellaneous diseases, and was particularly effective in treating external-contraction febrile diseases.

Ding Gan-ren's research on external-contraction febrile diseases followed the "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases" but was not confined to its prescriptions, and adhered to the theory of warm diseases but was not limited to seasonal warm diseases. He once said, "When reading ancient books, one must have insight, and through critical thinking, distinguish the truth. It is also necessary to engage in clinical practice and contact actual cases to truly understand and apply the knowledge freely." Over several decades, Ding Gan-ren combined clinical practice with a deep study of the principles and application methods of the "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases" and the theory of warm diseases, gaining significant insights. He believed that in practical application, the theories of cold damage diseases and warm diseases must be interconnected and not opposed. In the treatment of external contraction diseases, the two theories should be integrated and tailored to the individual to achieve good results. Observing the "Ding's Medical Cases," treatments for cold damage diseases and warm diseases often used prescriptions from both cold damage and warm disease theories simultaneously, without strictly dividing between classical formulas and contemporary prescriptions, demonstrating flexible clinical application and excellent efficacy.

For example, in the treatment of cold-damage diseases, he always followed the pattern of external pathogenic cold invading through the six meridians, identified the complicating factors, adapted flexibly, and applied appropriate treatments. For the treatment of warm diseases, Ding Gan-ren carefully differentiated in clinical practice whether the syndrome belonged to wind-warmth or dampness warm disease. He believed that wind-warmth pathogens invade from above, first attacking the lungs, then reversely transmitting to the pericardium, leading to rapid changes. "This disease benefits from swift action, as wind belongs to yang, warmth transforms into heat, and the collision of two yangs leads to the fastest disease progression; especially when latent warmth transforms into fire and damages yin, the onset is even more urgent, which is fundamentally different from dampness warm disease." In treatment, apart from common cases where wind-warmth invades the lung and stomach, scorching the qi aspect, and applying methods such as Mulberry Leaf and Chrysanthemum Decoction, Lonicera and Forsythia Powder, and White Tiger Decoction, Ding Gan-ren particularly emphasized adapting to clinical manifestations. For instance, in cases of wind-warmth syndrome with persistent fever, sweating, cough with copious phlegm, and loose stools, despite repeated use of cool and clearing agents to moisten the lungs and resolve phlegm, the pathogen does not exit externally but instead sinks into shaoyin, manifesting as mental confusion, profuse sweating, cold limbs, and a deep, thin pulse. In such cases, he urgently used Ginseng, Aconite Lateral Root, Fossil Bone, and oyster shell to restore yang and rescue from collapse, saving the crisis of yin-yang separation. After yang was restored and signs of yin deficiency and dryness-heat appeared, he followed with yin-nourishing and dryness-moistening agents to achieve complete recovery. Ding Gan-ren said, "Using Ginseng, Aconite, Dragon Bone, and Oyster Shell in warm diseases is to treat the transformed syndromes, not the usual method. As people's constitutions differ, and the deficiency-excess and cold-heat of diseases vary, cold-damage diseases can transform into heat, and warm diseases can also transform into cold, all changing according to the transmission of pathogenic forces. This syndrome initially affects the lung and stomach, then transmits to shaoyin, with inherent yang deficiency, thus yang heat transforms into pudendal coldness. After yang is restored, true yin is damaged again, hence the methods before and after differ. If one rigidly adheres to the notion that warm pathogens cannot be treated with warm agents, the condition will inevitably worsen." Regarding dampness warm diseases, Ding Gan-ren believed that the pathogens of dampness warm disease often affect both the exterior and interior, with a pervasive and steaming nature, lingering longest in the qi aspect. Dampness combined with warmth can either transform into heat from yang or into cold from yin, largely aligning with the six-meridian transmission of cold-damage diseases. The treatment primarily focuses on promoting qi transformation to resolve dampness and simultaneously addressing both exterior and interior. In summary, the treatment methods are: when pathogens are in the defense and qi aspects, follow the three yang meridians' treatment; when dampness overwhelms yang, follow the three yin meridians' treatment; when pathogenic heat enters yin from yang, follow the warm disease heat transmission to nutrient-blood treatment. From these treatment examples, it is evident that in pattern identification and treatment, Ding Gan-ren combined the six-meridian differentiation of cold-damage diseases with the Weiqi nutrient-blood differentiation of warm diseases, and in prescription, he integrated classical formulas with contemporary formulas, breaking conventions and innovating uniquely. It can be said that Ding Gan-ren pioneered the unification of the cold-damage and warm disease theories.