Arnaud Versluys

The Treatise on Cold Damage shanghan lun is the oldest surviving clinical handbook in the history of Chinese medicine. Written by Eastern Han dynasty (circa 200 CE) imperial envoy Zhang Zhongjing, it is an integral part of his collective writings once labeled the Treatise on Cold Damage and Complex Diseases shanghan zabing lun. But the contents of the Shanghan Lun as we know it in current day is far from complete. The present versions studied in Chinese medical schools as well as in the West, do not include the original first three chapters of Rules for Pulse Differentiation bianmai fa, Rules on Pulse Assessment pingmai fa and Cold Damage Outline shanghan li. Regardless whatever motivation was behind the historical deletions of these passages, of the aforementioned chapters, the chapters on pulse instructions are crucial for anyone desiring to fully grasp Zhang Zhongjing’s clinical instructions. Especially since the pulse patterns maizheng form the core diagnostic parameters in the establishment of the formula patterns fangzheng by which the canonical clinician categorizes disease and therapy.

The Treatise on Cold Damage shanghan lun is the oldest surviving clinical handbook in the history of Chinese medicine. Written by Eastern Han dynasty (circa 200 CE) imperial envoy Zhang Zhongjing, it is an integral part of his collective writings once labeled the Treatise on Cold Damage and Complex Diseases shanghan zabing lun. But the contents of the Shanghan Lun as we know it in current day is far from complete. The present versions studied in Chinese medical schools as well as in the West, do not include the original first three chapters of Rules for Pulse Differentiation bianmai fa, Rules on Pulse Assessment pingmai fa and Cold Damage Outline shanghan li. Regardless whatever motivation was behind the historical deletions of these passages, of the aforementioned chapters, the chapters on pulse instructions are crucial for anyone desiring to fully grasp Zhang Zhongjing’s clinical instructions. Especially since the pulse patterns maizheng form the core diagnostic parameters in the establishment of the formula patterns fangzheng by which the canonical clinician categorizes disease and therapy.

The Treatise on Cold Damage shanghan lun is the oldest surviving clinical handbook in the history of Chinese medicine. Written by Eastern Han dynasty (circa 200 CE) imperial envoy Zhang Zhongjing, it is an integral part of his collective writings once labeled the Treatise on Cold Damage and Complex Diseases shanghan zabing lun. But the contents of the Shanghan Lun as we know it in current day is far from complete. The present versions studied in Chinese medical schools as well as in the West, do not include the original first three chapters of Rules for Pulse Differentiation bianmai fa, Rules on Pulse Assessment pingmai fa and Cold Damage Outline shanghan li. Regardless whatever motivation was behind the historical deletions of these passages, of the aforementioned chapters, the chapters on pulse instructions are crucial for anyone desiring to fully grasp Zhang Zhongjing’s clinical instructions. Especially since the pulse patterns maizheng form the core diagnostic parameters in the establishment of the formula patterns fangzheng by which the canonical clinician categorizes disease and therapy.