History and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Essay

History and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine - Essay Example With respect to the sages, Zhang Cong Zheng is one of the most notable. This paper will explore his works, theories and philosophies including his influence in the development of Chinese traditional medicine. Also known as Zhang Zi-he, Zhang Cong Zheng founded the Gong Xia Pai, which is the School of Attack and Precipitation or Purgation. Here, there was an emphasis on the approach to disease as caused by the presence of evil qi (Yang, 1993, pp.vii). This kind of qi involves those pathogenic factors that must be flushed out of the human body with the use of drugs and treatment, hence, the titular name of the school. Together with other great masters such as Liu Wansu, Li Gao and Zhu Zhenheng, Zhang Cong Zheng was able to further promote the Chinese traditional medicine, exploring it from different angles, enriching and expanding it in the process. Zhang Cong Zheng was born between 1156 and 1200 CE in He Jian, Hebei Province. The place and time is important because they underscore the influences to the sages philosophies that led to the school that he founded. First, he lived during the Jin-Yuan period and that the three other great masters were his contemporaries or close to his generation. What these all mean is that he was able to incorporate elements of treatment from his Jin-Yuan contemporaries. The great master Liu Wansu, for instance, was already dead during his time, but the sages cold/cooling method heavily influenced Zhang Cong Zhengs work. There were also protracted conflicts and plagues that marked the period, providing a new environment and, therefore, new requirements for medical treatment and practice. Zhang Cong Zheng is known for his purgation method, where treatment involves the inducement of pathogens in bodily processes. This works within an understanding of pathology based on the climatic qi of heaven and earth. According to Buck, Zhang Cong Zheng, through his purgation school improved on a Liu