TimeLine of TCM Classics!

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ShenNong The TCM timeline is a list of events in chronological order.It is a brief history of TCM Classics,its date,brief introduction,and their relations with ancient Herbalists,Taoists and Alchemists.TCM refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years,including various forms of herbal medicine,acupuncture,massage,exercise,and dietary therapy.These practices are a part of health care throughout East Asia,but considered alternative medicine in the Western world.

 Ancient Time,The Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 481 BC),The Warring States Period(475-221 B.C.),or Pre-Qin Period. Warring States Period Icon
 Many Herbal Classicis before Qin Chao(221 to 207 BC) lost,some of them are still available,such like Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing,Huang Di Nei Jing,Nan Jing etc.Han Shu Yi Wen Zhi noted ever existed Seven Herb Classics before Qin Dynasty,those are HuangDi Nei Jing,HuangDi Wai Jing,BianQue NeiJing,BianQue WaiJing,BaiShi NeiJing,BaiShi WaiJing,Pang Pian.Unfortunately only HuangDi Nei Jing survived,other 6 classics seems lost in ancient times.During the Warring States Period preceding the Qin Chao(Qin Dynasty),the major states vying for dominance were Yan,Zhao,Qi,Chu,Han,Wei and Qin.The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings,rather than using the titles of lower nobility they had previously held.Professional Herbalists appeared since the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C-476B.C) and the Warring States Period,some of them are known till today:Yi Huan,Yi He,BianQue and his students Zi Yang,Zi Bao all famous herbalists of that period.But unfortunately,Qin Dynasty burned books not written in "lesser-seal" style of calligraphy,this cause disasters for books written in other six states during Warring States Period and before that.

 The Han Dynasty:Western Han Dynasty(Feb 28th,202 B.C.~Jan 10th,9 AD),Xin Dynasty (9–23 AD),Eastern Han Dynasty(25.~220 AD). Han Dynasty Icon
 Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi,Shang Han Za Bing Lun,Jin Kui Yao Lue Fang Lun,Zhong Zang Jing,Shang Han Lun,etc.Physicians and herbalists of Han period believed that the human body subjected to the same forces of nature that governed the greater universe,namely the cosmological cycles of yin and yang and the five phases.Each organ of the body was associated with a particular phase. Illness was viewed as a sign that qi or "vital energy" channels leading to a certain organ had been disrupted.Followed QinShiHuang,Emperor Wu of Han using confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu,promotion confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state,declared themselves as Son of Heaven,represent both Secular Authority and Religious Authority,continued the evil tradition started by QinShiHuang,the ugly confucianism come into power of the Secular Authority culture system.

 The Jin Dynasty(Feb.4th,266~420 CE):Western Jin Periods(265 CE~316 AD),Eastern Jin Periods(316~420 AD),The Sixteen Kingdoms(304-439 AD). Jin Dynasty Icon
 Western Jin was founded by Sima Yan, with its capital at Luoyang, while Eastern Jin was begun by Sima Rui, with its capital at Jiankang.Famous herbal classics of this period:Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang,Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing,Yang Xing Yan Ming Lu,Huang Ting Jing,Mai Jing,etc;Famous Herbalists:Ge Hong(283-343),Huangfu Mi(215-282),Tao Hongjing,Wei Huacun,Wang Shuhe,etc.

 The Southern and Northern Dynasties(420~589 AD;The Southern Dynasties:420~589 AD;The Northern Dynasties:439~581 AD) The Southern and Northern Dynasties Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Ming Yi Bie Lu,Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun,Liu Juan-zi Gui Yi Fang,etc.Though an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture,advancement in technology, and the spreading of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese people to the lands south of the Yangtze River.During this period the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal people in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the 1st century AD) in both north and south China, along with Daoism gaining influence from the outline of Buddhist scriptures (with two essential Daoist canons written during this period).

 The Sui Dynasty(581~618 AD);The Tang Dynasty(618～907 AD);Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907～960/979 AD). Sui Tang Five Dynasties Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Zhu Bing Yuan Hou Zong Lun,Xiu Xi Zhi Guan Zuo Chan Fa Yao,Shi Liao Ben Cao,Tang Ben Cao,Ben Cao Shi Yi,Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang,Qian Jin Yi Fang,Wai Tai Mi Yao,Jing Xiao Chan Bao,Li Shang Xu Duan Mi Fang,etc.The Tang era were also very interested in the benefits of officially classifying all of the medicines used in pharmacology. In 657, Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683) commissioned the literary project of publishing an official materia medica, complete with text and illustrated drawings for 833 different medicinal substances taken from different stones, minerals, metals, plants, herbs, animals, vegetables, fruits, and cereal crops.In addition to compiling pharmacopeias, the Tang fostered learning in medicine by upholding imperial medical colleges, state examinations for doctors, and publishing forensic manuals for physicians.Top.

 The Song Dynasty(960~1279 AD):the Northern Song(960~1127 AD),The Southern Song(1127~1279 AD)/Jin Dynasty(Jurchen kingdom in northern China,1115~1234 AD). Song Dynasty Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang,Shang Han Ming Li Lun,Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang,Pu Ji Ben Shi Fang,Ji Sheng Fang,Jing Shi Zheng Lei Bei Ji Ben Cao,Pi Wei Lun,Lan Shi Mi Cang,Sheng Ji Zong Lu,etc.The Song Dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization. Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over a million).People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services.The Song government supported multiple forms of social welfare programs, including the establishment of retirement homes, public clinics, and pauper's graveyards.

 meng yuan-occupied period or period of tuo lei khanate:(1271~1368 AD). meng yuan-occupied period Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Zhen Jia Shu Yao,Tang Ye Ben Cao,Zhen Zhu Nang Yao Xing Fu,Shi Yi De Xiao Fang,Ju Fang Fa Hui,Shi Yao Shen Shu,etc.Due to the medical communications between China and those Arabian countries, traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacy made great leaps forward in the meng yuan-occupied period. Many kinds of Arabic pharmacies were first introduced to China and gradually became widely used.barbarians from Mongolia slaughtered about 63,000,000 people at north and south China,nearly 90% people at north China got killed,the mongolia barbarians led by slaughter named genghis khan and his offsprings brought big disasters,catastrophe for all the civilized people of EuroAsia continent at that time,it is similar as manchu barbarians,meng yuan is an avaricious,decadent,licentious rotten period,the meng yuan performed harmonious-ism,its rule said 3 families allowed to have a kitchen knife,many new historians still hold different view point about whether Yuan could be counted as a Dynasty or Not.

 Ming Dynasty(1368~April 25th,1644 AD). Ming Dynasty Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Bin Hu Mai Xue,Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen Zhu Zheng Fa Wei,Lei Jing,Lei Jing Tu Yi,Nei Jing Zhi Yao,Ben Cao Gang Mu,Jiu Huang Ben Cao,Pao Zhi Da Quan,Ji Yin Gang Mu,Zheng Zhi Zhun Sheng,Jing Yue Quan Shu,etc.Emperor Hongwu (ruled in 1368~98) attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities in a rigid, immobile system that would have no need to engage with the commercial life and trade of urban centers.Li Shizhen (1518~93),one of the most renowned pharmacologists and physicians in Chinese history,belonged to the late Ming period. In 1587, he completed the first draft of his Bencao Gangmu, which detailed the usage of over 1,800 medicinal drugs. Although it purportedly was invented by a Daoist hermit from Mount Emei in the late 10th century, the process of inoculation for smallpox patients was in widespread use in China by the reign of the Longqing Emperor (ruled 1567~72), long before it was applied anywhere else.In regards to oral hygiene, the ancient Egyptians had a primitive toothbrush of a twig frayed at the end, but the Chinese were the first to invent the modern bristle toothbrush in 1498, although it used stiff pig hair.

 Nan Ming Dynasty(1644~1662 AD) and tsing-occupied period:(1644 ~ Jan.1st,1912 AD). Nan Ming man qing-occupied period Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Jin Kui Yao Lue Xin Dian,Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi,Ben Cao Bei Yao,Wen Re Jing Wei,Wen Re Lun,Shen Shi Yao Han,Yi Lin Gai Cuo,Gu Jin Yi Shu Ji Cheng Yi Bu Quan Lu,etc.

 Destroying and Cultures extinction:The scale of the destruction cause by this "literary holocaust" is uncertain due to gaps in the imperial archives,however as many as 3,000 works may have been lost,an estimated 151,723 volumes were destroyed by the inquisition in this period.qing-occupied period is the period during which the culture,beliefs,morality and civilization of eastern asia area got seriously destroyed or exterminated,and the civilization got destroyed and even degraded back to barbarism,the intelligence quotient and cultural level of the population survived got seriously degraded,similar as Qin Chao and meng yuan period,qing-occupied period all performed harmonious-ism,its rule said several families allowed to have a kitchen knife,many new historians still hold different view point about whether qing-occupied period could be counted as a Dynasty or Not.The famous book of qing-occupied period named The Si Ku Quan Shu(Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature),actually looks more like a castrated book for eunuch,It seems herbal classics of tsing Period are lucky survived,maybe for barbarians also may caught diseases and need a cure,the survived Han people and other minority people also made very big progress in TCM,but the the reason may not simple.

 Min Guo/Republic of China(1911-1949 AD). Min Guo Republic of China Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Yi Xue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu,Zhong Guo Yi Xue Da Ci Dian,Zhong Guo Yao Xue Da Ci Dian,Zhen Ben Yi Shu Ji Cheng,etc.The Republic of China was formally established on 1 January 1912 on mainland China following the Xinhai Revolution which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, and replaced the Qing Chao and ended over two thousand years of imperial rule in China,In the 1890’s Sun Yat-sen formed a secret, anti-Qing society and by 1895 there was a price for his head in China forcing him to have to leave the country. His dream was to see China become a Republic and to make this happen he formed the Revolutionary League in the year 1905.In 1904 Sun Yat-sen announced that his organizations goal was "to expel the Tatar barbarians, to revive Zhonghua, to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people."Sun Yat-sen declared,“To restore our national independence, we must first restore the Chinese nation.To restore the Chinese nation,we must drive the barbarian Manchus back to the Changbai Mountains.To get rid of the barbarians,we must first overthrow the present tyrannical, dictatorial, ugly, and corrupt Qing government.Fellow countrymen,a revolution is the only means to overthrow the Qing government!"It pushed forward new advancement in culture and in TCM.

 But ironically,theorists educated by modern discipline scientific system rise up to against traditional herbalism,such like their reprensentative Yu Yunyou(1879～1954) who got educated by modern science when he was young and believe in sciencism,launched some famous act called Fei Zhi Zhong Yi An at year 1929,as an official of the MinGuo government,before that,he wrote some book named Ling Su Shang Dui at 1917,announced that "the origin of Ling Su(means Ling Shu,Su Wen of HuangDi Nei Jing),actually are witchery",he hold some famous saying that TCM is “a convenience store sells myths,ancient classical phylosophy,Chineseism,subjective materialism,and vulgar empiricism.”and he suggested again to abandon TCM system at year 1949 for the new government.

 Contemporary China(1949 AD-). Modern Icon
 Famous herbal classics of this period:Quan Guo Zhong Cao Yao Hui Bian,Zhen Ci Ma Zui,etc.A symbol event from its beginning,at late 1948,famous herbalist Zhang Jianzhai(1880~1950) left China,who hold a belief in and practice Qi Bo and Huang Di’s Medical Doctrine,Herbal Classics got "new development" in Contemporary period,since the marxist-materialism and scientificism came into power,a marking event is that Yu Yunyou's abandon suggestion got some success at early 1950s,TCM system has risks of marginalization for the new beliefs about what is human of modern science,in some folks mind,TCM are classified as same as some deceitful tricks,traditional herbalists got described as trickster by radicalists who only believe in modern sciencism,but there also appear some harmonizing trial between TCM and Modern Western Medicine for practical benefit.Top.

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