Sun Simiao (581-682), a renowned
Taoist priest and medical scholar of the
Tang Dynasty, was born in Huayuan of Jingzhao (present-day Yao County, Shaanxi Province) and was commonly known as the "Medicine King" by later generations.
Endowed with extraordinary intelligence from an early age, Sun Simiao could recite over a thousand characters daily at the age of seven. By his youth (around twenty years old), he had a thorough understanding of the thoughts of various philosophical schools, excelling particularly in discussions on the teachings of
Laozi and
Zhuangzi. He also took a keen interest in studying Buddhist scriptures, earning him the title of "Saintly Youth".
Having witnessed the suffering of the people due to the lack of medical care and medicines at that time, and recalling his own painful experience of enduring cold-related illnesses in childhood—repeatedly seeking medical help and exhausting his family’s wealth for treatment—Sun Simiao resolved to become a "great physician for all living beings" and resolutely abandoned the path of officialdom. He modeled himself on famous doctors of all ages, delving diligently into medical classics. When it came to disease diagnosis and treatment methods, principles of collecting and preparing medicinal herbs, or health preservation techniques, he was always willing to travel thousands of miles to learn with humility from anyone who surpassed him in any aspect. By around the age of twenty, he had laid a solid foundation in medical knowledge.
In his later years, to avoid the wars and imperial appointments of the time, Sun Simiao once lived in seclusion on Mount Taibai and later on
Mount Zhongnan. During the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty, he became acquainted with Dao Xuan, an eminent monk, and they forged a close friendship. Every time they met, they would converse through the night, which benefited both in their medical studies.
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Sun Simiao valued not only book knowledge but also practical experience. He traveled extensively through the mountains and rivers of Guanzhong, and during the Zhenguan period, he journeyed south to Sichuan to investigate local customs, collect medicinal herbs, refine elixirs, and provide medical treatment along the way. These practical activities enriched his medical knowledge, broadened his horizons, and accumulated valuable hands-on experience.
He obtained the method of taking cypress leaves from Taoist priest Gao Ziliang in Mount Emei. He cured the beriberi of the former Prince of Xiangdong in Jiangzhou (now Jiangjin County), and treated the diabetes of Li Wenbo, the governor of Zizhou (now Santai, Zhongjiang County). During this period, he personally treated over 600 leprosy patients, with one-tenth of them being cured. On his way back, he successfully treated edema for Li Yuanchang, the Prince of Han in Liangzhou (now Hanzhong, Shaanxi), used Ma Guan Wine to cure the wind disease of Han Fuju in Longzhou, and healed a person hit by a stray arrow with Qumai Pills, which made the arrowhead in the person's body fall out automatically after taking the medicine.
Through long-term medical practice, Sun Simiao felt that medical prescriptions and herbal works were so numerous and voluminous that it was difficult to look up urgently needed information in case of acute illnesses. Therefore, he extensively collected various classics, simplified the complicated contents, and strived for simplicity. Combining his own academic experience, he compiled
Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies), referred to as
Qianjin Yaofang, in the third year of Yonghui in the Tang Dynasty (652), which consists of 30 volumes. He believed that "human life is of utmost importance, more precious than a thousand gold pieces; a single prescription that saves a life is more virtuous than that." Hence, he named the book with the words "Qianjin" (a thousand gold pieces). This book systematically summarized the achievements of medicine and pharmacy before the Tang Dynasty: "It covers everything from the earliest written records down to the
Sui Dynasty, collecting all classics and prescriptions without omission. It gathers the essential secrets of various schools and supplements what is lacking in other theories." Thus, it is highly respected by physicians and scholars.
In the fourth year of Xianqing (659), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty summoned Sun Simiao and intended to appoint him as a Censor-in-Chief, but he declined. This was also the year when Xinxiu Bencao (Newly Revised Materia Medica) was published. Responding to the imperial edict, Sun Simiao stayed in Chang'an for as long as 16 years, during which he accompanied Emperor Gaozong to places like Jiucheng Palace in Linyou, a famous summer resort. In the first year of Shangyuan (674), Sun Simiao requested to return to his hometown on the grounds of illness. The court granted him a fine horse for transportation and an old residence in Guangde Fang of the capital to live in, so he had to stay again. At that time, celebrities such as Song Lingwen, Meng Shen, and Lu Zhaolin all regarded Sun Simiao as their teacher and sought knowledge from him.
In his later years, Sun Simiao returned to his hometown and lived in Mount Qingyu. The mountain here is towering, with dense ancient cypresses and many scenic spots. He continued to engage in medical research and writing, and before his death, he completed another 30-volume work Qianjin Yifang (Supplements to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold), which supplemented Beiji Qianjin Yaofang compiled 30 years earlier and summarized new academic achievements.
In the first year of Yongchun in the Tang Dynasty (682), Sun Simiao passed away at the age of over 100. Before his death, he instructed his family to hold a simple funeral, not to bury any funerary objects, and not to slaughter cattle and sheep for sacrificial activities. However, "since his meritorious deeds benefited the people, the people have worshipped him." To commemorate Sun Simiao, people honored him as the "Medicine King" and renamed Mount Wutai, where he lived in seclusion in his later years, as "Medicine King Mountain."
The Life of Sun Simiao: A Balance of Mercy and Mountains
His story is a tapestry of compassion and Daoist discipline:
-
The Boy Who Heard the Mountains
- As a child, Sun Simiao fell gravely ill. Local healers gave up on him, but he claimed "the spirits of the mountains taught me to heal myself" through wild herbs and meditation.
- By age 20, he had memorized all known medical texts yet destroyed his own early writings, saying: "Medicine is not words—it’s the pulse of life itself."
-
The Physician Who Refused Empires
- Emperors Tang Taizong and Gaozong offered him titles of nobility; he declined, choosing instead to wander with a donkey loaded with herbs and a copper cauldron for brewing teas.
- His motto: "A true healer serves the poor for free, the rich for a smile, and never enters a palace unless fire or flood threatens."
-
The Daoist Alchemist-Physician
- He saw no divide between spiritual practice and medicine, writing: "To heal the body without healing the spirit is like patching a roof while the house burns."
- His clinic in Mount Tai (Shandong) became a pilgrimage site where patients received not just herbs, but lessons in breathwork and moral living.
Sun Simiao’s Medical Philosophy: The Four Pillars of Healing
His teachings, preserved in "Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold" (Qian Jin Fang*), blend Daoist wisdom with practical medicine. Here are his core principles:
| Pillar |
Details |
Daoist Interpretation |
| Prevention First |
"A skilled physician treats disease before it arises," he wrote. Advocated seasonal diets, exercise (daoyin), and emotional balance. |
Mirrors the Daoist principle of wuwei (non-action)—harmonizing with nature’s rhythms to avoid imbalance. |
| The Three Treasures |
Emphasized nurturing jing (essence), qi (energy), and shen (spirit) through herbs, meditation, and ethical living. |
Like refining gold, the body must be purified layer by layer to reveal its innate radiance. |
| Mercy as Medicine |
Swore the "Oath of the Great Physician": "I will not reveal secrets of the sick, nor harm any living being, not even for gold."
|
Echoes the Daoist virtue of compassion (ci)—seeing all life as interconnected, like veins in a leaf. |
| Humility in Healing |
"The more I learn, the less I know," he often said. Urged physicians to study not just books, but the healing power of mountains, rivers, and stars. |
Reflects the Daoist idea that true wisdom comes not from accumulation, but from emptying the mind (xu xin). |
A Parable: The Herb That Cured a King’s Pride
Sun Simiao once treated a warrior king suffering from chronic headaches. After diagnosing "anger clogging the liver meridian," he prescribed a bitter tea made from "humility root" (a fictional herb he invented).
"Drink this daily," he instructed, "and for each cup, admit one mistake you’ve made."
The king, furious at being tricked, ordered Sun Simiao’s execution—but the herbalist laughed: "Your headache is gone! Now, about those mistakes..."
This story teaches a Daoist truth:
"The greatest medicine is not in the forest, but in the courage to face one’s own shadows."
How to Honor Sun Simiao’s Legacy Today
While we may not brew herbal teas or wander mountains, we can embody his spirit through:
-
Mindful eating: Choose foods that nourish jing, qi, shen (e.g., leafy greens for qi, bone broths for jing, dark berries for shen).
-
Compassionate listening: When someone is ill, offer presence before advice—like Sun Simiao’s "medicine of silence."
-
Nature walks: Let the mountains teach you balance; let the rivers show you flow.
