During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Chao Yuanfang, Sun Simiao, and Jianzhen were three pivotal figures in the history of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They not only made profound contributions to TCM development in China, but also extended their influence overseas and to subsequent generations. The Tang Dynasty established a highly structured medical administration, including the Taiyishu (Imperial Medical Office) for the systematic training of physicians. It also commissioned the compilation of Xinxiu Bencao (Newly Revised Materia Medica), recognised as the world’s first state-issued pharmacopoeia, marking a milestone in governmental regulation of materia medica.

Chao Yuanfang, Taiyi Boshi (Doctor of the Imperial Medical Office), a medical erudite of the Sui Dynasty, compiled the Zhubing Yuanhou Lun (General Treatise on the Causes and Manifestations of Various Diseases). This seminal text systematically explores bingyin (disease causation) and provides detailed descriptions of zhenghou (manifestation patterns). It represents one of the earliest comprehensive works devoted specifically to the analysis of disease aetiology and clinical presentation.

Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty authored Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies) and Qianjin Yifang (Supplement to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold), collectively known as Qianjin Fang (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand in Gold). These works encompass foundational theory and provide extensive coverage of regulatory mechanisms and formulas for various specialities, including internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology, paediatrics, and other clinical disciplines. They integrate classical literature with empirical and folk prescriptions, and are widely regarded as the earliest comprehensive clinical medical encyclopaedia in China. Sun Simiao emphasised that a physician must uphold both medical virtue and medical skill. His work Dayi Jingcheng (On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians) profoundly influenced the development of medical virtue in later generations. Sun also strongly advocated yangsheng (life cultivation) and the active preservation of health to promote longevity. In particular, he emphasised the therapeutic value of dietary therapy in maintaining physiological balance. For instance, he recorded the use of seaweed to treat neck masses, chestnuts to tonify qi (vital energy), strengthen the intestines and stomach, and warm and tonify kidney qi, and sugarcane to relieve thirst, eliminate vexation, and counteract alcohol toxicity.

During the Tang Dynasty, Jianzhen, after six failed attempts over a period of twelve years, finally succeeded in crossing the East China Sea to Japan, exemplifying extraordinary perseverance. The Tang court had by then promulgated the world’s first state-issued pharmacopoeia, Xinxiu Bencao (Newly Revised Materia Medica). In this context, Jianzhen disseminated Tang medical knowledge in Japan, notably by re-identifying Japanese herbs and correcting many earlier errors. He also taught the principles of collection, storage, paozhi (processing of medicinals), clinical application, and peiwu (medicinal compatibility). He introduced knowledge from the classic Chinese medicine text Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage) and brought high-quality Chinese medicinals to Japan, significantly influencing the subsequent development of Chinese medicine and herbal medicine in Japan. Tang Da Heshang Dongzheng Zhuan (Account of the Eastward Journey of the Great Monk of the Tang) records that on his first voyage, Jianzhen brought over 500 jin (catties) of medicinals and foodstuffs, including Bibo (Long Pepper Fruit, Fructus Piperis Longi), Hezi (Chebulic Myrobalan Fruit, Fructus Terminaliae Chebulae), Hujiao (White Pepper Fruit, Fructus Piperis Albi), Awei (Asafoetida Resin, Resina Ferulae), and Shimi (Rock Honey, Saccharum), and cane sugar, in addition to 10 hu (200L) of honey and 80 bundles of sugarcane, revealing the scale of his mission.