Sun Simiao and His Cultivation Theory on Health (Part 1)
 
Sun Simiao, who is also called “King of Medicine” and “Heavenly Doctor Sun,” was a famous doctor in Chinese history. He was also a qigong practitioner who achieved the preservation of health. Sun was born during the Western Wei Dynasty. Legend has it that he lived for 141 years. Sun decided to learn medicine because when he was young, he often got sick. He was versed in the Chinese classics and history, as well as the thoughts of a hundred schools. He could "memorize thousands of sentences each day" at age seven. For his skill of memorizing a daily article of over one thousand words, he was praised as a "sacred child." At age 20 he could expertly discuss the theories of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and was also good at the Buddhist classics. Sun refused to become a government official during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Emperor Tang Taizong even personally traveled up a mountain to greet him.
 
Sun Simiao made a name for himself for having summarized the clinical experiences and medical theories prior to the Tang Dynasty and compiled them into two renowned medical books, Qian Jin Yao Fang (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Liang of Gold) and Qian Jin Yi Fang (Supplement to Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Liang of Gold).
 
1. Sun Simiao's books passed onto future generations
 
Sun Simiao authored over 80 books in his lifetime. Besides Qian Jin Yao Fang and Qian Jin Yi Fang mentioned above, he also wrote Lao Zi Zhu (Notes to Laozi), Zhuangzi Zhu (Notes to Zhuangzi), one volume of Zhen Zhong Su Shu (Book on the Bed), one volume of Hui San Jiao Lun (On the Three Religions Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism), three volumes of Fu Lu Lun (On Fortunes and Happiness), one volume of She Sheng Zhen Lun (Advice on Health Cultivation), one volume of Gui Jing (Canon of the Tortoise), and others.
 
Qian Jin Yao Fang consists of 30 volumes and covers 232 medical subjects. Sun Simiao believed: "A human life is extremely precious; more valuable than one thousand liang [an ancient Chinese unit of weight] of gold. A life cured provides more virtue than one thousand liang of gold." Because of this belief, he titled his book with the two characters "Qian Jin," which means one thousand liang of gold. The entire book collected 5,300 prescriptions, covering a wide range that is rich in content. It is a colossal work, representative of medical science during the Tang Dynasty. It had a great impact on and made significant contributions to medical developments, especially prescriptions for later generations. The scholarly text also made contributions to medical advancements in Japan and Korea.
 
Qian Jin Yi Fang also consists of 30 volumes. Sun Simiao wrote it in the later stages of his life. It is a comprehensive supplement to Qian Jin Yao Fang. He divided the entire book of Qian Jin Yi Fang into 189 subjects, covering over 2,900 prescriptions. It describes over 800 medicinal drugs and provides effective ways for treating especially febrile diseases, strokes, miscellaneous diseases, acne, and carbuncles.


孙思邈与他的养生学说 (上)
 
孙思邈，又被称为药王孙天医，是中国古代著名的医生，亦是气功养生的实践家。他在西魏时代出生，相传他活到141岁才仙游。孙思邈少时因病学医，博通经史百家学说，他7岁时就能“日诵千言”。每天能背诵上千字的文章，被人称为“圣童”。到了20岁，他就能侃侃而谈老子、庄子的学说，并对佛家的经典著作十分精通。隋唐时孙思邈曾推拒当官，唐太宗更亲自上山拜会。不过，更为出名的，是他总结了唐代以前的临床经验和医学理论，编成两部医学巨著：《千金要方》和《千金翼方》。
 
一、 孙思邈的流世著作
 
孙思邈一生著作80余部，除了《千金要方》、《千金翼方》外，还有《老子注》、《庄子注》、《枕中素书》1卷、《会三教论》1卷、《福禄论》3卷、《摄生真录》1卷、《龟经》1卷等。
 
《千金要方》三十卷，分二百三十二门。他认为：“人命至重，有贵千金，一方济之，德逾于此。”故以“千金”两字命名。全书合方、论五千三百首，集方广泛，内容丰富，是我国唐代医学发展中具有代表性的巨著，对后世医学特别是方剂学的发展，有著明显的影响和贡献；并对日本、朝鲜医学之发展也有积极的作用。
 
《千金翼方》三十卷，书名取“