Li Daoyuan (about 466-527), who lived in the Northern Wei Dynasty, was born in an official family in Zhuoxian County, Hebei Province. He loved sightseeing when he was a teenager. Later, when he became an official, he traveled all over the country. Every time he visited places of interest, he also carefully surveyed the topography of the water surface and learned about coastal geography, landforms, soil, climate, people's production and life, and regional changes. He found that the ancient geography book "Water Mirror" lacked accurate records of the ins and outs of large and small rivers. However, due to the changes of the times and the rise and fall of cities, some rivers were diverted and renamed, but they were not supplemented and explained in the book. Li Daoyuan then personally annotated the water mirror.
Zu Chongzhi, also known as Fan Yang (now Laiyuan, Hebei Province) was born in Kuaixian County. Born in 429 A.D. in Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), he was an official family. Although he was originally from the north, several generations of ancestors were officials in Jiangnan and were familiar with the calendar. My grandfather is in charge of civil engineering construction, and my father is also knowledgeable. He had the opportunity to receive scientific knowledge from his family since he was a child. When he was young, he entered Hualin University, which specializes in academic research. Zu Chongzhi once worked as a state official, joined the army, served as a county magistrate, from the highest official to a captain in Changshui, and enjoyed four salaries. He died in 500 AD.
Zu Chongzhi was a great mathematician and astronomer in ancient China. His life's works are varied. Unfortunately, all the books on mathematics have been lost. In all kinds of book catalogues at home and abroad, we can see that the titles of his mathematical works are "Composition" 6 volumes, "Notes on Nine Chapters of Arithmetic Meaning" 9 volumes and "Notes on Heavy Difference" 1 volume respectively. In astronomical calendar, he compiled Da Ming Calendar and wrote a refutation for Da Ming Calendar. In the annotation of ancient books, Zu Chongzhi has such works as The Book of Changes, Lao Zi Yi, Zhuangzi Yi, The Analects of Confucius and The Interpretation of Filial Piety, but they are all lost. In terms of literary works, he wrote 10 volume "Telling Different Stories", which can be found in books such as "Taiping Magnolia".
Wang Shuhe
Wang Shuhe (3rd century AD) was named Xi, a native of Gaoping, Shandong Province. Date of birth and death is unknown.
Wang Shuhe once served as the doctor's order of Wei Tai, saying, "He has a calm temperament, understands the classics and is reasonable, is poor in studying the pulse, is careful in diagnosis and treatment, and knows the way of keeping in good health." (Tang Gambo's Biography of Famous Doctors) Wang's Pulse Sutra 10 is the earliest extant monograph on pulse science in China. He compiled Zhong Jing's Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases, which has been handed down to this day and contributed to the development of traditional Chinese medicine. In addition, there are 6 volumes of Pulse Tactics, Pulse Fu 1, 3 volumes of Pulse Tactics and 6 volumes of Treatise on Febrile Diseases, all of which have been lost.
Wang Shuhe's main contribution to TCM lies in his study of pulse science and the compilation of Treatise on Febrile Diseases. He summed up the pulse science and compiled the Pulse Classic. Inherited the achievements of predecessors in the study of pulse science, collected early famous medical works and related documents of famous doctors in past dynasties, and combined with my own experience, wrote a book "Pulse Classic", which made the theory and method of pulse science systematic and standardized, promoted the progress of traditional Chinese medicine, and also had a certain impact on world medicine.
Ge Hong (AD 284-345)
China's alchemy has a long history. As early as the Warring States Period in the third and fourth centuries BC, there were records about alchemists seeking "elixir of life". Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu with hundreds of virgins to Penglai to ask the immortal to give him the elixir of life. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recruited many alchemists and emphasized the art of immortality. The ethos of alchemy became popular with the help of the feudal ruling class. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, alchemists evolved into Taoist priests who treated diseases with water. They regard Laozi, the founder of Taoism in the pre-Qin period, as the founder. Since then, Taoism has become one of the main religions in China feudal society, coexisting with Confucianism and Buddhism.
The original intention of an alchemist is absurd. It hopes to cherish the essence of stone and make people live forever. However, in the practice of alchemy, some alchemists have absorbed the rich experience of working people's production and life, and at the same time, they have been tirelessly engaged in drug collection and pharmaceutical activities, accumulated a lot of knowledge about material changes, and realized that material changes are universal laws in nature. In particular, most alchemists are also engaged in medical activities, and they introduce alchemy drugs into medical treatment, thus enriching the content of traditional Chinese medicine. Ge Hong is an outstanding representative of these alchemists.