active 168-196 Zhongjing Zhang

Writing in the late Eastern Han period, Zhang Zhongjing is traditionally identified as a Chinese physician from around 150 to 219 CE. He is widely remembered for compiling Shang han za bing lun (Treatise on Febrile and Other Diseases), a foundational medical work that organized symptoms, patterns of illness, and herbal treatments in a systematic way.

Later editors split that original work into two books, the Shanghan lun and the Jingui yaolue. Together, they became central texts in the history of traditional Chinese medicine and helped shape how later generations understood diagnosis and treatment.

Because he lived so long ago, many biographical details are sparse or mixed with later tradition. Even so, his reputation has endured across centuries, and he is still honored as one of the most important early medical writers in China.