Li Dongyuan, also known as Li Gao; 1180-1252 A.D. - Li is best known for his thesis that most diseases were due to injury to the stomach/spleen system, which occured as the result of intemperance in eating and drinking, overwork, and the seven emotions. His well-known book Pi Wei Lun (Treatise on the Stomach and Spleen) presented one of the most widely used traditional formulas: Ginseng and Astragalus Combination (Buzhong Yiqi Tang).

Jian Zhen; 683-763 A.D. - Jian was an outstanding Buddhist monk who studied medicine. He was invited to Japan and brought Traditional Chinese Medicine there where it soon flourished. He was well known for his generosity and hard work.

Huangfu Mi; 214-282 A.D. Huang Fu lived to see the end of the latter Han Dynasty. He is famous for his skills in acupuncture therapy; he wrote the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acu-Moxa Therapy) which was the first treatise exclusively dealing with this subject.

Hua Tuo was the first famous Chinese surgeon. He developed the use of anesthesia, and furthered the limited Chinese knowledge of anatomy. Unfortunately, the tradition of using surgery was not carried on afterward -until Westerners re-introduced it-, as there were apparently no books or direct disciples of Hua To to further the cause. When using acupuncture and herbs, he preferred simple methods, using a small number of acupuncture points and formulas comprised of only a few herbs. He practiced Chi-kung -Qi Gong- and taught the 'frolics of the five animals,' a practice still used today. His fame as a successful healer has led to his name becoming a brand name for Chinese medical products, such as Hua To Acupuncture Needles.

Ge Hong was the most famous alchemist of China. He strongly believed in the ability to transform anything and everything, given the proper procedure; that especially included transforming man from a mortal to an immortal being. He was a careful observer of nature; in relation to medicine he provided detailed descriptions of serious diseases (such as smallpox and tuberculosis) and described formulas for treating serious medical situations in his Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies. Sun Ssu-mo was one of his admirers.

Chao Yuanfang; 550-630 A.D. - Chao was a physician to the Emperor during the Sui Dynasty, and was in charge of compiling the Zhubing Yuanhou Zonglun (General Treatise on the Etiology an Symptoms of Diseases) which was valued for centuries afterward as a means of categorizing and describing diseases.

Cang Gong - Cang lived about 200 B.C., at the beginning of the early Han Dynasty period. He is famous for keeping clinical records and case histories, thus being able to develop the concept of prognosis based on prior experience. This art was largely lost and restored only during the 20th century.

Bian Que - The most ancient of the physicians from the historical period (ca. 500 B.C.). He was reputed to be an excellent diagnostician, excelling in pulse taking and acupuncture therapy. He is ascribed the authorship of Bian Que Neijing (Internal Classic of Bian Que). Han Dynasty physicians claimed to have studied his works, which have since been lost.