Sun Simiao (581—682 A.D.), a famous medical specialist of ancient China, is respectfully called “King of Medicine” by later generations.

The most outstanding achievement made by Sun Simiao is the two medical works which summarized medical achievements made before the Tang Dynasty, namely the Essential Recipes worth a Thousand Gold (Qianjin Yaofang) and A Supplement to Recipes worth a Thousand Gold (Qianjin Yifang). The former work, which is the earliest medical cyclopedia in China, recorded more than 5300 recipes, while the latter recorded more than 2000 recipes. Both works have exerted a great influence on later generations, and were quoted by many traditional Chinese medical books after the Tang Dynasty. Both domestic and foreign medical specialists attach importance to these two books. For example, they were once taken as textbooks of medical students in Japan.

Sun Simiao was the forerunner of the foundation of gynecology. He regarded healthcare as a medical treatment and put forward “Thirteen measures to keep health” in which he claimed actions like touching hair, rolling eyes, shaking heads, and more walks are useful for health.

Sun Simiao, a medical specialist who possessed both high medical skill and lofty medical moral, was the founder of the idea of medical moral in China. He is entitled “the father of medical theory” by the Westerners and is regarded as one of the world’s three most virtuous medical specialists together with Hippocrates. After his death, “Wutai Mountain” where he led a reclusive life was renamed “the Mountain of King of medicine”. A temple and a statue were established there, and a stele on which his biography was inscribed was erected to glorify him. On every February 3rd of lunar calendar, a temple fair will be held by local people to commemorate Sun Simiao for his great contribution to China’s medical science.