Tan Yunxian was a woman doctor of the Ming Dynasty. She was from Wuxi in Jiangsu. Her grandfather was a famous doctor in the area, who used to serve as an official in the Ministry of Penalty. Her grandmother was also well versed in medicine. Tan Yunxian received good family education as a child and learnt medical knowledge from her grandparents.

Shortly after she got married, Tan suffered from a qi-and-blood disorder. Even so, she didn't stop learning medicine. Instead, she took her own disease as a study subject by making prescriptions for herself. After repeated trials, her disease was cured. Not long after that, her grandmother became bedridden. When she was dying, she told Tan Yunxian all the secret recipes and gave her medicine-making tools.

In the feudal society, women and girls from rich families suffering from gynecological diseases felt embarrassed to consult male doctors due to feudal ethical codes. As a result, they would miss the best time for treatment. Tan Yunxian was widely known for her excellent medical skills, women patients kept coming to her for treatment. Tan therefore became a woman doctor in the area specialized in gynecological diseases.

At the age of 50, Tan Yunxian wrote the book Sayings of a Woman Doctor based on the medical knowledge her grandmother taught her and her own clinical experiences over the years. The book was handed down to later generations.