Sun Simiao

Sun wrote two books—Beiji qianjin yaofang ("Essential Formulas for Emergencies [Worth] a Thousand Pieces/Catty of Gold") and Qian Jin Yi Fang [zh] ("Supplement to the Formulas of a Thousand Gold Worth")—that were both milestones in the history of Chinese medicine, summarizing pre-Tang dynasty medicine.

The following is an excerpt of the text: A Great Physician should not pay attention to status, wealth or age; neither should he question whether the particular person is attractive or unattractive, whether he is an enemy or friend, whether he is a Chinese or a foreigner, or finally, whether he is uneducated or educated.

[4] The sinologist Nathan Sivin says Sun Simiao's famous Danjing yaojue 丹經要訣 "Essential Formulas of Alchemical Classics" [...] is as close to a modern laboratory handbook as anything we are likely to find in ancient literature.

Following a preface and a catalogue of elixir names, there is a set of detailed specifications for necessities of the laboratory, including the liuyini 六一泥 "six-one" lute which was universally employed in Chinese pharmacology and alchemy for the hermetical sealing of reaction vessels.

Finally, there are the recipes themselves: ingredients grouped at the beginning, with weight and advance preparation clearly noted, and perspicacious, concise directions for compounding and using the products.