The Mystery of Diagnostic Wisdom in Traditional Chinese Medicine Contained in Tian Hui Yi Jian

Abstract

Abstract. Excavated from the Western Han tomb in Tianhui Town (天回镇), Jinniu District (金牛区), Chengdu, China, Tian Hui Yi Jian (《天回医简》 Tianhui Medical Slips) were penned during the Warring States period by the renowned physician Bian Que (扁鹊) and his students. Since their discovery, the medical, historical, and archaeological communities have given them considerable attention. This paper sorts out the diagnostic content of Tian Hui Yi Jian from various aspects of inspection, palpation, inquiry, listening and smelling examination and provides a summary and analysis of four features: the concept of the correspondence between heaven and man is the foundation, the idea of the five elements throughout the whole process, extremely focus on pulse diagnosis, emphasize a comprehensive analysis of four examinations. These analyses can investigate the value and significance of Tian Hui Yi Jian in developing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnosis history. In this way, we aim to reproduce the overview and level of TCM diagnostics at that time, clear up some ambiguous understanding of its development history, and provide a reference for further research on the origin and development of TCM.