The historical background of eastern and western cultures is the soil for the formation and development of Chinese and western medicine. Zhang Zhongjing and Galen, two great medical masters of the East and the West in the 2nd century A.D., inherited different academic ideas, created different medical paradigms, developed and perfected different theoretical systems, and made Chinese and Western medicine take two completely different development paths.

Before Treatise on Febrile Diseases written by Zhang Zhongjing, a physician in the Han Dynasty, there were classic medical classics such as Neijing, Difficult Classic and Herbal Classic. Zhang Zhongjing summarized the medical achievements before the Han Dynasty, inherited the basic theories such as Neijing and rich medical knowledge, and combined with his own clinical practice, wrote Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases. Its contribution lies in the establishment of the theoretical system of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment, which has laid a solid foundation for the development of TCM clinical medicine in later generations.

In the west, Galen lived in the Roman Empire under the rule of Antony and his son. At that time, the prosperity of the Roman Empire provided a reliable political, economic, scientific and cultural guarantee for Galen's medical achievements and the prosperity of western medicine. Galen inherited Hippocrates' academic thoughts and wrote more than 200 books. Among the 83 existing works, the contents involve anatomy, physiology, pathology, health science, medicine, research on Hippocrates' collected works, philosophy, linguistics, logic, mathematics, history and law. Advocating empirical medicine, his scientific methodology has the characteristics of attaching importance to experiment, disease localization, formal logic and deduction, which has a far-reaching impact on the development of western medicine in later generations.

Under the guidance of Zhang Zhongjing and Galen's completely contradictory medical paradigm, Chinese and western medicine began to go their separate ways. Under the background that China culture emphasizes "neutralization", there is a relaxed atmosphere of "all rivers run into the sea" in academic circles. There have been wonderful presentations of academic schools, such as the dispute between cold and warm plague and the difference between classics and prescriptions. Traditional Chinese medicine develops vigorously according to Zhang Zhongjing's thinking paradigm. With the progress of science and the development of society, especially the development of medical practice, the original theory of traditional Chinese medicine has been unable to explain new scientific facts. Therefore, medical theory must be constantly innovated to meet the needs of society, which prompted Chinese medicine to enter the Han Dynasty, showing a stage of all-round development, including four periods:

historical period

Wei Jin Sui Tang Dynasty

Due to the emphasis on summing up clinical experience and inheriting and developing the theories of classic medical works such as Huangdi Neijing and Treatise on Febrile Diseases, many famous doctors have appeared. For example, Pulse Sutra in Jin Dynasty and Acupuncture Sutra A and B by Huangfu Mi, Staging Theory of Pathogen by Chao in Sui Dynasty, Fang Yao and Fang Yi in Sun Simiao in Tang Dynasty.