Preface

Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） contains thousands of years' health cultivation philosophy and practical experience of the Chinese nation，which are great creations of the Chinese nation and has had positive effects on the progress of world civilization.With the rapid development of the society and economy，the international exchange is deepening day by day both in breadth and depth.As a result，TCM is going global with an accelerated pace and is being accepted by more and more countries and regions.

In order to make more people learn and understand TCM，popularize the TCM philosophy of health cultivation，carry forward TCM culture，promote the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Western medicine，and better safeguard people's health，we select representative figures and events of different periods in the development history of TCM，and compiled the book Historical Narratives of TCM.

The features of this book are as follows：

1.The content is presented in the form of stories，which is easy to understand and interesting to read.Considering readers' different cultural backgrounds and beginners' difficulty in understanding technical terms，we mainly interpret TCM doctors，classics and events by telling stories with pictures and texts，which is highly readable and memorable.

2.The timeline is taken as the axis to review throughout the ancient and modern times，and select the fine culture.Chinese medical culture is extensive and profound with numerous ancient books and records.Starting from the source of TCM development，we select the most representative node events and important figures，introducing them together with their contributions and roles in the long history of TCM，which is conducive to the overall grasp of the development history of TCM.

3.Practicality is taken as the key，profound theories are explained in simple language and benefits are obtained once reading is started.There are certain TCM ways of thinking and scientific methods behind the selected cases in the book.For example，the thoughts of“correspondence between man and universe” and“preventive treatment of disease” mentioned in“The Cornerstone of TCM Theory——Huangdi's Cannon of Inner Classic”emphasize the harmonious unity between man and nature and the importance of early prevention and treatment，which still have a strong practical guiding significance even today.

Health is shared by all people in the world.This book aims to popularize knowledge and culture of TCM.It can be used as a popular reading material for foreign friends to approach，know and understand TCM，and can also be as an enlightening reading material for beginners to have an overall knowledge of TCM and understand the thinking of TCM.

The compilation of this book has received strong support from the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine，which is highly appreciated here.We sincerely hope that through our efforts，we can help you to learn，use and enjoy TCM.Readers are expected to criticize and correct anything wrong in the book.

Editorial Board of

Historical Narratives of TCM

June 2023