Huangdi Neijing

Its importance is such that whether a medical practice exists as part of the East Asian medicine tradition is determined solely by whether its practices and theories can be traced back to these original writings.

Rather than being a traditional medical textbook, the Neijing is a collection of medical writings contained within a literary tradition developed by anonymous authors during China’s Warring States Period and Han Dynasties (475 BCE-220 CE). At this time, an avant-garde naturalist philosophy arose, based on detailed examinations of the primary patterns of nature and the secondary phenomena they create. As a result of these groundbreaking scientific discoveries, a comprehensive healthcare system was established that remains unequaled in its insight, breadth, and grace.

Despite its paramount importance, due to the complexities of the classical Chinese language and an early fragmentation of its writings, these principles were difficult to fully understand and put into clinical practice. The inclusion of these texts into searchable databases in the late 1980s allowed a critical shift in text research. Through the innovative methods of Classical Text Archaeology (CTA), the full hidden meanings of these influential texts are finally being revealed. These findings serve as the basis for the groundbreaking new healthcare system of Neijing Nature-Based Medicine.