The ''Taisu'' (), or ''Grand Basis'', compiled by Yang Shangshan (), is one of four known versions of the ''

Huangdi Neijing ' (), literally the ''Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor'' or ''Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor'', is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for mo ...

'' (''Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon''), the other three being the ''

Suwen ' (), literally the ''Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor'' or ''Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor'', is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for mor ...

'', the ''

Lingshu ''Lingshu Jing'' (), also known as ''Divine Pivot'', ''Spiritual Pivot'', or ''Numinous Pivot'', is an ancient Chinese medical text whose earliest version was probably compiled in the 1st century BCE on the basis of earlier texts. It is one of two ...

'', and the partially extant ''Mingtang'' ( "Hall of Light").

Time of compilation

On the basis of Yang Shangshan's official title at the time of compilation,

Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin (11 May 1931 – 24 June 2022), also known as Xiwen (), was an American sinologist, historian, essayist, educator, and writer. He taught first at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania until his r ...

argues that the ''Taisu'' was written in 656 or later, most likely under the reign of emperor Gaozong (mid-7th century) of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, and that Yang compiled it from fragments of one or several post- Han versions of the ''Neijing''. Historian of medicine Qian Chaochen, who had once claimed that Yang Shangshan died under the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

(late 6th century), is now arguing that because Yang referred to the Palace Library as the "Orchid Pavilion" (''lantai'' ) in one of his notes, he must have compiled the ''Taisu'' sometime between 662 and 670, the few years during which that name was in use.

Rediscovery

Soon lost in China, the ''Taisu'' survived in manuscript copies in Japan, where it was re-discovered in the late 19th century. The content of the ''Taisu'' overlaps with parts of both the ''Suwen'' and the ''Lingshu''. It is an important text to consult when studying the history of Chinese medical ideas.

References

* * * Chinese classic texts Chinese medical texts History of ancient medicine Medical manuals {{china-hist-stub