The Most Famous
PHYSICIANS from China
This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Physicians. The pantheon dataset contains 726 Physicians, 9 of which were born in China. This makes China the birth place of the 20th most number of Physicians behind Ukraine, and Denmark.
Top 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Chinese Physicians of all time. This list of famous Chinese Physicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Li Ching-Yuen (1677 - 1933)
With an HPI of 74.93, Li Ching-Yuen is the most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages on wikipedia.
Li Ching-Yuen or Li Ching-Yun (simplified Chinese: 李清云; traditional Chinese: 李清雲; pinyin: Lǐ Qīngyún, (26 February 1677, 1736 or 1840 – 6 May 1933) was a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and tactical advisor, known for his supposed extreme longevity. His true date of birth has never been determined. Gerontologists consider his claims to be a myth.
2. Hua Tuo (200 - 208)
With an HPI of 72.79, Hua Tuo is the 2nd most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Hua Tuo (c. 140–208), courtesy name Yuanhua, was a Chinese physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Historical texts, such as Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han record Hua Tuo as having been the first person in China to use anaesthesia during surgery. He used a general anaesthetic combining wine with a herbal concoction called mafeisan (麻沸散; literally "cannabis boil powder"). Besides being respected for his expertise in surgery and anaesthesia, Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine and medical daoyin exercises. He developed the Wuqinxi (五禽戲; literally "Exercise of the Five Animals") from studying the movements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape and crane.
3. Zhang Zhongjing (150 - 219)
With an HPI of 65.07, Zhang Zhongjing is the 3rd most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Zhang Zhongjing (Chinese: 張仲景; 150–219), formal name Zhang Ji (張機), was a Chinese pharmacologist, physician, inventor, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty and one of the most eminent Chinese physicians during the later years of the Han dynasty. He established medication principles and summed up the medicinal experience until that time, thus making a considerable contribution to the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
4. Li Shizhen (1517 - 1593)
With an HPI of 64.82, Li Shizhen is the 4th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu; Chinese: 本草綱目). He developed several methods for classifying herb components and medications for treating diseases. The Compendium is a pharmacology text with 1,892 entries, with details about more than 1,800 traditional Chinese medicines, including 1,100 illustrations and 11,000 prescriptions. It also described the type, form, flavor, nature and application in disease treatments of 1,094 herbs. The book has been translated into several languages. The treatise included various related subjects such as botany, zoology, mineralogy, and metallurgy. Five original editions still exist.
5. Sun Simiao (581 - 682)
With an HPI of 63.34, Sun Simiao is the 5th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Sun Simiao (traditional Chinese: 孫思邈; simplified Chinese: 孙思邈; pinyin: Sūn Sīmiǎo; Wade–Giles: Sun Ssu-miao; died 682) was a Chinese physician and writer of the Sui and Tang dynasty, who was from Tongchuan, central Shaanxi. He was titled as China's King of Medicine (藥王; 药王, Yaowang) for his significant contributions to Chinese medicine and tremendous care to his patients.
6. Bian Que (-401 - -310)
With an HPI of 62.86, Bian Que is the 6th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Bian Que (Chinese: 扁鵲; 407 – 310 BC) was an ancient Chinese figure traditionally said to be the earliest known Chinese physician during the Warring States period. His real name is said to be Qin Yueren (秦越人), but his medical skills were so amazing that people gave him the same name as the (original) legendary doctor Bian Que, from the time of the Yellow Emperor. He was a native of the State of Qi.
7. Andrew Yao (b. 1946)
With an HPI of 59.39, Andrew Yao is the 7th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.
Andrew Chi-Chih Yao (Chinese: 姚期智; pinyin: Yáo Qīzhì; born December 24, 1946) is a Chinese computer scientist and computational theorist. He is currently a professor and the dean of Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) at Tsinghua University. Yao used the minimax theorem to prove what is now known as Yao's Principle. After graduating from National Taiwan University, Yao earned his first Ph.D. from Harvard University and then a second Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Yao was a naturalized U.S. citizen, and worked for many years in the U.S. In 2015, together with Yang Chen-Ning, he renounced his U.S. citizenship and became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
8. Zhong Nanshan (b. 1936)
With an HPI of 56.37, Zhong Nanshan is the 8th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Zhong Nanshan (born 20 October 1936) is a Chinese pulmonologist. He was president of the Chinese Medical Association from 2005 to 2009 and is currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Thoracic Disease. Zhong was bestowed the Medal of the Republic, the highest honorary medal of the People's Republic of China, in August 2020. Zhong earned international fame for managing the SARS outbreak and was renowned for refuting the official line which downplayed the severity of the crisis. He was voted one of China's top 10 scientists in 2010. During the COVID-19 pandemic which was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, Zhong was a leading advisor in managing the crisis, suggesting evidence-based control measures to contain the disease and sharing the successful treatment plan with the international community. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
9. Liang Wudong (1959 - 2020)
With an HPI of 46.81, Liang Wudong is the 9th most famous Chinese Physician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Liang Wudong (Chinese: 梁武东; pinyin: Liáng Wǔdōng; 14 March 1959 – 25 January 2020) was a physician at Xinhua Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, notable for being the first doctor to die from COVID-19 due to a nosocomial infection.
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as Chinese physicians born between 401 BC and 1959. Of these 9, 2 (22.22%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chinese physicians include Andrew Yao, and Zhong Nanshan. The most famous deceased Chinese physicians include Li Ching-Yuen, Hua Tuo, and Zhang Zhongjing. As of April 2024, 1 new Chinese physicians have been added to Pantheon including Bian Que.
Living Chinese Physicians
Go to all RankingsDeceased Chinese Physicians
Go to all Rankings
Li Ching-Yuen
1677 - 1933
HPI: 74.93
Hua Tuo
200 - 208
HPI: 72.79
Zhang Zhongjing
150 - 219
HPI: 65.07
Li Shizhen
1517 - 1593
HPI: 64.82
Sun Simiao
581 - 682
HPI: 63.34
Bian Que
401 BC - 310 BC
HPI: 62.86
Liang Wudong
1959 - 2020
HPI: 46.81
