Healing Library

The Earliest Medical Literature — The Nanjing (Classic of Difficult Issues)

The Nanjing (Classic of Difficult Issues), originally titled Huangdi Bashiyi Nanjing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Eighty-One Difficult Issues), is a foundational TCM classic compiled before the Eastern Han dynasty, often mentioned alongside the Neijing. Structured as eighty-one questions and answers, it systematically addresses pulse diagnosis (Questions 1–22), meridians (23–29), zang-fu organs (30–47), diseases (48–61), acupoints (62–68), and needling techniques (69–81). It offers profound insights into the mingmen (life gate), sanjiao (triple burner), seven pivotal gates of the digestive tract, and eight meeting points, and introduces the classification of "five types of cold damage," making it essential reading for TCM foundational theory.