ZHANG Zhongyuan (), President of Imperial Academy of Medicine in the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

The Imperial Academy of Medicine (IAM) was the central medical administrative authority, responsible for the promulgation and implementation of national medical policies. It also was the medical educational institution that trained physicians. The imperial government isolated the physicians at the IAM from the outside world. Therefore, records about them are rare. By studying official archives such as Juezhi Quanlan 《》, Jinshen Quanshu 《》 and Qing Dynasty Imperial medical archives, etc, we provide a brief biography of Zhang Zhongyuan, the last chief administrator of the IAM, and present his rise from the lowest rank of physician to chief administrator. We also discuss his medical activities, diagnosis and treatments for the Imperial family, especially for Empress Dowager Cixi () and Emperor Guangxu (), as well as the management and reforms he advocated for the IAM. Through an analysis of the case of Zhang Zhongyuan, we can have a glimpse of the real life of imperial physicians.