Liu Wansu

Liu Wansu (c. 1110–1200), courtesy name Shouzhen, styled himself Tongxuan Chushi. A native of Hejian (present-day Hejian, Hebei) in the Jin dynasty, he is known as Liu Hejian. He stands first among the Four Great Masters of the Jin-Yuan period and founded the Hejian school. Advocating that "the six climatic factors can all transform into fire," he often used cold and cool medicinals in practice, so his school is also called the Cold-Cool school. His works, including Suwen Xuanji Yuanbing Shi and Huangdi Suwen Xuanming Lun Fang, elaborate the pathogenesis theories of the Inner Canon and helped inspire the later development of warm-disease studies. Ten of his works survive, among them Suwen Bingji Qiyi Baoming Ji, Sanxiao Lun, Shanghan Zhige and Hejian Yiji, covering pathogenesis, formulas, cold damage and wasting-thirst patterns. His clear scholarly line occupies an important bridging place in Jin-Yuan medicine.