Yu Chang

Yu Chang, courtesy name Jiayan and art name Xichang Laoren, was a native of Xinjian County in Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi (present-day Nanchang). A renowned physician of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, he is known together with Zhang Lu and Wu Qian as one of the "Three Great Physicians of the Early Qing." He became a secondary tribute student during the Chongzhen era; after the fall of the Ming he once shaved his head and became a monk, later regrowing his hair to practice medicine. In the early Qing he settled in Changshu, Jiangsu, where his medical skill was pure and his treatments often produced remarkable results. His works include Yuyi Cao, Shanglun Pian, Shanglun Houpian, and Yimen Falü. He advocated the "three principles" theory of cold damage and the "autumn dryness" theory, and created the Qingzao Jiufei Tang, exerting a profound influence on later generations. His writings combine medical case records with medical theory, distinguished by careful analysis, and he made contributions in both clinical practice and theory, occupying an important place in the history of Chinese medicine.