Wang Ang

Wang Ang (1615–1694), courtesy name Ren'an, was a native of Xiuning, Anhui, and a representative physician of the Xin'an medical tradition in the late Ming and early Qing. He abandoned Confucian studies for medicine and wrote extensively, with major works including Yi Fang Ji Jie (Collected Explanations of Medical Formulas), Ben Cao Bei Yao (Essentials of Materia Medica), Tang Tou Ge Jue (Rhymed Formulas for Beginners), and Su Wen Ling Shu Lei Zuan Yue Zhu (Classified and Abridged Commentary on the Su Wen and Ling Shu). His style is plain and easy to understand, suited to beginners and practical use; in particular, he pioneered the classification of formulas by function, which had a lasting influence on the popularization of Chinese medicine. He is regarded as a representative figure of the Qing dynasty movement to popularize and introduce medical knowledge, and his works also spread to Japan and Korea. The library holds eleven of his works, mostly in medicine and health, often presented as clinical readers and rhymed formula texts suitable for introductory recitation and clinical reference.