The Origin and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diet Therapy

Traditional Chinese dietary therapy is a valuable cultural heritage left by our ancestors, contributing significantly to the prosperity of the Chinese nation and the well-being of its people, much like traditional Chinese medicine. The concept of “food and medicine sharing the same origin” reflects the close relationship between the discovery of food and the development of medicinal substances. From the earliest discoveries of food by ancient humans to the realization of its therapeutic effects, all experiences were obtained through conscious and unconscious exploration.

Legends, such as the story of “Shennong tasting a hundred herbs and encountering seventy poisons in one day,” including certain foods, validate this point. The creation of medicinal concoctions by Yi Yin during the Shang Dynasty may be one of the earliest legends related to dietary therapy. The emergence of medicinal decoctions and the development of food cooking techniques progressed concurrently, without contradiction.

During the Western Zhou period, a dedicated department for dietary medicine was established in the imperial court, mainly overseeing the dietary nutrition of emperors. At that time, people had a comprehensive understanding of the suitability and avoidance of various foods, emphasizing the different roles of different foods in preventing diseases, maintaining health, and strengthening the body. However, their knowledge remained primitive and unorganized, and the distinction between food and medicine was still unclear, existing in a vague state.

In the Warring States period, the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine began to take shape, and the outlines of dietary therapy were evident. The record of “Shennong and Huangdi’s Dietary Restrictions,” found in the “Book of Han,” indicates that during the pre-Qin period, people attached great importance to dietary taboos and summarized some regularities. The earliest existing medical masterpiece in China, the “Huangdi Neijing,” proposed principles such as “poisonous medicines attack pathogenic factors, while grains nourish; fruits assist; domestic animals benefit; vegetables precede. Combine flavors and administer them to supplement essence and enhance qi” (“Plain Questions – Discussion on Qi during Different Seasons”) and “Grains, fruits, and vegetables should be consumed to the fullest extent without excess, to avoid harm to one’s constitution” (“Plain Questions – Discussion on the Five Constants and Great Principles”). These discussions laid the foundation for the establishment of dietary therapy in later generations.

The earliest pharmacological work in China, “Shennong Ben Cao Jing,” compiled during the Eastern Han period, included numerous foods such as grains, rice, fruits, wood, herbs, fish, poultry, and animals. It provided discussions on their taste, properties, efficacy, and indications from a pharmacological perspective. During the same period, the renowned clinical physician Zhang Zhongjing created remarkable dietary therapy formulas, such as the Pigskin Soup, Bitter Wine Soup, and Angelica Ginger Lamb Soup, as recorded in the “Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases.” Subsequently, during the Southern Dynasties, Tao Hongjing, when compiling the “Collection of Commentaries on the Pharmacopoeia,” paid attention to categorizing foods based on their natural properties (grains, rice, fruits, fish, poultry, animals) in separate chapters alongside gems, stones, and plants. Tao’s emphasis on the special nature of foods in pharmacology played a significant role in the birth of later dietary therapy and Chinese dietary medicine. Despite this progress, dietary therapy did not become an independent discipline during this period. However, with the accumulation of dietary experience, medical scholars of that time had essentially completed the transition from experience to theory, laying a solid foundation for the emergence of dietary therapy.

By the Tang Dynasty, with the development of social productivity, economic prosperity, and improved living standards, there was a significant change in people’s dietary requirements. At this point, the social environment for the independent development of dietary therapy was established. In the early Tang Dynasty, the famous medical scholar Sun Simiao specifically dedicated a chapter on “Dietary Treatment” in his work “Qianjin Yao Fang,” where he compiled 154 kinds of foods into four categories: fruits, vegetables, grains, and birds and beasts (including insects and fish). He emphasized, “The art of maintaining the body must rely on food. Food can expel pathogenic factors, stabilize the organs, please the spirit, and nourish the qi and blood. If one can use food to alleviate illnesses and dispel emotions, it can be considered excellent work.” It is evident that Sun Simiao fully recognized the comprehensive roles of food in nutrition, prevention, treatment, and health maintenance. This indicates that dietary therapy had progressed to the theoretical stage of development. Subsequently, Meng Shen compiled “Supplementing and Nourishing Formulas” in three volumes, collecting 138 kinds of foods. Zhang Ding supplemented it with 89 additional foods, creating the “Dietary Therapy Pharmacopoeia” in three volumes. The book provided a comprehensive discussion on the nutrition and treatment aspects of foods, introducing dietary taboos for pregnant women, dietary requirements for infants, and the side effects of overconsumption or prolonged consumption of certain foods. With the publication of the “Dietary Therapy Pharmacopoeia,” Jiu Yin’s “Medical Insights into Diet,” Chen Shiliang’s “Herbal Dietary Characteristics,” and other works successively emerged. During this period, although dietary therapy had not yet become an independent discipline, the medical scholars of the time had completed the transition from experience to theory, contributing to the solid foundation for the birth of dietary therapy.

Until the Tang Dynasty, with the rapid development of pharmacology, the content of dietary therapy was greatly enriched in major medical works such as “Tianping Shenghui Fang,” “Shengji Zonglu,” and the pharmacological work “Zhenglei Bencao.” Special chapters on “Dietary Treatment” were included in these books, recording more foods. Works specifically discussing food therapy and dietary treatment continued to emerge, such as Chen Zhi’s “The Book of Nourishing the Elderly and Serving Parents,” Jia Ming’s “Essentials of Diet,” Wu Duan’s “Everyday Pharmacopoeia,” Hu Sihui’s “Essentials of Diet and Nutrition,” and Lou Juzhong’s “Comprehensive Explanation of Dietary Treatment.” Among them, “Essentials of Diet and Nutrition” is particularly valuable. The three volumes of the book cover 230 single foods, accompanied by 168 illustrations and 238 dietary formulas. It classifies foods into eight categories, including rice, grains, animals, birds, fish, fruits, vegetables, and condiments. It systematically introduces the taste, properties, efficacy, indications, and taboos of each food. The book also included foods consumed by ethnic minorities or from other regions, such as distilled liquor, which was recorded for the first time in a dietary therapy book. The book covered topics such as nutrition, cooking techniques, dietary hygiene, dietary taboos, and treatment. It is regarded as the earliest existing nutritional science monograph in China.

Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, dietary therapy has been recognized as an essential method in clinical treatment within traditional Chinese medicine. The number of foods included in pharmacopoeia monographs has greatly increased, and works focusing on dietary therapy have multiplied. Li Shizhen’s “Compendium of Materia Medica” from the Ming Dynasty, for example, includes over 500 kinds of foods, with most accompanied by prescriptions. Other significant works include Zhu’s “Famine Pharmacopoeia,” Lu He’s “Food Pharmacopoeia