Medicated wine and famous physicians

The production and application of medicated wine is valued by physicians of all dynasties. In the Historical Records, there are 25 medical cases of Chunyu Yi, a famous physician of the Han Dynasty, of which two are about treatments with medicated wine. Zhang Zhongjing, known as the Medical Sage, also included wine into his formulation when necessary to treat illnesses. The Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases by Zhang Zhongjing provides formulation for safflower wine, Chinese ephedra decoction and other medicated wines. Some are made of medicines, some are obtained by decocting medicines with wine, and some are produced by simmering medicines with the mixture of wine and water, as wine can strengthen effects of the medicines and help cure diseases. In the Thousand Pieces of Gold Formulae written by Sun Simiao, the Medicine King, there is a chapter dealing exclusively with medicated wine. The work records over 80 medicated wine formulation, covering medical, surgical, gynaecological and tonic aspects. The Principles of Correct Diet by Hu Sihui, a court therapist during the Yuan Dynasty, is a work on diet therapy that has great influence on later generations. The book provides more than 10 medicated wine formulation that have better nourishing and tonic functions.