Roots of Chinese medicine are based in “Nourishing Life” or Yangsheng 養生
Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold 千金翼方, compiled by Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty, is a comprehensive medical classic which summarized studies and records on medical treatment and had great influence on the development of oriental medicine in the later ages. Sun Simiao lists 233 categories, and among other material, covers internal, external, and first aid medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, detoxification, Yangsheng, acupuncture, and is the earliest Chinese text to discuss the concept Shiliao 食療 or nutritional therapy, and the knowledge that food is the first treatment for any ailment.