Liu Wansu

Liu Wansu, courtesy name Shouzhen (守真), was a Chinese physician of the Jin dynasty. He observed the high frequency of fever and inflammation in serious diseases and promoted the idea of using herbs of cooling nature to treat these conditions. This was a step in the opposite direction of many of his predecessors, who focused on using warming herbs. This work had much influence on the later concept of wen bing or epidemic febrile diseases, which corresponded to the Western concept of contagious disease. He also undertook a detailed study of the Su wen, describing the etiology of disease in relation to the teachings of that famous text.