ABSTRACT
In a letter to a young doctor surnamed Chen 陳 from his home county of Yin, Yuan Jue reminded him how wonderful their local elite medical culture was. According to Yuan, men from the most flourishing families in this county lived close to each other and often gathered to discuss medicine. Together they would read ancient medical texts carefully and exchange opinions regarding why the treatments were effective at the time when the texts were written. Whenever the elite men found that someone was sick, they would first check the patient's conditions and record them. Taking the timing of the illness into consideration, they would choose an appropriate medicine and wait to see a good result. 1
