The “Ao Shi Shang Han Jin Jing Lu”

The earliest ideas on tongue diagnosis mostly derive from the Cold Damage (Shang Han) theories as they were interpreted during the Tang (618 AD - 907 AD) and Song (969 AD - 1279 AD) Dynasties.

Although the Yellow Emperor’s Classic (黄帝内经), includes some basic Chinese medicine tongue anatomy, physiology, pathology and treatment, and the Treatise on Cold Damage (伤寒论) suggests some basic ideas for a tongue diagnosis, however, these theories were not by any means comprising a clinically applicable tongue diagnosis methodology.

The first page of Xue Li-zhai's first edition
of "Ao Shi Shang Han Jin Jing Lu"

Sometime around the Song and Yuan Dynasties, an unknown ancient doctor known as Scholar Ao (in modern times often identified as Ao Ji-weng) produced a brief monograph called “Shang Han Dian Dian Jin” (伤寒点点金), containing for the first time in history, twelve colour illustrations of various tongues together with brief notes, where he summarized all the main tongue advancements of his era. This manuscript was meant to be used as a secret manual, available only within closed circles. This fact was later recorded by Du Qing-bi (杜清碧), who came across one of these doctors, but was refused admission in his circle.

A copy of the "Shang Han Dian Dian Jin" from the
Library of The China Academy of Chinese Medicine

After this encounter, Du Qing-bi being aware about the existence this manual, kept searching for it, until he finally managed to buy a handwritten copy of Ao’s monograph. After meticulous study he eventually expanded on the text by adding twenty-four more tongues (to a total of thirty-six), thus creating the famous “Ao Shi Shang Han Jin Jing Lu” (敖氏伤寒金镜录), completed in 1341.

Unfortunately, Du Qing-bi's edition still circulated in secret for about two centuries before another famous doctor, Xue Li-zhai (薛立斋) came accross a copy of it. Scholar Xue added his own commentaries, and published a complete version in 1529, making it public for the first time.

The “Ao Shi Shang Han Jin Jing Lu” or “Scholar Ao’s Gold Mirror Records in Cold Damage” was the first tongue diagnosis monograph in the world, and even today it is regarded as one of the most influential Chinese Medicine books of all time.

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