Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia, people across the country, together with the majority of health care workers, have been fighting against the epidemic. In this life-and-death battle with the epidemic, it has been a severe test of our prevention and control capabilities and our mental capacity. With the experience of the stage results of the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, as well as the accumulation of clinical rescue and treatment experience, the observation of efficacy, and the advancement of scientific research, the treatment of Chinese and Western medicine knot in patients with new crown pneumonia has achieved positive results, and Chinese medicine with evidence-based treatment has played an important role in the process of fighting the epidemic. Looking back at the history of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, we can find that human beings have never stopped fighting against epidemics and have accumulated rich practical experience in the struggle against epidemics time and again, forming a theoretical system for understanding and preventing epidemics in Chinese medicine. Here the author will sort out and discuss the theories on the understanding and prevention of epidemics in Chinese medicine. Awareness of epidemics in Chinese medicine As early as in the Yin Shang oracle bone inscriptions, there were divinations asking the Shang king whether he was infected with “epidemics” and whether he could be cured. This shows that the Shang Dynasty had a simple understanding of epidemic infection more than 3000 years ago. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine from the pre-Qin period already pointed out that “epidemic” and “plague” were diseases that could be easily transmitted and had similar symptoms. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine – Su Wen – The Theory of Stabbing – says: “The five epidemics are all contagious, regardless of their size, and their symptoms are similar.” The Suwen – Six Elements of Zhengqi Dazhuan also says: “The disease of warmth and plague is widespread and salty and bitter from far and near.” “When the plague is great, the people die violently.” This is another description of the infectious characteristics and fatal danger of epidemics. In the middle and late Han Dynasty, epidemics were frequent in the Central Plains of China, with 10 epidemics recorded in the Hou Han Shu – Wu Xing Zhi, especially in the Jian An period (196-219), where the length of the epidemics and the number of deaths were rare in history. Zhang Zhongjing “Typhoid Miscellaneous Diseases” preface wrote: “Yu clan vegetation, to the remaining two hundred, Jian’an years, not yet ten years, its death, two out of three, typhoid fever in seven of the ten”. Faced with the tragic situation of epidemic disease, Zhang Zhongjing diligently sought ancient teachings and collected various prescriptions, and made a theoretical summary of the evidence and treatment of epidemic disease in Jian’an, and wrote “Treatise on Typhoid Miscellaneous Diseases”, which not only laid the foundation of evidence-based treatment in Chinese medicine, but also was the first book in the history of China on the treatment of infectious diseases and epidemics. It was the first monograph on the treatment of infectious diseases and epidemics in the history of China. The Treatise on Typhoid was a detailed discussion of the symptoms and pulses of patients with infectious diseases, and an analysis and synthesis of the various symptoms reflected by the action of pathogenic factors such as “cold” and “wind” in the human body, which led to the understanding of the evolution of various infectious diseases. This book has greatly improved the level of epidemic medicine and is a medical classic of febrile infectious diseases. Ge Hong, a Jin dynasty physician, first introduced “plague” as the cause of infectious diseases and the characteristics of mutual transmission in his “Preparedness and urgency formula after the elbow”, which was the pioneer of therapeutic medicine for future generations. Ge Hong in the “elbow after the preparation of the urgent formula – treatment of miasma epidemic disease warm poison of the formula” that “typhoid fever, time line, warm epidemic, three of the same …… their years in the plague and hosts the ghost poison phase injection, named warm disease.” It also records the prescriptions for the treatment and prevention of the warm epidemic, such as the medicine to ward off the plague, Dry San, Laojun Shen Ming Ming San, Du Mi San, and Wenzi San. The method of using a little medicine in the nose to prevent and control epidemics is still considered effective today. The method of preventing and controlling epidemics by making medicine capsules to be worn on the chest, hanging in the doorway, and burning smoke to smoke the dwelling was very influential to later generations and has been widely circulated and used to this day. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were many epidemics of warm fever in the Southern Dynasty. Chen Yanzhi was the first to put forward the view that “typhoid fever and heavenly epidemics are different from each other” and explained the difference between typhoid fever and seasonal epidemics in his “Xiao Pin Fang”. The “Treatise on the Origin of Diseases” by Chao Yuanfang, a Sui dynasty physician, was the first monograph on the etiology of diseases in China, in which he proposed the “perverse qi” as a new exploration of the causes of infectious diseases. The book also explored the causative factors of epidemic transmission, bringing the cause of infectious diseases closer to the discovery of bacteria. The “Thousand Gold Formula” of Sun Simiao and Wang To’s “The Secret of Wai Tai” of the Tang Dynasty contained many prescriptions to cure and ward off plague, and the “Thousand Gold Formula” also recorded the method of drinking Tu Su wine to prevent epidemics. The famous Jin-Yuan period physician Li Dongyuan in “Discourse on Internal and External Injuries and Confusions” described the epidemic in 1232 AD, and Dongyuan created the treatment of Tonic Zhong Yi Qi Tang. What Li Dong Yuan called this internal injury disease was in fact an external disease based on internal injury of the spleen and stomach, which the famous medical historian Mr. Fan Xing Jun researched and proved to be the bubonic plague (A Brief History of Chinese Medicine). Li Dong Yuan used the method of benefitting Qi and raising Yang to treat the virulent infectious disease, which set a model for future generations in treating epidemics with the sweet-warm and heat-removing method. The “Dongyuan’s Experimental Formula” also describes an epidemic in the second year of Taihe (1202), which Dongyuan treated with Puji Disinfectant Drink. In 1642, Wu Youke, a late Ming physician, personally participated in the treatment of the epidemic in Xinsi, Chongzhen (1641), and in 1642, Wu wrote the first work on epidemics in China by “meditating on the method of experience used during the day”. –The Treatise on Plague. In the Treatise on Pestilence, it is said: “No family in a lane with more than a hundred families is spared, and no family with dozens of mouths is left with only one mouth. The Treatise on Plague is an important milestone in the history of Chinese medicine, and has played a positive role in promoting the development of therapeutics in later generations. Its achievements are threefold: First, it created a new etiology, the “miscellaneous qi” theory, which basically corresponds to the pathogenic characteristics of modern infectious diseases. Secondly, he created a new theory of disease mechanism, in which evil enters from the mouth and nose and invades the membrane. Thirdly, he created a new therapeutic theory, the method of sparing and penetrating the membranous origin, the creation of the treatment of da yuan drink, and the view that “it is important to expel the guest evil early”. His doctrine of warm diseases has outstanding insights in terms of pathogen, infection route and specificity. In the Qing Dynasty, Yu Shiyu wrote “Epidemic Rash” based on Wu Youke’s “Treatise on Warm Epidemics”, arguing that the cause of epidemic rash is plague, pointing out that “one person with the disease will infect a family, and eight or nine of the lighter ones will be infected, while one or two of the heavier ones will survive. And according to the characteristics of the symptoms of summer fever epidemic, he created the formula of “clearing the plague and defeating the poison drink”, which opened up new horizons for the identification and treatment of warm epidemic diseases. Yu Shiyu, a doctor of the Qing Dynasty, experienced the epidemic in the 33rd year of the Qianlong reign and described a rash epidemic in his book “Epidemic Rash”. He believed that the cause of the epidemic rash was plague and pointed out that “if one person has the disease, the family will be infected, eight or nine of the ten lighter ones will be born, and one or two of the ten heavier ones will remain, and the majority of them will be like this within the territory.” And according to the characteristics of the symptoms of summer fever epidemic, he created the formula of “clearing the plague and defeating the poison drink”, which opened up new horizons for the identification and treatment of warm epidemic diseases. The book was revised in Shanghai more than 20 years later when cholera was in full swing, and it was titled “Sui Xi Jiu Revision of the Treatise on Cholera”, with the creation of pungent and bitter formulas suitable for the middle-jiao evidence of damp-heat disease, such as Lian Pu Drink, Huang Lian Ding Chao Tang, Burning Light Tang, Silkworm Yag Tang, and Gan Lu Disinfectant Dan. Wang Mengying also proposed a series of emergency measures for cholera emergencies. Yang Lishan, one of the famous physicians of the Qing Dynasty epidemic school, wrote a book entitled “The Article of Typhoid Fever and Wound Disease”, in which he believed that the pathogenesis of warm disease is “internal attack of evil heat, and all superficial evidence is seen in the internal evidence of depression, floating over the external also. Although there is superficial evidence, there is no superficial evil”. He created 15 formulas for the treatment of epidemic diseases, with the general formula of “Lifting San”. The “warm fever” and “damp fever” in the “Treatise on Warm Fever” by Ye Tiansh, Xue Shengbai, and Wu Jutong’s “Treatise on Warm Fever” and many other works on warm fever in the Qing Dynasty included a variety of acute infectious diseases. These theories and methods have important guiding values for the treatment of various acute infectious diseases today. There was no vaccine for the prevention of plague in Chinese medicine, but the world’s first invention of inoculation against smallpox. It is the patient who has suffered from smallpox pulp picked out, dried and blown into the nostrils of healthy people, inoculated with smallpox will no longer be infected. When did this method first originate, there is no definitive answer, but to the Ming and Qing dynasties, there has been a full-time pox doctor and dozens of pox monographs for the profession. The Qing Dynasty government also set up a pox bureau, which can be called the world’s first immunization agency. It can be seen that in the process of treating epidemics in successive generations, a large number of medical doctors emerged to treat epidemics, who, on the basis of inheriting the basic theories of Chinese medicine and combining the characteristics of epidemics at that time, continuously innovated and achieved remarkable curative effects. Zhang Zhongjing relieved the symptoms and dispersed the cold, Li Dongyuan tonified the middle and benefited the qi, Wu Yike dried the dampness and detoxified the toxin, Yu Shiyu cleared the qi and blood, Wang Mengying cleared the heat and removed the dampness, and Yang Lishan raised the qi and lowered the turbidity, all these experiences in fighting epidemics were condensed and raised into new theories, marked by the formation of academic monographs, which enriched the academic content of Chinese medicine in treating external diseases. The epidemics are different and the treatments are different, but they are all evidence-based treatments guided by adherence to the basic theories of TCM. The most valuable experience of TCM in treating epidemic diseases is the analysis of the causes and mechanisms of epidemic diseases and the establishment of corresponding treatment methods under the guidance of holistic concept. Ancestral medicine’s understanding of the causes and symptoms of epidemic diseases According to the viewpoint of the correspondence between heaven and man, ancestral medicine believes that changes in the natural climate and environment have a direct impact on the whole ecological system, and that under normal conditions, microorganisms and humans can live together in harmony and the ecosystem remains in an orderly balance. When natural disasters, wars, large population movements and abnormal fluctuations in climate occur, the external environment of the entire ecosystem undergoes drastic changes, leading to disruptions in the laws of birth and death among microorganisms, and some pathogenic microorganisms mutate or proliferate, losing their relative stability and eventually leading to epidemic outbreaks. The earliest text in Chinese medicine, Huangdi neijing, recognized the infectious nature of certain warm diseases and named them “epidemics”. Su Wen? In the “Treatise on the Method of Stabbing”, it is said that “the five epidemics are all contagious, regardless of their size, and their symptoms are similar.” In the process of treating various infectious diseases, ancient physicians have accumulated rich experience through continuous exploration and summary, especially in the understanding of the causes and mechanisms of epidemics, and have developed a unique theory. It is believed that the occurrence of epidemic diseases is closely related to their special pathogenic factors, and their pathogenic mechanism is mainly due to weak endowment, deficiency of positive qi, hostile qi taking advantage of the deficiency to invade the body through the nose and other channels, and evil qi hiding in the membrane, resulting in the disorder of yin and yang, drying up the diaphragm in the upper jiao, injuring the stomach and intestines in the middle jiao, and damaging the liver and kidneys in the lower jiao, which eventually leads to the depletion of qi and blood, and even the loss of yin and yang. If the form does not exist, how can God be attached. And it is a complex change process of multiple factors interacting with each other. First, it is a deficiency of the right qi within the adjustment is not appropriate. The Ling Shu? All diseases begin to birth” pointed out: “wind and rain, cold and heat, shall not be deficient, the evil can not hurt people alone. The sudden encounter with the storm and not sick, cover no deficiency, so the evil can not hurt people alone. This must be because of the wind of the evil and its body shape, the two deficiencies get each other, is the guest of its shape.” If the body is full of positive qi, even if there is evil qi that causes epidemics, if positive qi can overcome evil qi, it will be difficult for evil qi to invade and will not lead to epidemics, as stated in Su Wen La Fa Lun, “The five epidemics are all similar, regardless of their size, and their symptoms are similar. How can we get the one who doesn’t move from one to the other without administering remedies? Qibe said: “Those who do not stain each other, the righteousness exists within, evil cannot dry up.” Only when the body’s righteousness is weak and insufficient to resist external evil, can the evil take advantage of the weakness to enter the body and attack the epidemic. Wu further elaborated on this view in the Nei Jing. He believes that “if the original Qi is abundant, evil cannot enter the body. Because of the deficiency of the original Qi, between breathing, the external evil thus multiplied. In the past, there were three people, the fog in the morning, the empty stomach died, drinkers of wine sick. Those who ate a lot did not get sick. What is the difference between the epidemic and the evil?” It means that the occurrence of epidemics depends not only on the strength of the virulence of the disease-causing factors, but also on the strength or weakness of the body’s righteousness, of which the righteousness of the human body is the internal cause, which occupies a dominant position in preventing the attack of external evil and avoiding the occurrence of epidemics. Secondly, it is the seasonal Qi violation and operation of the misbehavior. Chinese medicine emphasizes the correspondence between human beings and nature, and believes that human beings live in the natural world and are inevitably affected by climate change in the four seasons of nature, and that the physiological changes of the human body should correspond to “heaven and earth, and conform to the four seasons”, otherwise it will definitely lead to the occurrence of diseases. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (HUANG DI Nei JING) has established the doctrine of the five movements and six qi based on the existence of cyclical changes in the universe, with the aim of exploring the cyclical laws of natural changes and their effects on diseases. Luck “arrives and arrives, arrives but does not arrive, arrives but is too much” (Su Wen? The “arrival and arrival is the harmony; arrival but not arrival, the incoming qi is not enough; arrival but not arrival, the incoming qi is surplus.” The luck has constant and change, and the festival gas and harmony, the festival to the gas to, that is, the constant of the heavenly movement, is the right gas, and the opposite is the different gas. That is the so-called “not its position is evil, when its position is right.” Suwen? Six sections of the Tibetan elephant theory of cloud: “not to but to, this is too much, then the thin is not win, and multiply the win also, the fate of the day qi kink. …… to but not to this is called less than, then the victory delusion, and the birth of the disease, the unsurpassed thin also.” The Chinese medicine emphasizes the close relationship between human illness and climate change, “Su Wen? It is pointed out in the book “The birth of all diseases is also born from the change of wind, cold, summer, humidity, dryness and fire”. Ancient Chinese medicine practitioners have realized that the misbehavior of the luck of heaven and earth and the disorder of the seasons have led to the change of the natural climate from the normal order of time, which is one of the reasons for the occurrence of epidemics. “Therefore, there is a heavenly line of temperature and epidemic disease, it is one of the changes in heaven and earth. S cover the inevitable reason of creation, shall not be without it.” Usually, the human body functions according to the law of alternating seasons in normal years, and grows and collects at the right time. When the heavenly times are not right, and the perverse qi acts on the human body, the body’s qi cannot be stretched on time, and suddenly it is closed inside, which will lead to the plague. Su Wen? In the treatise on the method of pricking, there is a statement that “when the lift is not forward, and there is a change in qi flow, it becomes a violent depression”. This shows that Chinese medicine believes that the violation of the harmony of the seasonal qi and its misbehavior is one of the reasons for the occurrence of epidemics. Third, it is the hostile invasion of the mouth and nose infection. Chinese medicine has long recognized that epidemics are caused by an external infection of epidemic gas, which invades the body through the mouth and nose. This kind of epidemic gas is different from the general six perversions and is strongly contagious and epidemic. The Ming dynasty doctor Wu also said in his treatise on warm epidemics: “The disease of warm epidemics is not wind or cold, not heat or humidity, but a different kind of gas between heaven and earth. …The epidemic is caused by the hostile qi of heaven and earth. The hostile qi is not cold, not summer, not warm, not cool, and not the qi of the four seasons, but a different kind of hostile qi between heaven and earth.” Wu can also believe that the hostile gas is a tiny disease substance that can not be observed by the naked eye, “gas invisible to seek, no image can be seen, not to mention no sound, and no smell, how can be seen to hear?” The thing, the gas of the transformation; gas, the change of the thing also. Qi is the thing, and the thing is the Qi.” Hostile qi leads to epidemics with obvious contagiousness and epidemic nature. He pointed out that hostile qi invades the human body, mostly from the mouth and nose, and is transmitted through the qi or contact, and Wu also can point out in “The Theory of Warm Epidemic” that “this qi comes, regardless of the old and young, strong and weak, those who touch it are sick, from the mouth and nose. …The evil is spread by the natural air and by the infection (contact with the patient). The Treatise on the Origin of the Diseases says: “When a person feels the perverse qi and becomes ill, the sick qi turns to be contaminated and easy, and even extinguishes the door.” At the same time, ancient physicians also observed that there is a difference between pandemic and epidemic when hostile qi causes epidemics. Wu also can point out that “the epidemic is prevalent in the year, the patients are heavy, and the most contagious, even the children are aware of the epidemic. As for the micro epidemic, it seems that there is no such thing, because the poisonous gas has a thick and thin clock. The year the epidemic is declining, the patients are only a few people.” And pointed out that the disease caused by epidemic hostility, has the characteristics of rapid onset, rapid transmission, heavy disease, similar symptoms. The hostile gas is exceptionally poisonous and highly contagious, no matter how strong, weak, old or young, the touch will be obtained, as the “warm epidemic theory” said: “If the year of the gas to the severe, regardless of the strength of the weak, the righteousness of the slightly weakened, the touch will be sick. …about the disease is all over one side, the extended door and the household, all the same, all the time, that is, the miscellaneous gas for the disease”. Awareness of Disease Location and Symptoms The disease location of epidemic disease has been recorded in Su Wen. It has been recorded in “The Treatise on Pain”: “Cold qi is found between the intestines and stomach, under the membrane.” and Su Wen. Malaria”: “Evil qi wrestles with the five internal organs and crosses the membrane. These two treatises both mention the membranous origin. The meaning is as Wang Bing of the Tang Dynasty noted: “The membrane is the membrane between the lizards; the original is the original of the lizards. Yuan Dynasty, the Japanese physician Danbo Yuanjian is of the view that “the tang diaphragm of the membrane attached to the seventh vertebrae of the spine, that is, the membrane of the original.” The above discussion of the membrane original, all refer to the pleura or diaphragm between the parts. In later times, Wu could also play on its meaning, such as “the evil is not far from the table, trapped near the stomach …… evil in the membranous origin, just through the stomach intersection of the place, so it is half table and half lane”. It is clear that the evil of the epidemic is in the half-table and half-li position. Although Wu’s discussion of the membranous origin is not identical to that of the Inner Classic, the two are generally similar, both being non-surface and non-local or where the surface and the lining meet. The clinical symptoms are also recorded in the Nei Jing. Su Wen. The Treatise on Prickly Methods says: “No matter how big or small, the symptoms of the disease are similar.” There are many types of plague, but one type of plague can only cause one type of epidemic. Each epidemic has similar symptoms regardless of age and gender. Because the evil gas of plague is very poisonous and has a short incubation period, it often invades the human body with fire, heat, dampness, and other filthy gases, and is more pathogenic than ordinary evil gas, even when touched. Therefore, they are characterized by rapid onset, fierce onset and critical condition. The clinical condition is characterized by rapid onset, fever and high fever, accompanied by thirst, red tongue, yellow fur and other heat symptoms. After the onset of the disease, it is easy to injure fluid, move blood, disturb the mind and generate wind, and also easy to damage the heart, kidney, liver and other important organs. If it is not treated in time, it will easily lead to dangerous condition and even death. Ancestral medicine’s understanding of epidemic prevention and treatment Epidemic diseases are characterized by rapid spread, strong contagiousness, rapid transmission, high mortality rate, and easy to cause social panic, etc. Ancient healers and ancestors have left a wealth of experience and lessons to counteract epidemics, protect life, reduce damage, and actively cope with them, which are worthy of our serious summary and research. Prevent diseases before they happen and cultivate the righteousness. For acute infectious diseases, ancient physicians placed great emphasis on early prevention and treating the undiseased. As early as in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, “Suwen – Four Qi Tuning Shen Dazheng”, it is clearly pointed out that “the sage does not treat the already sick to treat the unwell, and does not treat the already chaotic to treat the unrest.” How can we effectively avoid and resist the infection of epidemic diseases on people? This question was asked in the Su Wen – Treatise on the Law of the Thorn: “I have heard that the five epidemics are all contagious, regardless of their size, and that the symptoms of the disease are similar, so how can one not be contagious?” The answer is: “The one who does not stain each other is the one who has the righteousness inside, so the evil cannot dry up and avoid its poisonous gas”. He advocated the strengthening of one’s “righteousness” to resist the invasion of “evil qi”. Wu also said in “Treatise on Warm Diseases. The original disease” says: “When the original qi is full, evil cannot easily enter, but when the original qi is in deficit, external evil will take advantage of it between breaths”. If the body is full of positive qi, miscellaneous qi will not offend; if the positive qi is deficient, miscellaneous qi will enter through the mouth and nose and take advantage of the deficiency to cause illness. The Ming Dynasty’s “Jing Yue Quan Shu” “Plague – the method of avoiding epidemics” also pointed out that “the plague is the evil of heaven and earth, if the person’s positive qi is solid within, then the evil can not dry, since not infected with each other.” Chinese medicine believes that people’s positive energy is mainly composed of essence and other substances, “Su Wen – Jin Kui Zhen Shu” said: “Therefore, those who hide in the essence, spring does not disease warm”, it can be seen that the maintenance of the essence is very important, to hide the essence should let the essence can be generated normally, and not too much dissipation. The generation of essence is dependent on the food and drink of Qi and blood to constantly fill the nourishment, essence, Qi and blood can be mutually transformed, if Qi and blood is insufficient, essence will not be sufficient. The generation of qi and blood also depends on the normal function of the internal organs. In order for the qi and blood to nourish the essence, it must also require the qi and blood to be smooth and the emotions to be smooth. On the other hand, in order to prevent the dissipation of essence, you should not overwork, including strain on the heart, mind, body and room, to achieve “regular living, not delusional labor”. As the Suwen – Shanggu Tianzhen said: “Tranquility and emptiness, the true energy from it, the spirit within the guard, the disease is safe from.” From this, it can be seen that cultivating the righteousness, maintaining a healthy and strong body, and enhancing the ability to resist diseases are the fundamentals of preventing the invasion of epidemic diseases. Early detection and strict isolation. Epidemic diseases often sprout quietly, but once they spread, the momentum is difficult to stop. Therefore, early detection is very important. In Suwen – Eight Zheng Shen Ming Lun, the idea of “saving the sprout of the upper work” is put forward, which requires early detection of the seeds of epidemics and timely prevention and control, so as to avoid the expansion of epidemics, which is difficult to contain. The “Spiritual Pivot – Official Energy” said: “Evil in the midst of people also, sprinkling Xi moving form. The evil in the people also micro, first seen in the color, do not know in its body, if there is if not, if the death if the existence of the form of invisible, do not know its feelings. That is why the upper work of taking the gas, is seeking its sprout.” Yang Shang Shan of Tang Dynasty explained, “The first guest of the evil gas, the disease before the disease, the name is called sprout, the upper workers know.” From this, it can be seen that “the disease before the disease” refers to the stage when the disease has not yet revealed its symptoms. A skilled healer can detect the seeds of epidemics in advance, give warning and take effective preventive and curative measures. The Book of Han – The Chronicle of Emperor Ping also states, “When the people were sick and epidemic, an empty residence was set up to house a doctor.” The setting up of isolated sick houses for treatment was clearly stipulated to immunize against the spread of diseases. The virulence of the disease causing evil is very powerful, and there is a limit to the ability of the righteousness to resist evil, so avoiding the attack of evil is also an important part of the prevention of epidemics. Su Wen – Shang Gu Tian Zhen Lun says: “Avoid the evil and thieving wind at times”, and Su Wen – The Theory of Stabbing emphasizes: “Avoid its poisonous qi”. To avoid the invasion of immunity, we must pay attention to personal hygiene, disinfect the environment, and take isolation measures after the occurrence of epidemics, all of which have been recorded in ancient Chinese medical texts. The ancients already knew the truth that “disease enters through the mouth”. Sun Simiao in the “Thousand Gold Formula – Cholera” said: “The original cholera as a disease, all because of diet.” This clearly points out the relationship between unclean food and infectious diseases. In the late Qing Dynasty, Yu Botao, a famous doctor, pointed out in the “plague Zouwei – to avoid the epidemic” that indoor ventilation and light is conducive to the prevention of epidemics: “the method of avoidance, hall room, clean and bright, kitchen ditch, clean, room windows, ventilation and air.” Even today, ventilation and light penetration are the basic requirements for epidemic prevention. Medical prevention and control, and innovation. In the struggle against epidemics, medical doctors of all generations were brave in research and innovation, forming new medical theories and methods. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when epidemics were prevalent, Zhang Zhongjing wrote “Treatise on Typhoid Fever”, which laid the foundation for “evidence-based treatment”; at the end of the Jin Dynasty, when epidemics were prevalent in Bianjing, Li Gao wrote “Treatise on Internal and External Injuries”, which established the doctrine of “internal injuries” and the idea of “sweet warmth to remove heat”. At the end of the Jin Dynasty, when the epidemic was rampant in Bianjing, Li Gao wrote “Treatise on Internal and External Injuries”, which established the doctrine of “internal injuries” and the idea of “sweet warmth and heat removal”. Many medical practitioners of the past generations also created many prescriptions to prevent and treat epidemics. For example, Ge Hong used Bozhi San to prevent epidemics; Sun Simiao developed Xiong Huang Pills to avoid epidemics; Liu Wansu’s Huang Lian Detoxification San and Li Gao’s Tonic Zhong Yi Qi Tang in the Jin Dynasty, Wu Yike’s Dagen Yuan Drink, San Xiao Drink, and Jiu Zhan Tang in the Ming Dynasty, and Wu Jutong’s Sang Ju Drink and Yin Qiao San in the Qing Dynasty, all played a significant role in the prevention and treatment of epidemics. At present, we are looking forward to the emergence of effective medicines for sudden epidemics. According to the 7th edition of the “Treatment Plan for Pneumonia with Novel Coronavirus Infection (Trial Version)”, localities should refer to the plan for evidence-based treatment according to the condition, local climatic characteristics and different physiological conditions. In addition to keeping away from pathogens and stimulating meridians and acupoints, Chinese medicine also uses methods such as vomiting, bathing, medicine, aromatherapy and spiritual regimen to make the mood happy and fill up with positive energy. Emphasis is placed on regulating liver energy and avoiding great anger. Follow the order of the times, maintain the right qi, and exhale the old and the new. It is recognized that the body can fully play its role in defense against external evil when the qi and blood are in harmony, and that dysfunctional state of the body is an important condition for the invasion of epidemic and hostile qi. Chinese medicine contains thousands of years of Chinese health and wellness philosophy and practical experience, and is a treasure of Chinese civilization, which is the great wisdom of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. During the long process of the Chinese nation’s reproduction and development, large and small plagues have ended in pacification, and Chinese medicine has played a fundamental role in protecting the people’s health, including epidemic prevention. It also plays an irreplaceable and important role in the anti-epidemic treatment today.