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Xu Zhicai, holding the titles of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu (Golden Light and Purple Dew High Official), Kaifu Yitong Sansi (Opening the Office and Equal to the Three Excellencies), Shangshu Ling (Director of the Department of State Affairs), and Prince of Xiyang, courtesy name Shimao, was a native of Jinxiang, Gaoping. He was intelligent and quick-witted from childhood, responding to inquiries with speed and accuracy. He was skilled in medicine and possessed wit and eloquence. When Empress Dowager Wu Ming was unwell, Xu Zhicai administered medicine, and she recovered immediately. Emperor Suzong summoned him to sit beside him and ordered the Crown Prince to pay respects to him. He was rewarded with one thousand bolts of silk, four hundred bolts of brocade, carriages, horses, clothes, and a thousand mu of fertile fields and gardens (from Zhang Taisu's *Book of Qi*).

Zhang Yuanyou was a person from the Qi region, known for his medical skills and Daoist arts. Soon after, an imperial edict conscripted him to refine the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir together with alchemists. Once the elixir was completed, Emperor Xianzhu placed it in a jade casket, saying, "Greedy people enjoy worldly pleasures but cannot fly to heaven; you may take it only when I am on my deathbed" (ibid.).

Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty, styled Zhenbai Xiansheng (Master of Purity and White), courtesy name Tongming, was a native of Danyang. His mother, Lady Hao, dreamed of two celestial beings carrying incense burners coming to her location, after which she became pregnant. Tao Hongjing was born on the Summer Solstice of the Xiaojian Year 3. He was alert and intelligent from childhood, widely learned and proficient in the classics. He aspired to health preservation and had a natural inclination towards medical prescriptions, focusing on saving people and benefiting all living beings. Consequently, he compiled three volumes of the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) (from *Book of Liang* and miscellaneous literary works).

Xu Zhifan, holding the titles of Yitong Da Jiangjun (General Equal to the Three Excellencies), Taichang Qing (Minister of Ceremonies), and Hengshan Taishou (Prefect of Hengshan), and inheriting the title of Prince of Xiyang, was the younger brother of Xu Zhicai of Northern Qi. He was also renowned for his medical skills, rising to the position of Taichang Qing and inheriting his brother's title as Prince of Xiyang. After the fall of Northern Qi, he entered the Zhou dynasty and was appointed Yitong Da Jiangjun (from *Book of Later Zhou*).

Xu Min, son of Xu Zhifan, Minister of Ceremonies of Qi, was proficient in medicine, well-read, and versatile. During the Kaihuang era, he was posthumously granted the title of Chaosan Dafu (Court Dispenser Grand Master) (from *Book of Sui*).

Zhen Quan was a native of Fugou, Xuzhou. Because of his mother's illness, he and his younger brother Zhen Liyan specialized in studying medical prescriptions, thereby mastering their subtleties.

Zhen Liyan was the younger brother of Zhen Quan. Both devoted themselves to medicine due to their mother's illnesses, eventually exhausting the profound mysteries of medical science. During the Wude era, he was repeatedly promoted to Taichang Cheng (Assistant Minister of Ceremonies). Du Yan, Censor-in-Chief, suffered from wind-toxin causing swelling. Emperor Taizong ordered Zhen Liyan to treat him. Zhen Liyan subsequently reported, "In twenty-one days at noon, he will die." The outcome proved exactly as he predicted.

Song Xia was of unknown origin. He was intelligent, agile, and scholarly, particularly valuing classical prescriptions and materia medica. He ultimately gained fame through his medical expertise.

Xu Yinzong was a native of Yixing, Changzhou. Initially serving in the Chen dynasty as Waibing Canjun (Military Staff Officer for Prince Xincai), he treated Empress Dowager Liu, who suffered from stroke-induced aphasia. Her pulse was increasingly deep and her jaw was clenched. Xu Yinzong stated, "Since oral medication is impossible, decoction fumes should be used to vaporize the medicine, allowing its qi to penetrate the couli (skin pores and interstices). Recovery can be expected within about one hour." He then prepared several hu (ancient unit of volume) of Huangqi Fangfeng Tang (Astragalus and Saposhnikovia Decoction) and placed it under the bed. The steam rose like smoke. Following this method, the Empress regained her ability to speak. Consequently, he was exceptionally promoted to Prefect of Yixing (all from *History of Tang*).