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             Shen Nung is the second of the three emperors responsible for Chinese medicine. He is credited with the authorship of the text Shen Nung Pen Ts"ao, translated Shen Nung"s Herbal which describes the properties of over three-hundred herbal medicines. He is thought to be the first herbalist, and the father of herbal medicine. His rule ended in 2697 b.c., not surprisingly since he was rumoured to have poisoned himself several hundreds of times testing his herbal concoctions.

             The third emperor, Huang Ti, reigned from the year 2697 b.c. until 2595 b.c. Among other things, such as the invention of the chariot, currency and cloth clothing, Huang Ti is credited for authorship of the Huang Ti Ne Ching, translated, the Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine, the most important and earliest work in Chinese medicine. It indicated that the Chinese of the time recognized the circulatory system as the bodies means of nutrient distribution.

             These three texts undisputedly are the foundations of all modern Chinese medicine, however, as one Professor of Anthropology, Eugene Anderson put it "No serious scholar questions the mythological nature of the three emperors. Fu Hsi is said to have the body of a snake, Shen Hung sinply means devine farmer, and the Yellow Emperor is equally improbable." The Shen Nung Pen Ts"ao, in reality was written in the Han dynasty (206b.c. -220 a.d.) and the earliest fragments of the Nei Ching date back to only 200 or 300 b.c. It is more probable that they are the works of early herbalists who wanted their writings to gain immediate respect and attention so they credited their work to highly revered and respected individuals.

             It was under the Han dynasty that the classical doctrine of Chinese medicine was formed, primarily based on the works of Chang Chung Ching (born c.158-166) and Hua To (born c.136-141). He was the first to associate certain symptoms with an appropriate treatment.