Zhu Zhenheng
Zhu Zhenheng (; 1282–1358), courtesy name Danxi (), was a Chinese physician and writer active during the Yuan dynasty. Initially trained in classics as a fourth-generation follower of Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi, he decided to pursue a career in medicine after failing his civil examinations twice. After his death, Zhu's teachings continued to be compiled and circulated by his followers well into the Ming dynasty. In modern histories of medicine in imperial China, Zhu is referred to as one of the "four great masters of the Jin-Yuan scholarly medical tradition". Early life Zhu was born in 1282 in Wuzhou (present-day Jinhua), Zhejiang. He was nicknamed "Danxi" (, literally "Cinnabar brook"), after a stream that he lived next to. Zhu's youth was "chivalrous though imprudent", and he failed the civil examinations in both 1317 and 1320, despite the fact that the examinations were largely based on the teachings of Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi, and Zhu Zhenheng was tutored by Xu Qian (), a fourth-generation disciple of Zhu Xi. Perhaps at Xu Qian's urging, Zhu subsequently abandoned his classical studies and began focusing on medicine. Career Zhu initially struggled to learn much about medicine, given that the physicians in Zhejiang whom he