Sun Simiao was a titanic figure in the world of traditional Chinese medicine. Born in the late 6th century during the Tang Dynasty and boasting a remarkable 101 year lifespan, he was revered in China — much like the Greek physician Hippocrates was among practitioners of Western medicine. Sun produced books that serve as some of the fundamental writings on traditional Chinese medicine, like the one that roughly translates as Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold.
Despite the widespread adoption of Western medicine throughout China today, the traditional methodology Sun practiced still serves as an important practice for many people in China and elsewhere, sometimes helping in instances where modern treatments fall short.
But some of the ingredients for cures listed by Sun, or later adopted by physicians of traditional Chinese medicine, have brought practitioners into conflict with the wildlife conservation community. Demand for products like horns has driven species like the western black rhino to extinction, while species of pangolins have become the most trafficked animal in the world due to demand for their scales and meat. Even a once common lizard species in Southeast Asia, the tokay gecko, is being harvested in such large numbers for use in medicine that they are disappearing from some areas.
