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Chaos & Disunity Period (220-589):
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, local government leaders' power grew. One of them, Caopi (曹丕), who ruled the north, forced the Han emperor to abdicate in AD220. Another two states established later in the southwest and the southeast respectively. This period is known as the Three States period (三國時期, 220-280). In AD280, China was reunified for a short while by the Western Jin Dynasty (西晉, 265-316). A couple of decades later, the barbarians conquered China and the dynasty was forced to move to the south. The north then fell into the dark rule of various barbarian states. The Eastern Jin Dynasty (東晉, 317-420), and later another four dynasties, ruled the south. Meanwhile, the north became relatively settled and was unified for the most time. This is known as the Dynasties of the North and South (南北朝, 420-589).
During this period of disunity, cultures from different races 'mixed' together. Wars provided chances to practice medical theories. Clinical experiences grew rapidly. Acupuncture had become popular since then. Pharmacognosy also grew rapidly owing to new breakthroughs about the use of herbal medicine. Doctors knew more about the restrictions, dosage and families of herbal medicine. People took minerals and metals as medicine during this period, too. This made many new diseases but also made people know that miknerals and metals must be taken very carefully. Doctors cured people by using herbs mostly from then on.
Sui Dynasty & Tang Dynasty (589-907):
The barbarians' rule in the north was ended by the Sui Dynasty (隋朝) in 581. Eight years later, it ended the southern dynasty and reunified China. In 618, the Sui Dynasty was replaced by the Tang Dynasty (唐朝), which was known as the golden age of ancient China. During the wealthy and stable period, the economic growth pushed the medical development a great leap forward. Japan and Korea sent ambassadors to study Chinese things. The Tang government employed many doctors to monitor the medical industry and to teach people about health and hygiene. The occurrence of town planning since the Sui Dynasty improved the cities' environment. Systematic laws provided legal base to punish bad doctors, to protect people's health, and to improve the hygiene in jails. Medical schools were established to train professional doctors.
Another well-known doctor, Sunsimiao (孫思邈), wrote many valuable books about herbal medicine. He emphasized the importance of planting, picking, preserving, processing and storing local herbs. He objected the usage of minerals and metals as medicines. Like Huatuo, most of Sunsimiao's writings were unfortunately lost. We can only read some of the quotes in the history books.
Second Chaos & Disunity Period (907-1368):
In 907, warlords dismembered the Tang Dynasty. Five dynasties ruled the north one after another. Ten other states ruled the south and part of the north. At the same time, a barbarian tribe called Qidan (契丹) became a strong country and began to invade China. In 979, the weak Northern Song Dynasty (北宋) united China again. Both Song and Qidan could not annex each other. And the latter one was replaced by Jin (金) in 1125. Two years later, Jin marched its army into Song's capital. And the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋) ruled the south until 1279, the year in which the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan (忽必烈) built the Yuan Dynasty (元朝) and annexed the whole China.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, both culture and science had experienced their respective golden ages. Printing, one of the four greatest Chinese inventions, was born in this period. Previous medical discoveries were rearranged to be published as various books all over the country. People gained much knowledge about herbal medicine. For example, Songci (宋慈), a judiciary official at the time, wrote a famous book (洗冤集錄) about forensic medicine. Due to the prosperity of handicrafts and commerce, medicine shops and market occurred in large cities. People could buy high-quality herbal medicine easily.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the transport across China, Middle Asia and Middle East was unobstructed. Travellers (such as Marco Polo) brought medical knowledge from China to the west and vice versa. A large amount of Korean, Arabic, Roman and Greek medicines were imported into China. Chinese medicine had improved itself by gaining so much foreign medical knowledge.
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