Zhou Chaofan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhou Chaofan, Male, Han, from China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics (Ⅸ-2). The tradition is documented in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Within the regional tradition and school record of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences: In long-term medical practice, Chinese medicine formed a complete set of theories, methods, techniques, and material objects for diagnosing disease, reflecting distinctive features of traditional Chinese culture and regional characteristics. Wang Shuhe of the Western Jin compiled and collected the Pulse Classic, carrying forward the past and opening up the future, and established the method of pulse diagnosis in Chinese medicine; physicians of successive generations continuously inherited and refined Chinese diagnostic methods in clinical practice, producing a large body of literature on diagnostic methods, such as the Prescriptions for the Three Causes and One Disease Pattern of the Song dynasty, Ao's Golden Mirror of Cold Damage of the Ming dynasty, and the Classic of Inspection Diagnosis of the Qing dynasty; nearly one hundred works on diagnostic methods survive to the present day. The wrist (cunkou) pulse is where the qi and blood of the body's zang-fu organs converge; the method of taking the pulse at the wrist alone was already established in the Classic of the Eighty-One Difficult Issues, written in the Han dynasty.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhou Chaofan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Within the documented technical tradition of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences: Chinese diagnostic methods are a component of Chinese medicine. Guided by Chinese medical theory, Chinese diagnostic methods mainly use the "four examinations" to examine disease, explore the cause, location, nature, and trend of disease, differentiate patterns, make a diagnosis of the disease, and provide a basis for treatment. Chinese diagnostic methods have a long history. Bian Que (Qin Yueren), the famous physician of the Warring States period, excelled at "feeling the pulse, observing the complexion, listening to the sounds, and describing the form, and speaking of where the disease lies". Based on the theories of yin-yang and the five phases and of visceral manifestation, channels, and collaterals, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon gave specific descriptions of the various diagnostic methods and expounded the principles of their comprehensive application, laying the foundation for the "four examinations" in methodology. Inspection is a diagnostic method in which the physician uses vision to observe the relevant parts of the patient's body and their secretions and excretions in order to understand the condition. It includes tongue inspection, inspection of the spirit, inspection of the complexion, inspection of the five sense organs, inspection of the form, and inspection of the collaterals. Among them, tongue inspection refers to observing the changes in the patient's tongue body and tongue coating to determine the condition and predict the prognosis; it is an important part of inspection. Listening and smelling is a diagnostic method in which the physician understands the condition by listening to the patient's sounds and smelling their odors. Listening to sounds means understanding changes in the patient's speech, breathing, coughing, vomiting, and hiccup through sound; smelling odors means using the sense of smell to detect abnormal odors in the patient's breath, body, and excretions. Inquiry is a diagnostic method in which the physician systematically and purposefully questions the patient or their companion in order to understand the condition comprehensively. Palpation is a diagnostic method in which the physician uses the sense of touch to feel, press, and experience the patient's wrist pulse and specific parts of the body surface in order to understand the condition. It mainly includes two parts: feeling the wrist pulse and pressing examination. Chinese diagnostic methods are methods of diagnosing disease that are distinctive to Chinese medicine; their potential scientific, technological, and humanistic connotations are playing an ever greater role with the development of medical science and extensive exchange between Chinese and foreign cultures. However, under the influence of Western medicine, the application of Chinese diagnostic methods is declining day by day. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Palpating the cun-kou pulse": The pulse is read at the three positions of the wrist, noting its shape and force to locate illness and weigh the balance of pathogen and vital qi. "Inspecting the tongue and its coat": Tongue body and coat are read for colour, swelling, teeth marks, thickness and moisture, mapping interior states onto the tongue. "Listening and smelling": Changes in speech, breathing, cough and hiccup, together with unusual odours, supply information that relies heavily on experience. "Palpating the channels": The body surface is pressed along specific zones to note temperature, hardness, tenderness and swelling, locating the site of illness.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhou Chaofan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics, with China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics in China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences as its declared area, and Zhongguozhongyike College Zhongyijichulilun Research Institute as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhouchaofan (China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhouchaofan · China ICH Official Archive