Zhan Hongsheng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhan Hongsheng, Male, Han, from Shanghai, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of TCM Bone-setting Therapy (Ⅸ-6). The tradition is documented in Shanghai. Within the regional tradition and school record of TCM Bone-setting Therapy in Shanghai: The Shanghai Shi family's traumatology was formed on the basis of the diagnostic and therapeutic experience accumulated by the Shi family in daily life and labor, integrating the postures of traditional Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese bone-setting manipulation, and internal treatment and regulation methods. Founded in the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, it has a history of more than a century and has been transmitted to the sixth generation through family inheritance and master-apprentice transmission. The therapy is transmitted and developed with Shanghai as its center, and has also spread to Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, influencing the whole country and even overseas, with Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine as its main transmission base. In medication, it emphasizes that prescriptions change with the syndrome and medicines differ with the disease. Through long-term practice and accumulation, it has summarized a series of celebrated formulas and proven prescriptions, including the Three-Color Paste, the Burdock Seed Decoction, the Dissipating Paste, Qilin Powder, and the Fresh-Injury Sinew-Rejoining Decoction, as well as preparations evolved from the above prescriptions, such as Qigu Capsules, the Anti-Bone-Hyperplasia Mixture, Nourishing-Blood-and-Softening-Hardness Capsules, and Ginseng-and-Scorpion Analgesic Capsules. The Shi family's traumatology has a history of more than a century since its founding in the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhan Hongsheng is anchored in the documented technical standards of TCM Bone-setting Therapy in Shanghai. Within the documented technical tradition of TCM Bone-setting Therapy in Shanghai: The Shanghai Shi family's traumatology is a bone-setting therapy formed by the Shi family through integrating the postures of traditional Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese bone-setting manipulation, and internal treatment and regulation methods in daily life and labor. The Shanghai Shi family's traumatology advocates the concept of "one principle running through the thirteen medical specialties." Grounded in the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine, it draws on the clinical essence of all medical specialties, integrating and assimilating them and broadly collecting and storing knowledge. It has formed an academic system encompassing Shi-family characteristic theory, diagnosis and treatment, manipulation, and medication. In theory, the Shi family's traumatology emphasizes the holistic concept, attends to both qi and blood, and combines internal and external treatment. It established the therapeutic thought of "examine the constitution, assess yin and yang, and regulate concurrent pathogens; take qi and blood as the first priority and pay attention to phlegm-dampness; give equal weight to sinews and bones and treat injuries comprehensively." In diagnosis and treatment, it emphasizes "know the person before treating the disease." Whether the disease lies in the sinews or the bones, it attaches importance not only to the bones but also to the role of soft tissues such as muscles and tendons in the joints. It stresses three-stage treatment for sinew and bone injuries, differentiation of organ and bowel qi and blood in treating internal injuries, and assessment of causes and circumstances for old injuries and strain injuries. In manipulation, it emphasizes the criteria of "steady yet forceful, supple yet agile, and fine yet correct," reflecting the traditional Chinese concepts of "sinews serving the bones, equal weight to sinews and bones, and bones set straight with sinews supple." The therapy has relieved the pain of many patients. With flexible service methods, relatively low prices, and relatively safe medication, it has been welcomed by the people. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "One principle running through thirteen departments": One principle is carried through all thirteen departments, uniting theory, diagnosis, manipulation and prescribing into a single system. "Know the person before treating": The patient is assessed before the injury is, since soft tissue and constitution decide how the same fracture is managed. "Firm with force, flexible, precise and correct": Steady yet forceful, flexible, fine and correct — the three criteria behind the ideal handling. "The internal formulas for new injury": Old decoctions and plaster formulas sit alongside modern capsules developed from the same prescriptions.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhan Hongsheng was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for TCM Bone-setting Therapy, with Shanghai as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of TCM Bone-setting Therapy in Shanghai: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Shanghai as its declared area, and Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine University Affiliated Shuguang Hospital 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. Zhanhongsheng (Shanghai) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhanhongsheng · China ICH Official Archive