孙思邈历经西魏、北周、隋、唐四朝，屡拒朝廷征召入仕，一生行医济世、隐居修学。他撰成《备急千金要方》《千金翼方》，内容涵盖医理、方药、针灸、食疗、养生诸方面，「千金」取意人命至重，有贵千金。他在《大医精诚》一篇中系统提出医者应有的品德操守，被后世视为中医医德的奠基性文献，因此被尊为「药王」。

Sun Simiao lived through the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties, repeatedly declining official court appointments to continue practicing medicine among the people. He compiled the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold and its sequel, covering medical theory, formulas, acupuncture, dietary therapy, and health cultivation — the title reflecting his view that a human life is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold. His essay "On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians" laid out the ethical standards expected of a physician and is regarded as a foundational text of medical ethics in Chinese medicine, earning him the title "King of Medicine."