A Decade of Dedication, Millennia of Heritage: DeepSeek's Technological Democratization Ignites an AI Revolution in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In 2015, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology was established, dedicated to the “educational inheritance” and “grassroots empowerment” of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a discipline with a profound millennial history. Also in 2015, High-Flyer Quant was founded, leveraging mathematics and artificial intelligence for quantitative investment, thereby embarking on its journey at the forefront of finance and AI.

If we were to turn back the clock to those years, few would have believed that these two seemingly unrelated events would ever intersect. Yet a decade later, their once-parallel timelines have converged due to the disruption caused by DeepSeek. Just recently,Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology Announces Launch of TCM Large Model Development Based on DeepSeek。

What sparks will fly when Traditional Chinese Medicine, with its millennia of profound history, converges with the most powerful models at the forefront of technological trends?

In an early report by VCBeat, the founding of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology was detailed. The platform was initiated and established by department directors from several Grade 3A hospitals in Beijing. From its humble beginnings with rudimentary WeChat voice lectures to later video live streaming, regardless of how the formats and media evolved, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has remained steadfast in its original mission to address the critical challenges in the education and heritage preservation of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The inheritance of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has long been one of its most significant challenges, particularly in the cultivation of TCM talent. The existing training models are widely considered inadequate to meet the needs of TCM’s heritage and development.。

Liu Qingquan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and President of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated to Capital Medical University, summarized the deficiencies in the training model for traditional Chinese medicine during the 2024 Two Sessions.

First, the scale of academic inheritance is limited. A portion of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners are trained through apprenticeship, primarily by accompanying mentors in clinical consultations and receiving oral instruction and personal guidance. However, as most renowned senior TCM experts serving as mentors are advanced in age and have limited energy, the scope of apprenticeship education remains small, failing to meet the demand for building a high-level TCM workforce or addressing public healthcare needs. Although modern TCM university education provides systematic theoretical teaching, its clinical practice component is weak, making it difficult for students to gain hands-on clinical experience.

Secondly, the training cycle for TCM practitioners is long, and becoming high-level leading talents requires prolonged accumulation. Research shows that it takes approximately 12, 18, and 24 years respectively for TCM physicians to gain a certain level of recognition locally, provincially, and nationally from the time they start practicing independently.

Finally, there is a shortage of primary care TCM physicians, and their professional competence needs improvement. According to statistics, the total number of licensed (assistant) physicians in community health centers (stations), township health centers, and village clinics across China has reached nearly 1.1 million, but among them, the average proportion of licensed (assistant) TCM physicians is only 18.77%. This indicates that there are some long-standing and difficult issues in the training and education of primary care TCM practitioners.

Through a period of exploration,Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology rapidly established itself as a leading platform for TCM heritage education and academic exchange through online live video courses shortly after its inception., having accumulated extensive expert resources.

He Jian, CEO of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, believes that the essence of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) education lies in the delivery of solutions. While traditional methods relied on textbooks, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has leveraged digital technologies to evolve this delivery model. Through live online video streaming, National Medical Masters, renowned veteran TCM practitioners, and clinical experts are able to disseminate their decades of accumulated experience via the internet. They break down this expertise into multiple solution modules guided by TCM theories, thereby facilitating learning for TCM professionals and promoting the inheritance of TCM culture.

In He Jian’s view, the solution is a replicable methodology. This replicability is manifested in two aspects: first, applying the same set of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theoretical frameworks (rather than a single fixed prescription) to treat multiple patients; second, enabling National Medical Masters, renowned senior TCM practitioners, and clinical experts to pass down their TCM theoretical frameworks to the next generation of physicians, thereby empowering these new doctors to effectively treat patients as well.

He Jian stated that an incident in 2015 further solidified Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology’s commitment to the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) education: “The first National Master of TCM we recorded was Professor Li Shimao from Hebei University of Chinese Medicine. Starting in the summer of 2014, despite being nearly 80 years old, Professor Li spared no effort and insisted on teaching a full day of classes every weekend for his students, inviting us to Shijiazhuang to record the sessions. For over a year without interruption, we recorded a complete video series that filled eight hard drives.”

“At the conclusion of the recording for the final session,Teacher Li earnestly told us that if the “Sage of Medicine,” Zhang Zhongjing, had left behind eight video tapes instead of merely the obscure and terse 48,000-character bamboo slips, perhaps every physician today would possess the expertise of a National Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine.。”

“Professor Li stated that the inheritance of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has reached a critical juncture. Life is too short; he has not yet fully grasped all the essential teachings of Mr. Zhang Zhongjing. Nevertheless, over the course of this year, he comprehensively shared the experience accumulated from decades of clinical study, covering pulse diagnosis, syndrome differentiation, and prescription strategies. By imparting the entirety of his lifelong learning, he hopes these videos will enable more destined practitioners to continue inheriting and promoting TCM along this path.” He Jian remarked that Professor Li Shimao’s words remain vivid in his memory to this day.

In October 2015, Professor Li Shimo passed away unexpectedly. Amidst the grief, a fortunate turn of events was that Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology managed to salvage and preserve the precious teaching materials stored on eight hard drives. In accordance with Professor Li’s last wishes, these materials have been sequentially edited and made freely available to all practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). To date, over one million TCM practitioners have studied Professor Li Shimo’s masterpiece course on Zhang Zhongjing’s classical formulas, pulse diagnosis, and syndrome differentiation through the Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology platform.

As several National Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) passed away successively, the team at Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology recognized that the most valuable assets in the TCM community are the renowned senior practitioners. To further promote the academic inheritance of these distinguished experts across China, in May 2018, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, in collaboration with the China Association of Chinese Medicine, jointly launched the “Wall-Free Lifelong University for TCM Practitioners” on its platform. This initiative brought together 56 National Masters of TCM, 300 renowned senior TCM practitioners, and 20,000 TCM professionals to perpetuate their clinical expertise through online video content.

From 2014 to Present,Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has recorded 19,600 audio and video courses, totaling nearly 100,000 teaching hours, delivered by approximately 5,000 National Medical Masters, renowned veteran TCM practitioners, experts from various disciplines, and folk TCM practitioners, accounting for approximately 90% of the total courseware in the industry.. In addition, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has collaborated with institutions such as the China Association of Chinese Medicine and the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies to record, live-stream, and rebroadcast approximately 2,000 top-tier academic conferences on traditional Chinese medicine, constituting a valuable asset for the education and heritage of TCM.

It is generally believed that within the "pyramid" framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) education, if a TCM practitioner starts from zero and maintains a competency level of 70 out of 100 throughout their career, they are considered a highly competent physician capable of effectively treating patients. However, advancing from 70 to 100 points to become a renowned TCM expert largely depends on inheriting knowledge from esteemed senior practitioners and engaging in continuous learning and practice. Not everyone can smoothly achieve the status of a famous doctor; therefore, the key to the inheritance of TCM lies in ensuring that the majority of practitioners become qualified professionals.

Based on years of frontline experience in TCM education and inheritance, combined with the summaries of renowned senior TCM practitioners, the team at Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology believes that"Classical Formula Studies" can significantly shorten the time required to progress from zero to a 70-point proficiency level in Traditional Chinese Medicine.. To this end, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has joined forces with renowned senior TCM experts and core professionals to gradually establish a training system for classical formula studies aimed at grassroots TCM practitioners, including village doctors, since 2018.

He Jian stated that in addition to offline Jingfang (classical formula) studies available across China, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has focused on developing its online “Jingfang Society” courses. These courses bring together the most outstanding Jingfang experts from across the country to provide systematic instruction, covering everything from introductory and foundational knowledge to systemic frameworks, advanced extensions, diagnosis, specialized fields, and practical clinical application. “We aim to genuinely inherit the legacy of renowned senior TCM practitioners, empower grassroots physicians, and cultivate one million competent grassroots TCM doctors who can effectively treat patients for the benefit of the public. This is our vision.”

Notably, staying true to the original mission of inheriting Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), 95% of the courses offered by Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology are free public welfare courses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform made all its courses available free of charge. This commitment attracted like-minded investors. In August 2021, renowned investor Mr. Gong Hongjia, through Jiadao Capital, together with other investors including Mr. Gong Xiaodong, founder of the Qihuang TCM Public Welfare Foundation, invested RMB 80 million in Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, helping it complete its Series B financing round.

From left to right: Huo Shuhan, Co-founder of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology; Gong Hongjia, Investor in Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology; He Jian, Founder of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology

He Jian mentioned that Mr. Gong Hongjia has expressed strong recognition for Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology’s dedication to the inheritance of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) education: “Mr. Gong emphasized to us that the inheritance of TCM is the cornerstone of the revival of our civilization and culture. It requires individuals to step up and take responsibility, and they will fully support us in jointly undertaking this mission. For now, we can set aside commercial considerations and focus on doing a good job in passing down TCM heritage.”As long as we persist in creating value, we believe that with the growing social recognition of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its continuous technological advancement, the value of our TCM heritage preservation efforts will ultimately flourish.。”

In recent years, the continuous evolution of artificial intelligence has allowed traditional Chinese medicine, with its millennia-long history, to blossom with renewed vitality. There is even a view thatTraditional Chinese Medicine is one of the application scenarios that can maximize the advantages of large language models.。

It is generally believed that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) consultations lack strong standardization and exhibit many ambiguous, indeterminate "black box" characteristics; nevertheless, TCM fundamentally aims to achieve therapeutic efficacy for patients. By inputting patients' symptoms and signs and matching them with TCM clinical experience, effective herbal prescriptions can be derived and further refined through continuous clinical training. This process bears a striking resemblance to the training of large language models, which also rely on input data to generate outputs.

Meanwhile, the highly personalized and holistic diagnostic and therapeutic approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is complementary to large language models’ capabilities in handling complex correlations, pattern recognition, and deep learning.

Furthermore, regarding data—one of the three core elements of artificial intelligence—the powerful natural language processing capabilities of large models have also addressed the pain points in the inheritance of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Since ancient times, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has accumulated a vast corpus of clinical diagnostic and treatment data, as well as classical literature. These datasets lack standardization, and much of the content is archaic and difficult to interpret, posing significant challenges for data mining and application. Furthermore, TCM is characterized by numerous distinct schools of thought, which maintain certain barriers between them, making it difficult to transfer and integrate their respective achievements and experiences.

Large language models, leveraging their robust natural language processing capabilities, are emerging as powerful tools in data mining and acquisition, as well as data processing and analysis. They can digitally transform vast amounts of clinical experience and knowledge from classical literature. Furthermore, they empower Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinical practice by establishing standardized TCM diagnosis and treatment protocols and efficacy evaluation systems. This helps address the shortage of high-quality TCM professionals and the uneven distribution of resources, thereby facilitating the better inheritance and development of TCM.

This has also led to the emergence of a large number of large language models for traditional Chinese medicine. According to incomplete statistics,Since 2023, dozens of large language models (LLMs) related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have been introduced, emerging as a significant category within the “LLM + Healthcare” sector and injecting new vitality into the inheritance and innovation of TCM."Cyber TCM" has become an unstoppable trend.

Although there are still differing views on the specific pathways for artificial intelligence in traditional Chinese medicine,Data Quality Determines the Performance of Large Language Models in Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Industry ConsensusStatic data, such as TCM classics, well-known classical prescriptions, and professional literature, can serve as a key source of high-quality data after undergoing rigorous authentication and verification. Clinical data generated during routine real-world diagnosis and treatment—such as pulse conditions, tongue manifestations, meridian and acupoint data—as well as medical case records and diagnostic and therapeutic expertise from TCM experts, constitute another significant source of high-quality data.

However, clinical data records are often incomplete or inconsistent in their descriptions, and are scattered across various medical institutions and the studios of renowned senior TCM practitioners, making them highly inaccessible. The field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is characterized by numerous academic schools, each with its unique diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies. Historically, TCM has adhered to the tradition that “the Way is not transmitted to the unworthy, and methods are not shared with outsiders.” These factors collectively result in generally low quality of publicly available TCM data, while high-quality data remains highly proprietary.

Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology offers an extensive collection of systematically organized courses on classical prescriptions from renowned veteran TCM practitioners and clinical disease treatment methodologies.

In terms of clinical data summarization, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology holds a natural advantage by offering the industry’s most comprehensive and systematically organized courses on classical prescriptions from renowned veteran TCM practitioners and clinical disease treatment methodologies.He Jian stated that these summarized experiences are all derived from the decades of clinical practice by renowned experts, holding immense clinical value: “Each video of esteemed veteran TCM practitioners that we have preserved and passed down over the past decade, day and night, encapsulates the diagnostic and therapeutic solutions employed by experts for specific diseases throughout their decades of clinical practice. The 19,600 segments and 100,000 hours of clinical continuing education videos accumulated by Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, covering the treatment of diseases across internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics, constitute precious ‘distilled’ data on how Traditional Chinese Medicine actually approaches diagnosis and treatment.”

In fact, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has been engaged with artificial intelligence since its inception. At that time, the company had already begun accumulating expertise in AI-driven data mining for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including tokenization and chain-of-thought organization of 1,200 ancient TCM classics, as well as the synthesis of knowledge from modern TCM practitioners.

“When we founded Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, we had a dream: to leverage artificial intelligence to comprehensively understand the knowledge inherited from our ancestors and contemporary TCM masters, thereby empowering primary care physicians to deliver high-quality traditional Chinese medicine services to the public.” He Jian explained his vision for AI at that time.

In 2016, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology launched the first generation of its prescription assistance system, “Jingfang Dashi” (Master of Classical Formulas), developed based on Google’s open-source TensorFlow framework. As one of the earliest artificial intelligence products for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China built on an open-source platform, Jingfang Dashi was trained on 6.6 million data points, 50,000 medicinal formulas and secret recipes, and 1,800 dialectical models derived from classical medical case records in ancient texts, expert clinical experience, and educational course content.

The system features functions that assist physicians by providing diagnostic reasoning prompts, suggesting supplementary questions, generating prescriptions along with the underlying clinical reasoning, and citing sources. It has been well received by primary care physicians since its launch. Statistics show that the "Jingfang Master" feature within the TCM Online APP has been used by 400,000 users for information queries or prescription assistance.

After a decade of development, the artificial intelligence system of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has undergone four iterations, evolving from expert systems to machine learning, then to deep learning networks, and finally to large language models. In 2023, it was successfully integrated into the company’s SaaS platform and deployed for use by primary care TCM practitioners and village doctors, receiving widespread acclaim at the grassroots level.

Dr. Wang Zhenxian’s experience at the township health clinic in Langfang, Hebei Province, is quite typical. Although Dr. Wang was trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), his practice previously focused mainly on administering injections and intravenous infusions. Due to limited clinical experience, the therapeutic efficacy of the occasional prescriptions he wrote was mediocre. After two years of studying with Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology and implementing its AI-powered SaaS platform, the effectiveness of the TCM formulas he prescribed improved significantly, earning recognition from the local community.

From initially focusing primarily on injections and intravenous infusions to now issuing 300 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions per month, Wang Zhenxian has become a well-known “prominent” TCM practitioner at the primary care level, serving numerous surrounding villages. He achieved this in just three years, significantly shortening the traditional growth path that often takes a decade or more.

This is not an isolated case. Due to its outstanding empowerment capabilities, the AI-assisted SaaS system of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has gained increasing recognition among physicians. In September 2024, Song County in Henan Province, a major county for Chinese herbal medicine cultivation, launched the Central Plains Medicine Valley Project to enhance the TCM service capabilities of grassroots physicians. The project not only engaged Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology to provide training but also planned to connect all 420 village doctor studios to its AI-assisted SaaS system.

As of December 2024, the TCM Online SaaS platform has been deployed in 1,020 primary care clinics, providing significant empowerment to grassroots TCM practitioners.

Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has also sought to further enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities through the integration of hardware and software. The company has partnered with Maizhiyu and Taiyi Technology to develop pulse diagnostic devices, aiming to capture pulse waveforms via these devices and leverage AI-assisted SaaS platforms to provide precise “Pulse-Prescription Correlation” solutions, thereby generating more accurate treatment prescriptions. After several years of development, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology has successfully achieved Pulse-Prescription Correlation in its pulse diagnostic devices and is currently applying for medical device registration certification.

“The pulse diagnosis instrument completes the puzzle of our product lineup. Currently, we have achieved relative matching between pulse patterns and prescriptions for 120 commonly used classical formulas. Appropriate prescriptions can be generated solely through detection by the pulse diagnosis instrument; alternatively, prescribing via our AI-assisted SaaS platform without the pulse diagnosis instrument is also viable. Of course, when both are employed, the integration of hardware and software with cross-validation yields greater precision,” He Jian explained to VCBeat.

Nevertheless, Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology maintains a clear-eyed understanding of its own limitations. In 2023, when SaaS 2.0 was launched, Ren Yi, the company’s CTO, candidly acknowledged that its artificial intelligence algorithms still lagged significantly behind those of global tech giants. He stated at the time that the only viable path for Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology was to meticulously preserve and organize ancient medical texts left by predecessors, as well as courses painstakingly recorded by contemporary TCM experts, thereby laying a solid foundation for data digitization. The company would initially leverage existing AI technologies to assist physicians in achieving breakthroughs from zero to one in auxiliary services, while patiently awaiting further technological advancements.

Surprisingly, just two years later, during the 2025 Spring Festival, DeepSeek made its debut as an open-source model. The AI team at Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology, led by Ren Yi, promptly deployed a distilled version of DeepSeek-R1 locally and began experimenting with specialized fine-tuning for large traditional Chinese medicine models.

On February 8, 2025, the first 1MB dataset of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology successfully completed training. The office erupted in excitement. The parallel timelines of Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology and High-Flyer Quant, representing traditional Chinese medicine and artificial intelligence respectively, finally converged.

He Jian was filled with mixed emotions: “TCM Online has accumulated experience for 10 years, teachers like Li Shimao have waited for 10 years, and our ancestors have waited for 3,000 years. Finally, we have witnessed DeepSeek’s ‘national-fortune-level’ revolution in ‘technological equity.’ We can address the shortcomings of previous algorithms, train more intelligent AI-assisted systems, and accelerate the realization of our vision: to cultivate one million grassroots ‘Ming’ TCM practitioners who can truly provide effective care to the general public. With the help of DeepSeek, this ‘Ming’ may indeed become genuine ‘Ming.’”

“More importantly, DeepSeek’s open-source approach has enabled small teams like ours to leverage the world’s most powerful large language models. Our small team possesses one of the largest knowledge bases in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry. In the future, small teams with high-quality data, combined with top-tier open-source large language models, will have immense value potential across any industry.”

He Jian believes that,DeepSeek’s “Technological Equity” Will Greatly Promote the Inheritance and Dissemination of Traditional Chinese MedicineHe stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat affected people's physical constitution, leading to a significant increase in patients with chronic diseases. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) demonstrates favorable efficacy in managing chronic conditions. Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology is currently selecting experts and treatment protocols across China that have shown outstanding clinical outcomes in post-COVID pulmonary nodule rehabilitation and metabolic disorders, gradually incorporating them into its model.

“Perhaps as early as 2025, with the assistance of DeepSeek, a super TCM AI embodying the richest clinical experience from thousands of renowned senior TCM experts across various specialties could go online. We hope that the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with DeepSeek will preserve the wisdom condensed over thousands of years of TCM practice, while prioritizing contemporary clinical solutions for key diseases. By continuously improving through training on each clinical encounter, this system aims to provide every Chinese citizen with top-tier TCM services, treating chronic conditions and safeguarding public health.”

Thousands of years ago, ancient ancestors gradually accumulated knowledge about health and disease by observing natural phenomena and monitoring changes in their own bodies, ultimately giving rise to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This unique theoretical framework, along with its therapeutic methods and preventive principles, has profoundly influenced the health concepts and lifestyles of the Chinese nation. Under the limited conditions of the time, it benefited the general populace and stands as a testament to China’s rich history. It is no exaggeration to regard it as the “national fortune” of ancient Chinese civilization.

DeepSeek has ushered in a pivotal moment for China’s national destiny in the AI era. By significantly lowering the barrier to AI adoption and delivering performance and capabilities on par with the world’s leading models, it is poised to reshape the landscape of the artificial intelligence industry and achieve technological equity.

Although there is still a considerable journey ahead, the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with DeepSeek by Beijing Universe In Nutshell Technology undoubtedly represents a critical step in the right direction. Leveraging high-quality data, TCM has the opportunity to experience a renaissance, serving the public across a broader range of scenarios, thereby ensuring the inheritance, continuity, and even innovation of this traditional treasure of Chinese civilization.

A Legend Is Being Reborn, and the Revolution Sparked by DeepSeek in Healthcare Will Continue.

References:

People's Political Consultative Conference Daily: "CPPCC National Committee Member Liu Qingquan: Strengthening the Cultivation of High-Level Traditional Chinese Medicine Talents"