Wu Tao (979-1036) was born in Tongan county, Xiamen, East China's Fujian province. He was a renowned doctor during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

From the time of Wu being young, he treated patients with self-made medicine and asked for no payment for this. People hailed him as "Shenyi" which means highly-skilled doctor.

He died after falling off a cliff while he was picking herbs in 1036. After his death, people made statues and built temples in his hometown to commemorate him. He was conferred with many titles, such as Dadaogong, Zhongxianhou and Baoshengdadi, and was worshiped as a deity by Fujian and Taiwan people.