Cheng Lin, a famous doctor in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, had a great reputation with his medical achievements. According to the prefaces and postscripts in a variety of books and local records, he was born earlier than 1616 and died later than 1700 in Huaitang in She Xian. He learned medicine from his uncle Cheng Jingtong when he was young. After that, he learned from the famous doctor Yu Chang. He visited Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Yangzhou, and made friends with many then celebrities, such as Zhou Lianggong, Lin Sihuan and You Tong. He left many medical writings, such as Yi Xia Zhi Yan, Jin Gui Yao Lue Zhi Jie and Sheng Ji Zong Lu Zuan Yao. He was also good at painting and seal cutting. His family, the Cheng's, in Huaitang in Xin'an, had many off-springs who became famous doctors, such as Cheng Jin, Cheng Jie, Cheng Yandao, and Cheng Yingmao, with their medical history continuing up to the present day.
程林为明末清初著名医家，医学造诣颇深，考诸书序跋及地方志等文献资料，推测程林生年早于1616年，卒年晚于1700年，为歙县槐塘人。程氏少时跟随叔祖程敬通习医，后问学于名医喻昌，曾在开封、杭州、苏州、扬州多地寄寓，与周亮工、林嗣环、尤侗等诸多名士交往。程林著有《金匮要略直解》《医暇卮言》《圣济总录纂要》等书，除精于医学外，亦善绘画、篆刻等。其家族为新安槐塘程氏一族，族内名医辈出，如程琎、程玠、程衍道、程应旄，医学传承不衰。.