The Digital Specimen Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a key platform developed by the Zhejiang Provincial Institute for Food and Drug Inspection, serving as a regulatory exchange platform for traditional Chinese medicine, a cultural heritage platform, and a public health information platform. It aims to provide technical inquiries about Chinese medicinal materials, business communication … Read more
01 Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目) was completed in 1550 BC, consisting of fifty-two volumes. The author spent nearly thirty years compiling it, including 1,892 types of medicinal substances and over 1,000 illustrations of herbs, elaborating on the properties, therapeutic effects, usage rules, origins, forms, collection, processing, and compatibility of these substances, along with over 10,000 prescriptions. … Read more
In the current battle against the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has played a significant role. The TCM classic, the Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), compiled over 500 years ago, documented many effective methods for disaster and epidemic prevention. In terms of air disinfection, burning substances such as Chen … Read more
The Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) is the most significant achievement of the renowned Ming dynasty physician and pharmacologist Li Shizhen. It is a monumental work that encapsulates his lifelong learning and is a comprehensive compilation of earlier materia medica texts. Its influence has lasted for over 400 years, holding an important … Read more
“If Hua Tuo were to be reborn, he would treat foreign visitors who come to learn Chinese characters and promote national consciousness.” This familiar melody plays, let me see, who is dancing the “Jianzi dance”? This internet-famous song is Jay Chou’s “Compendium of Materia Medica”. But do you know what the real “Compendium of Materia … Read more
The Story of Famous Physicians The medicinal substances recorded in the medical book “Bencao” (本草) were originally passed down from Shennong, totaling only three hundred sixty-five types. During the Liang Dynasty, Tao Hongjing added three hundred sixty-five more, bringing the total to seven hundred thirty types. In the Tang Dynasty, Su Gong added one hundred … Read more
In the Ming Dynasty, the physician Li Shizhen spent nearly thirty years compiling the classic TCM text, the Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), which has been published for over 400 years and has received high acclaim from renowned scholars both domestically and internationally. However, it has recently faced criticism online due to … Read more
The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu), a classic materia medica work, consists of 52 volumes. It was authored by Li Shizhen during the Ming Dynasty, from the 31st year of the Jiajing era (1552) to the 6th year of the Wanli era (1578), with the manuscript undergoing three revisions. This book is organized in … Read more
Click the blue text Follow us The term “Materia Medica” first appeared in the Book of Han by Ban Gu during the Eastern Han Dynasty, stating: “… all dismissed, the diviners, envoys, assistants, and over seventy Materia Medica officials all returned home.” Here, the term “Materia Medica” refers to medicines and prescriptions, hence later generations … Read more
The great pharmacologist of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen, after “thirty years of experience and studying over eight hundred families, with three revisions of the manuscript,” finally compiled the unprecedented and practically needed monumental work of materia medica, the Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica). However, the publication and printing of this work … Read more