A historical coincidence or mistake often leaves behind irreparable errors, untraceable truths, or perplexing enigmas for future generations… To practice medicine or to be an official? That is the question. Those familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or Chinese history should know about the book “Bencao Gangmu” and its author, Li Shizhen. The lost herb … Read more
The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) is a monumental work in traditional Chinese pharmacology. It is a comprehensive compilation with a total of 52 volumes and nearly 1.9 million words documenting 1,892 medicinal substances and is hailed as the “Encyclopedia of Ancient China”. The original manuscript of the Compendium of Materia Medica is currently … Read more
Issue No. 1784 In May 2011, the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) from the Yuan Gu Lin Shu Tang edition and the Ming Dynasty edition of the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) by Hu Chenglong, housed in the library of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, were selected for the UNESCO Memory … Read more
Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) is a monumental work in the history of Chinese herbal medicine, preserving a vast amount of lost herbal literature and serving as an important reference for future studies in TCM literature. It also improved traditional drug classification methods, making significant contributions to the advancement of natural sciences … Read more
The Compendium of Materia Medica – Inner Pages Selection Date: 2011 Country of Application: China Storage Location: Library of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) is an encyclopedic classic of Chinese herbal medicine, completed by the renowned Ming dynasty physician Li Shizhen after 27 years of work. … Read more
Exploring the Millennia of Wisdom in Traditional Chinese Medicine — The Compendium of Materia Medica There is a book that has been cited multiple times by Darwin in his works such as On the Origin of Species, and praised as the “Encyclopedia of Ancient China”. It has been evaluated by the renowned British historian of … Read more
The Compendium of Materia Medica Documentary (Video source: Tencent) The Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) is a comprehensive work on ancient Chinese materia medica and is a monumental text in the field of pharmacology with global influence. This book consists of 52 volumes, documenting 1892 types of medicinal substances, categorized into 16 sections and … Read more
Compendium of Materia Medica Compendium of Materia Medica was published in the 24th year of Wanli (1596) in the Ming Dynasty in China. The author is Li Shizhen (1518-1593). He was still revising the manuscripts himself with illness in his later days. It seemed that he could not see it during his lifetime. By the … Read more
苍术 (Cang Zhu) 苍术 (Cang Zhu) is the dried rhizome of the Asteraceae plant, either Atractylodes macrocephala or Atractylodes lancea. It has the effects of dispelling wind, scattering cold, and alleviating rheumatic pain. It is also known by other names such as 赤术 (Chi Zhu), 山蓟 (Shan Ji), 山精 (Shan Jing), 青术 (Qing Zhu), and … Read more
Since ancient times, among the six external evils of wind, cold, heat, summer heat, dampness, and dryness, dampness is recognized by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as the most troublesome external evil. This is because TCM treats diseases based on the principle of counteracting the corresponding evil: dispelling wind with wind, moistening dryness, warming cold, and … Read more