2015 Xiling Spring Auction The Compendium of Materia Medica (Zuben) Compiled by Li Shizhen (明) Published in the 18th year of the Wanli era (1590) by Hu Chenglong in Jinling 21 volumes, cotton paper Collection seal: Yurun Tang Library Seal (red) Half frame: 19.3×14.3cm, open size: 26.1×16.3cm Summary: This is the first printed edition of … Read more
The Compendium of Materia Medica has been published for centuries, and its academic value continues to shine brightly, becoming a shared scientific treasure for people around the world. Li Shizhen was born in Qichun, Hubei. Both his grandfather and father were physicians. He abandoned Confucianism to pursue medicine and worked in the Imperial Medical Institute, … Read more
This article examines and organizes the transmission and origins of the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Starting from the original text of the Compendium, it employs bibliographic research methods to analyze the major editions throughout history, systematically discussing the versions of the Compendium during the Ming and Qing … Read more
Introduction: Who is Li Shizhen? It is said that he was a master of internal cultivation; otherwise, how could he have written such a great medical work in ancient times using only his nose, eyes, and tongue? The book records many medicines that leave us astonished and even challenge our worldview. We do not understand … Read more
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
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
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
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
1. The Compilation of the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” In the preface of the “Shang Han Lun” by Zhang Zhongjing, it states: “Drawing from numerous sources, compiling the nine volumes of the “Suwen”… to create the “Shang Han and Miscellaneous Diseases” in sixteen volumes.” Based on this, it is generally believed that the current “Shang … Read more
Understand Traditional Chinese Medicine better here, click the blue text to follow us “Jingui Yaolue” “Jingui Yaolue” is an important work by Zhang Zhongjing, a revered physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and is one of the most significant classical texts in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is well-known that “Jingui Yaolue” is an abbreviation … Read more