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Chapter 340: Medicine Saint Li Shizhen

In the field of ancient Chinese medicine, Li Shizhen is revered as the Saint of Medicine.

Not only because of his medical attainments and the greatness of his works, but also because of his persistence in and promotion of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" is the culmination of Li Shizhen's life-long efforts and is also a great work in the history of Chinese medicine.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" not only had a profound impact in China, but also had an important influence on the history of world medicine.

Through Compendium of Materia Medica, he spread the wisdom and experience of traditional Chinese medicine to all parts of the world, enabling more people to understand and benefit from the knowledge of Chinese medicine.

His magnum opus has been translated into many languages ​​and has played a significant role in the development of world medicine.

"In 1518, the th year of the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen was born in Hubei."

"His grandfather was a herbalist, and his father, Li Yanwen, was a famous doctor at the time and worked at the Imperial Hospital."

"At that time, folk doctors had a low status and lived a hard life, so his father did not want Li Shizhen to study medicine any more."

"When Li Shizhen was 14 years old, he went with his father to Huangzhou Prefecture to take the examination and returned as a scholar."

"Li Shizhen was born into a family of doctors. He loved medicine since childhood and was not keen on the imperial examination."

"He went to Wuchang three times to take the exam but failed each time."

"So I decided to give up Confucianism and study medicine."

"At the age of 23, he followed his father to study medicine, and his medical reputation grew day by day."

"In the 38th year of Emperor Jiajing's reign during the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, when Li Shizhen was years old."

"He became famous for curing the illness of Prince Fushun's son, and was hired by the Prince of Chu in Wuchang to be in charge of medical affairs."

"In the 35th year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen was recommended to work in the Imperial Hospital and was granted the title of judge of the Imperial Hospital."

"After one year in office, he resigned and returned home because he could not stand the intrigues in the Imperial Hospital."

"During the time that Li Shizhen served in the Imperial Hospital, he actively engaged in drug research."

"I often went in and out of the pharmacy of the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Medicine Storehouse, carefully comparing and identifying medicinal materials from all over the country, collecting a large amount of information, and also had the opportunity to read the rich collections of the royal palace and the royal family."

"At the same time, I obtained a lot of information about folk herbs from the court, and saw many medicinal specimens that are difficult to see at ordinary times, which broadened my horizons and enriched my knowledge."

"The work experience at the Imperial Hospital had a significant impact on Li Shizhen's life and laid the foundation for the compilation of the Compendium of Materia Medica."

"After Li Shizhen resigned from the Imperial Hospital and returned to his hometown, he practiced medicine and devoted himself to the research of medicines."

"During this period, he established Dongbi Hall with his own character Dongbi as the hall name."

Xu Guangqi: It is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have the Medicine Saint Li Shizhen.

To achieve unprecedented levels in a field is incredibly difficult.

But Li Shizhen did it, and the title of Medicine Saint is the greatest recognition for Li Shizhen.

Li Shizhen devoted his entire life to medical research, and his attitude towards medical skills was very serious and rigorous.

He believes that the value of medicinal herbs lies in their ability to heal, but they can also harm.

Therefore, we must observe the records carefully and not make any mistakes.

Li Shizhen spent nearly thirty years compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica.

He traveled thousands of miles, asked numerous people, and tasted hundreds of herbs before he compiled this great work that will benefit the world.

Li Shizhen used all his life's energy to accomplish this task. Even when he had to cross mountains and rivers and go in and out of deep forests, he never gave up because of the difficult journey.

At that time, Li Shizhen was already quite old and walked with weak feet.

His never-give-up spirit infected everyone around him, including his disciples and son.

Li Shizhen completed this magnificent work with his spirit of not fearing hardships, summarizing the pharmacology of China for thousands of years.

It not only enriched the knowledge of herbal medicine, but also corrected past mistakes.

The most admirable thing about Li Shizhen is his noble character of not pursuing fame or fortune.

As a famous doctor with superb medical skills and rich academic knowledge, Li Shizhen gave up the life of a high-ranking official.

He does not pursue fame or wealth, does not covet vanity, and is only concerned with saving the people from dire straits.

Among them, Li Shizhen once served as an official in the Chu Palace and cured the illness of the Chu King's son.

Li Shizhen refused the large sum of money offered by the King of Chu, believing that helping others was a doctor's duty.

Li Shizhen, such a noble doctor, is worthy of praise for his great love for curing diseases and saving lives without seeking fame or wealth.

"During his decades of medical practice and reading of classical medical books, Li Shizhen discovered that there were many errors in ancient herbal books and decided to compile a new herbal book."

"I started compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica at the age of 35, using the Zhenglei Bencao as a blueprint and referring to more than 800 books."

"During this period, starting from the 44th year of Jiajing, he left home many times to conduct field trips."

"I have traveled to many famous mountains and rivers in Huguang, Jiangxi, and Zhili, and have clarified many difficult problems."

"In the process of compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica, the biggest headache for Li Shizhen was that due to the confusion of drug names, it was often difficult to figure out the shape and growth of the drugs."

"Although the herbal books in the past have given repeated explanations."

"But some authors do not conduct in-depth investigations and research, but just copy and paste from books."

"So the more you explain, the more confusing it becomes, and the contradictions multiply, making it hard to agree on what to say."

"For example, the drug Polygala tenuifolia, the famous medical scientist Tao Hongjing of the Northern and Southern Dynasties said it was a small grass, like ephedra, but green in color and with white flowers."

"Ma Zhi of the Song Dynasty thought it looked like Daqing and blamed Tao Hongjing for not knowing Polygala tenuifolia at all."

"Under his father's inspiration, Li Shizhen realized that reading thousands of books is necessary, but traveling thousands of miles is even more indispensable."

"So Li Shizhen began to read widely and conduct in-depth investigations."

"The medicine of white flower snake has the function of treating rheumatism, convulsions, tinea and so on."

"Li Shizhen had studied it a long time ago, but at first he only observed it from snake dealers."

"An expert reminded him that it was caught from the mountains in the south of the Yangtze River and was not a real Qi snake."

"In order to find the real Agkistrodon acutus, he consulted a snake catcher."

"People told him that the fangs of Qi snakes are extremely poisonous. If someone is bitten, the limb must be amputated immediately, otherwise the person will die of poisoning."

"It is very effective in treating various diseases, so it is very valuable."

"The state officials forced the people to risk their lives to catch them so that they could pay tribute to the emperor."

"Qizhou is so big, but the only place where you can find real Qi snakes is Longfeng Mountain in the north of the city."

"Li Shizhen wanted to get to the bottom of it and see the snake with his own eyes, so he asked a snake catcher to take him to Longfeng Mountain."

"There is a cave on Longfeng Mountain. The cave is surrounded by rugged rocks and bushes. The heather vines entwined in the bushes are what the Agkistrodon acutus likes to eat."

"With the help of the snake catcher, Li Shizhen finally saw the Agkistrodon acutus with his own eyes and witnessed the whole process of catching the snake."

"When the Compendium of Materia Medica wrote about the white flower snake, it was concise and accurate."

"Li Shizhen understood medicine and was not satisfied with a cursory investigation."

"Instead, we compared and checked the real thing, and that helped us sort out a lot of drugs that seemed real but were not."

"Pangolin is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. Tao Hongjing said it can live both on land and in water."

"In the daytime, he climbs up the rocks, spreads his scales, and pretends to be dead."

"Lure the ants into the armor, then close the armor and dive into the water."

"Then open the shell to let the ants float out, and then swallow them."

"In order to find out whether Tao Hongjing's statement was correct, Li Shizhen went up the mountain to observe in person."

"With the help of the woodcutter, we caught a pangolin." "We took out about a liter of ants from its stomach, proving that Tao Hongjing was right."

"However, from his observations, Li Shizhen discovered that when pangolins eat ants, they scratch open the anthills and lick the food."

"Instead of luring the ants into the armor and swallowing them in the water."

"Li Shizhen affirmed Tao Hongjing's correctness and corrected his mistakes."

"After 27 years of hard work, Li Shizhen completed the first draft of Compendium of Materia Medica in the sixth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, when he was 61 years old."

"After that, it took another 10 years to make three revisions, for a total of 40 years."

"In the 25th year of the Wanli reign, that is, the third year after Li Shizhen's death, the Compendium of Materia Medica was officially published in Nanjing, Jinling."

Li Shizhen: The publication of Compendium of Materia Medica in Jinling finally realized my long-cherished wish, but unfortunately I did not live to see the publication of this great work.

After 27 years of hard work, he, his family and his disciples finally compiled the pharmacological masterpiece "Compendium of Materia Medica".

After the compilation of Compendium of Materia Medica, an important issue was how to publish this medical book with practical value and let it circulate in the world.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" has a total of 190 million words and more than 1100 illustrations.

Books have to be published using woodcuts, and printing such a huge work would undoubtedly cost a lot of money.

As a rural doctor, he naturally did not have the power to publish this book, and his friends who understood the value of this book did not have the power to help him.

He also wanted to ask the government for help, but the government would not care about a doctor printing books.

He sent people everywhere to inquire about the publication of "Compendium of Materia Medica", but none of them could solve the problem.

Nanjing is the national publishing center, with many booksellers and large-scale operations.

The printing industry is quite developed, the engraving technology is high, and various books are often published.

So he came to Nanjing with hope.

After he arrived in Nanjing, many booksellers saw the book and became very eager to publish it.

However, some contents in Compendium of Materia Medica scolded alchemists and denounced predecessors, so booksellers dared not publish it.

Finally, through the efforts of many parties and with the help of some friends, "Compendium of Materia Medica" was officially printed.

The person who was responsible for engraving and printing was a famous book collector in Nanjing, who was also in charge of the business of engraving and selling books.

After reading the manuscript of Compendium of Materia Medica, he thought it was indeed a good book that should be circulated, so he was willing to pay for its printing.

It’s a pity that he is now ill and I’m afraid he doesn’t have much time left.

The only thing that worried him was the printing and publication of "Compendium of Materia Medica".

He was well aware of the importance of "Compendium of Materia Medica" and hoped that it could be published as soon as possible and circulated widely so that more people could see this great work.

Now that he knew his long-cherished wish could finally come true, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and no longer have any regrets.

"Li Shizhen borrowed the name of Zhu Xi's Tongjian Gangmu and named the book Bencao Gangmu."

"It was started in the 27st year of Jiajing and completed after three revisions in the th year of Wanli, which took years in total."

"Compendium of Materia Medica consists of 16 parts and 52 volumes, with about 190 million words."

"The book contains 1518 kinds of medicines collected by various herbalists, and adds 374 kinds of medicines on the basis of previous works, totaling 1892 kinds, including 1195 plants."

"A total of 11096 prescriptions from ancient pharmacists and folk medicine are recorded, and the book contains more than 1100 illustrations of drug morphology."

"This great work absorbs the essence of herbal works from past dynasties."

“We have corrected previous mistakes and supplemented deficiencies as much as possible, and have made many important discoveries and breakthroughs.”

"Compendium of Materia Medica is the most systematic, complete and scientific medical work in China until the 16th century."

"Li Shizhen broke the three-grade classification method of upper, middle and lower grades that had been used for more than a thousand years since the Shennong Herbal Classic."

“Medicines are divided into 16 categories, including water, fire, earth, metal and stone, grass, grain, vegetable, fruit, wood, utensils and clothing, insects, scales, shells, birds, beasts, and humans, including 60 categories.”

"Each drug label has a correct name, and the items are listed under the outline, and the outline and items are clear."

"The book also systematically records the knowledge of various medicines, including corrections, smells, main treatments, inventions, etc."

"From the history, form to function and prescription of the medicine, the description is very detailed, enriching the knowledge of herbal medicine."

"The artificial classification method created by Li Shizhen in botany is a scientific method that classifies plants according to their similarities in utility and morphology, and classifies them hierarchically."

"Li Shizhen classified more than a thousand kinds of plants according to their economic uses, shapes, habits and internal contents."

"First, we divide the substances of the same kind upward into five divisions, which are then divided into 30 categories, and then further divided into several types."

"It not only indicates the relationship between plants, but also unifies the naming methods of many plants."

"Compendium of Materia Medica has not only made a significant contribution to the development of Chinese pharmacology, but also had a profound impact on the development of world medicine."

Chongzhen: Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica is of great significance and can be regarded as a milestone work in the history of Chinese medicine.

The creation background of Compendium of Materia Medica mainly involves the social and cultural environment of the Ming Dynasty.

This period of the Ming Dynasty had a profound impact on Chinese culture and society.

In order to consolidate his ruling position, Emperor Taizu implemented a variety of policies to strengthen centralization.

At the same time, it also focuses on developing cultural education and improving the quality of citizens throughout the world.

In this context, the establishment of academies and the prosperity of culture provided scholars with broad space for development.

In the Ming Dynasty, the study of pharmacy and medicine received widespread attention, and many famous doctors made important contributions to this field.

Pharmaceutical research is mainly based on experience and practice, and the effects of various drugs and herbs are obtained through practice.

In order to facilitate people to use and learn drug knowledge, many medical-related works have also appeared.

Against this background, Li Shizhen began writing "Compendium of Materia Medica".

Li Shizhen's purpose was to provide a comprehensive and accurate pharmacology reference book for future generations by organizing and classifying various known medicines and providing detailed descriptions and explanations.

The process of Li Shizhen writing "Compendium of Materia Medica" was indeed very difficult. It took him a full 27 years to complete this medical masterpiece.

During this period, he conducted continuous field investigations, went deep into the folk to accumulate practical experience, and collected extensive information on the works of predecessors.

Li Shizhen's compilation work can be divided into two main stages.

The first stage mainly focused on classifying and organizing drugs, and gradually formed classification standards and writing methods.

During this process, Li Shizhen always lived in a turbulent environment.

Despite this, Li Shizhen remained determined to delve into the lives of the people, often going out for field investigations, collecting and dissecting various medicinal materials, and asking the people questions about medicinal materials.

He even collected and identified many precious medicinal specimens, providing a lot of first-hand information for the compilation of "Compendium of Materia Medica".

In the second stage, Li Shizhen mainly revised and finalized the manuscript.

During the compilation of Compendium of Materia Medica, Li Shizhen established a new classification system in the history of medical development.

The drugs are described and classified in detail to facilitate people's daily reference.

The book also clarifies the main effects of drugs, conducts in-depth analysis of the effects of different drugs, and puts forward new insights.

In addition, "Compendium of Materia Medica" is rich in pictures and texts. Li Shizhen drew more than a thousand images of drug morphology to help people recognize the types and effects of drugs.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" not only has a profound impact in the field of medicine, but also has made important contributions to the development of the entire history of Chinese medicine.

First of all, the emergence of "Compendium of Materia Medica" enriched the content and theory of medicine.

He summarized the experience of predecessors in traditional Chinese medicine, proposed some new medical methods, and made great contributions to the development of medicine.

The compilation and dissemination of Compendium of Materia Medica promoted the exchange of drug knowledge in the Ming Dynasty and greatly promoted the development and popularization of medicine in the Ming Dynasty.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" not only has a huge influence in the field of medicine, but also occupies an important position in history.

(End of this chapter)