Description

Printed during the Wanli period, Ben cao gang mu (Compendium of materia medica) is a work on an encyclopedic scale, in 52 juan of text with two juan of illustrations, in 25 volumes. It was compiled by Li Shizhen (circa 1518–93), a native of Sichuan, who was one of the greatest physicians, pharmacologists, and naturalists in Chinese history. After serving for only one year in the prestigious Imperial Medical Institute, Li returned home to work as a doctor and to begin writing this book. The work and its three ...