Compendium of Materia Medica is a monograph of traditional Chinese medicine, which has high natural history value. Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a famous physician in Ming dynasty, was compiled in 1578. After many twists and turns, it was first published in the 21st year of Wanli (1593). There are 52 volumes in the book, including 1892 kinds of drugs, including 1094 kinds of plants, 443 kinds of animals,16/kloc-0 kinds of minerals and 194 kinds of other drugs. Li Shizhen has added 374 new drugs. The book is illustrated with pictures and texts, including 1 109 drug pictures. In order to increase the clinical reference value of the book, the author added 1 1096 clinical prescriptions to the discussion of several drugs, of which more than 8,000 were from the author's clinical experience summary or years of collection, which has good reference value.
Compendium of Materia Medica consists of 16 parts, including water, fire, soil, stone, grass, grain, vegetables, fruits, wood, utensils, insects, scales, media, birds, animals and people, which are 62 categories. Its division principle is "from small to large, from humble to expensive". It is said that it refers to more than 800 kinds of books, which can be described as a masterpiece that runs through the ages. Under each drug, the book was named Compendium of Materia Medica with the aim of correcting the name and explaining the name. The contents of each medicine are recorded in detail in the collection, identification, right and wrong, treatment (processing), odor (medicinal pharmacology), indication (efficacy) and invention (Li Shizhen's experience and research conclusion), and a prescription is attached. The classification narrative method of Compendium of Materia Medica is a creative development on the basis of predecessors, which makes it clear to readers that its classification method has actually possessed the scientific nature of modern biological evolution thought.
The classification of Compendium of Materia Medica is inorganic, organic, plant and animal. Among plant medicines, grass, grain and vegetables are the first, but the consequence is wood; Among animal medicines, insects, scales, intermediaries, birds and beasts are the first, and finally human medicines are described.
Compendium of Materia Medica has also made outstanding contributions to the development of pharmacology.
He not only prescribed 15 18 drugs, but also added 374 new drugs to China's medical treasure house through his own personal practice, investigation and investigation, which is a very huge number for a scholar. Here are just a few examples to illustrate.
In drug identification, Compendium of Materia Medica corrected many mistakes and unscientific contents in Materia Medica before Ming Dynasty. In previous herbal works, one thing was often mistaken for two things, such as Nanxing and Zhang Hu, which were originally a kind of medicine, but were mistaken for two kinds of medicine in the past; For another example, things that should have been described separately are mixed into one. In Compendium of Materia Medica, every combination is one kind, and Li is identified as two kinds. For example, in Yan Yi of Materia Medica written by Song Kouzong, orchids were mistaken for bluegrass, while Selaginella was mistaken for lily. In Illustrative Materia Medica written by Su Song, smallpox and enclosed buildings were divided into two figures, which were actually the roots and fruits of a plant. The previous misconceptions that "grass seeds can be turned into fish" and "horses can be turned into Cynomorium songaricum" were corrected by Compendium of Materia Medica, and it was pointed out that fish was transformed from roe, and Cynomorium songaricum was originally a plant.
The description of Mercury can better illustrate Li Shizhen's earnest and realistic scientific attitude and fearless spirit. Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica is regarded as a classic by feudal society, which records that mercury "has served the immortal for a long time", Jin's Bao Puzi is called "the medicine of immortality", Daming's materia medica is called "non-toxic" and Tang Zhenquan is called "the mother of returning to Dan Yuan". So under the Six Dynasties, I don't know how many people tried to be greedy for life instead of death. Compendium of Materia Medica criticizes this unscientific myth, pointing out that "mercury ... goes deep into bones to drill tendons, which absolutely destroys the brain." It is a poisonous thing, and nothing can compare with it. " He seriously stressed: "The prescription is not solid enough, how can materia medica talk nonsense?" Historical and scientific experiments have confirmed that the mercury discussed in Compendium of Materia Medica reached the latest level of scientific development at that time, which played a positive role in completely eradicating the absurd practice of taking mercury as a life. Compendium of Materia Medica also has unique views on the adaptation of living environment.
Taking the description of animal medicine as an example, the Outline has a general definition of animals for each kind of animal medicine, which can grasp the biological properties of various animals. For example, it is pointed out that "birds are born in forests, so their feathers are like leaves; Animals are born in the mountains, so their hair is like grass. It is also said that "hair is in four seasons and color is in five directions", which correctly grasps the variation characteristics of animals' adaptation to the environment and protects them. In terms of animal-related variation, the book correctly points out that "black-bone chicken has a black tongue" to know the identification method of its ivory black. Compendium of Materia Medica also emphasizes the characteristics of changing the living habits of organisms through the intervention of artificial methods. For example, the description of animals has changed from wild to artificial domestication, and domestic plants can be superior to wild plants, indicating that the inheritance of organisms was delayed at that time. Ding? Compendium of Materia Medica has made remarkable achievements in medicinal chemistry and experimental research. Medicinal chemistry includes distillation, evaporation, sublimation, recrystallization, weathering, precipitation, drying, burning, dumping and other chemical reaction methods. Prepared lead acetate (lead cream); Decomposition and oxidation of Xiaoshi and ettringite to prepare plumbum preparatium; Decocting Galla Chinensis with strong tea to precipitate; The white crystal of gallic acid precipitated by Aspergillus fermentation and hydrolysis has reached a high scientific level, even the earliest record. In scientific experiments, the author not only personally verified the therapeutic and anesthetic effects of basil seeds in treating blindness and taking Datura stramonium, but also conducted animal experiments on the pharmacological effects of several drugs. He observed the pharmacological effects of soybean and chicken intestine grass. He dissected many lower animals, such as carp and snake, to confirm the similarities and differences of their anatomical structures, and made some comparative studies. These methods can also be called a pioneering work in the scientific community at that time. Of course, unknown or little-known was common at that time, and unknowable was not uncommon under the conditions at that time. Therefore, the author's description of some drugs, objectively pointing out that "it is not necessary to be tested" or "there is no evidence to explore, so it is attached here to gain knowledge", can prove his scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts.
After the publication of Compendium of Materia Medica, its extensive and far-reaching influence is recorded. In the 18th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1590), it was first published in Jinling (now Nanjing) by Hu Chenglong, and was called "Jinling Edition" internationally. So far, there are only a few books, except for Japanese, American and German collections, there are only two in China. 1603 was published in Jiangxi edition of Compendium of Materia Medica, which is called "Jiangxi Edition" internationally. It is a rare edition second only to Jinling Edition, and there are still many existing versions in the world. Since then, more and more people have reprinted Compendium of Materia Medica, such as Hubei edition (1606), Shiqu songbook and Li Datang edition, all of which were engraved before the end of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Chaoyu Edition (1657) and Taihe Tang Ben Edition (1655) in Qing Dynasty were the earliest editions, and there were many later editions. According to the statistics of existing domestic printed editions, as of 1949, there are about 70 editions. After Compendium of Materia Medica, although the development of pharmacology in China is not as extensive as that of that year, it has made continuous progress in developing and deepening understanding and absorbing foreign drugs. For example, Compendium of Materia Medica (1765) written by Zhao Xuemin was almost completed under its direct or indirect influence.
Compendium of Materia Medica not only has such far-reaching influence in China, but also spread to Japan as early as A.D. 1606. According to statistics, eight versions of Compendium of Materia Medica appeared in Japan during the period of 1637- 17 14. Since then, various Japanese abridged versions and full versions have come out one after another. Japanese scholars have studied Compendium of Materia Medica by more than 30 authors. Compendium of Materia Medica also has great influence in North Korea and Vietnam. Since the18th century, Compendium of Materia Medica has spread to Europe, as well as the British Museum, Cambridge University Library, Oxford University Library and French National Library. There are all kinds of Ming or Qing versions of Compendium of Materia Medica. The Royal German Library has Jinling Edition. In addition, there are collections in Russia (former Soviet Union), Italy and Denmark. The Library of Congress also has Jinling Edition and Jiangxi Edition. According to the textual research of Dr. Needham in England, 1732, French doctor Vandermonde, translated some contents of Compendium of Materia Medica into French, which was published in Paris after more than a hundred years and twists and turns, attracting the attention of famous chemists and chemical historians. According to textual research, Compendium of Materia Medica was partially translated into French, English, German and Russian as early as18th century and later.19th century, people who began to be interested in studying Compendium of Materia Medica and China's undergraduate courses in Europe got their doctor's degrees. Darwin, a great British biologist, referred to the ancient encyclopedia of China in the process of establishing the theory of evolution and demonstrating the principle of artificial selection, and its content was Compendium of Materia Medica.
For example, Darwin talked about the variation of chicken and the family history of goldfish in Variation, and both absorbed and quoted the contents of Compendium of Materia Medica. Commenting on Compendium of Materia Medica, Dr. Needham wrote: "Undoubtedly, the greatest scientific achievement of the Ming Dynasty is Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, which is the pinnacle of this book." "As a scientist, Li Shizhen has reached the highest level that anyone who is isolated from the scientific activities of Galileo and Vesaliua can reach." "The Compendium of Materia Medica written by Li Shizhen, the uncrowned China naturalist, is still an inexhaustible source of knowledge for studying the cultural history of China and other scientific history.