There are different opinions about the date of completion and the author of Shennong Herbal Classic. According to textual research, Shennong Herbal Classic was originally written by Ziyi, a disciple of Bian Que during the Warring States Period, and the rest was supplemented by later generations. So, why is it called Shennong Herbal Classic?
First, Shennong. Historians have different views on Shennong. Some say that Shennong refers to a person, or that Shennong and Huangdi are actually a person; Some say it's two people, others think it's a god who presides over crops or an official in charge of farming; Or the title of a certain era, or the floorboard of a certain clan; In a word, he was a saint and idol among the people at that time. In the Qin and Han dynasties, in order to make people respect and believe in something, they pretended that it was done by an ancient saint. Materia Medica refers to the experience of treating diseases with drugs (mainly herbs), so it is entrusted to Shennong. Books in Qin and Han Dynasties used bamboo slips or wooden slips. In order not to be messy, they should be connected by silk thread, which is called "Jing". The source of Shennong Herbal Classic is roughly the same.
The Shennong Materia Medica Classic that we see now was copied by later generations from previous herbal works, and it is called Shennong Materia Medica Classic. There were seven or eight editions in Ming and Qing dynasties, and even neighboring Japan had four editions.
From the compilation, we know that there are 365 kinds of drugs recorded in Materia Medica. Including grass, grain, rice, fruit, wood, insects, fish, livestock, stones and so on. The original author divided them into top grade, middle grade and inferior grade. Top-grade drugs are long-term non-toxic and harmless strong and nourishing drugs, such as ginseng, licorice, jujube, medlar, donkey-hide gelatin and so on. , a total of 120 species; Traditional Chinese medicines, such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, Adenophora adenophora, Schisandra chinensis, Coptidis Rhizoma and Ephedra, are non-toxic or toxic and can suppress diseases and tonify deficiency. , a total of 120 species. Inferior drugs are highly toxic, can dispel cold and clear heat, and break food accumulation, such as Euphorbia Euphorbia, Croton, Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata, Radix Kansui, and Herba Polygoni Avicularis, totaling 125 species.
Each drug has a different name, smell, source and indication. The properties, compatibility and taboos that should be paid attention to in prescription medication are explained in detail. But also mentioned prescriptions for more than 70 diseases including internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and so on/kloc-0. At the same time, it has also left valuable experience for future generations in medicine collection, pharmacy and medication.
Shennong's herbal classics have been widely circulated since they came out, and they were gradually lost until the end of Tang Dynasty and the beginning of Song Dynasty. It has a far-reaching impact on the development of pharmacology in China. Herbal books and medical books of past dynasties are all based on the drugs contained in the Classic of Materia Medica. For example, Tao Hongjing's Annotation of Shennong's Herbal Classics in the Southern Dynasties, Newly Revised Herbal Classics in the Tang Dynasty, Kaibao Caojing in the Song Dynasty, Jiayou Herbal Medicine, Illustrating and Verifying Herbal Medicine in the Ming Dynasty and Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica all developed from Shennong's Herbal Classics.