Why does Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica mark the decline of traditional Chinese medicine?

The book "Compendium of Materia Medica" was written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty of my country. Li Shizhen, whose courtesy name was Dongbi and whose nickname was Binhu, was born in Wannioba outside the east gate of Qizhou, Hubei Province in 1518 (now Qizhou Town, Qichun County, Hubei Province). Before the Ming Dynasty, this place was the junction of Yuhu Lake and Lianshi Lake. People along the lake often suffered from the disaster of rising lake water. Since the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the lake from rising, a dam was built here, which was later called Wani Dam. Near Wannio Dam, there is Yuhu Lake with a circumference of 20 to 30 miles, which is one of the scenic spots in Qizhou. To the east of Waniba, there are Daquan Mountain, Longpan Mountain, Pingding Mountain... In addition to flowers, trees, and bamboo forests, various wild medicinal materials also grow in the mountains and fields. It is a good place rich in products.

Li Shizhen was born into a medical family that has been passed down for three generations. Her grandfather was a doctor, and her father Li Yanwen, also known as Li Yuechi, was also a famous local doctor and once served as an "imperial physician". He not only had rich clinical experience, but also had considerable accomplishments in medical theory. Later Li Shizhen praised his father's knowledge in diagnosing diseases as "a profound knowledge that cannot be grasped through superficial study." According to records, Li Yanwen wrote "Inventions of Four Diagnostics", "Biography of Mugwort", "Biography of Ginseng", "Significance and Treatment of Acne", etc. Li Shizhen has been nurtured in this environment since she was a child.

In feudal society, the status of doctors was very low. They were often compared with those who "fortune tellers" and "divine sellers", and were sometimes oppressed by bureaucrats, landlords and gentry. This force was even greater in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was also stipulated that "medical households" could not change careers. This social atmosphere of contempt for doctors prompted Li Yanwen to have the idea of ??changing the status of medical households, and decided to let Li Shizhen take the imperial examination route, so that he could obtain an official position. Half-time job, honoring the ancestors, therefore, Li Shizhen was required to recite the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" every day in preparation for the imperial examination.

Li Shizhen has been fond of reading since she was a child. When she was 14 years old, she passed the scholar examination. Later, she took part in the provincial examination and failed three times. One year, the river rose in Qizhou, flooding the fields and streets. The farmland was deserted, the epidemic was serious, and gastrointestinal diseases were prevalent everywhere. The "pharmacy" run by the Qizhou government did not treat the poor. When the poor were sick, they all came to Li Shizhen's father for treatment. Before leaving, everyone thanked him profusely. All this is in Li Shizhen's eyes. When Li Shizhen was 20 years old, she suffered from "Gu Zheng disease" (tuberculosis), coughing and fevering continuously, and almost died. Fortunately, her father's careful diagnosis and treatment cured the disease with Huangqin decoction. The more Li Shizhen thought about it, the less she wanted to take the imperial examination. She told her father that she was determined to study medicine and become a good doctor who could relieve the pain of patients. Seeing his firm attitude, Li Shizhen had no choice but to agree.

Li Shizhen started studying medicine at the age of 24. During the day, she went to the "Xuanmiao Temple" with her father to see a doctor. At night, she read the "Nei Jing", "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" and "Pulse Meridian" under the oil lamp. and other classical medical works. Li Shizhen's reading spirit is admirable. "After ten years of studying, he never left home and became erudite and knowledgeable." Because he studied hard, he mastered the treatment methods. He used "yanhusuo" to cure the stomachache of King Ji Hu of Jingmu, and used insecticide to cure the disease of the grandson of King Fushun who was addicted to eating lantern flowers. Later, he used aconite and qi decoction to cure King Fu Gu Shiyu's illness and was hired as the chief minister of Chu. The king is in charge.

Years of clinical practice have made Li Shizhen understand that to be a doctor, one must understand not only medical science, but also pharmacology. If the form and performance of the drug are wrong, life will be caused. On the basis of reading "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", he carefully read "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Tao Hongjing in the Qi and Liang Dynasties of the Southern Dynasty, "New Materia Medica" in the Tang Dynasty, "Kaibao Materia Medica" and "Jiayou" in the Song Dynasty. "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Emergency Materia Medica", "Compendium of Materia Medica", etc. Li Shizhen found that there were many problems in ancient herbal books. First of all, in terms of drug classification, "there is no distinction between vegetation and trees, and insects and fish are mixed together." For example, "ginger" and "yam" should be listed in the vegetable department, and ancient herbal books are listed in the grass department; "wilt" and "nuwei" are originally two kinds of medicinal materials, but some herbal books say they are one; "Orchid" can only be used for viewing, not for medicinal purposes. Some herbal books regard "orchid" as a medicinal "orchid"; what's more serious is that the poisonous "Uncaria" is regarded as a tonic. "Huang Jing". Li Shizhen believes that so many errors in ancient herbal books are mainly the result of a lack of field investigation of drugs.

Since the Song Dynasty, pharmacology in my country has developed greatly. Especially with the frequent cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, the number of foreign drugs has continued to increase, but none of them have been included in this herbal book. Li Shizhen believed that it was necessary to modify and supplement the previous cursive script. At this time, Li Shizhen was already 35 years old.

Five years later, the imperial court issued an edict to select a group of experienced doctors across the country to fill the vacancies in the Imperial Hospital. Zhu Yingliao, King of Chu in Wuchang, recommended Li Shizhen. Li Shizhen believed that Beijing was the Kyoto of the Ming Dynasty, where not only the important medical books in the country were gathered, but also more medicinal materials could be seen, which was an excellent opportunity for revising this herbal book. Li Shizhen accepted the recommendation of King Chu, entered Beijing Taiyuan Hospital at the age of 41, and served as the judge of Taiyuan Hospital.

Ming Shizong Zhu Houcong was an extremely mediocre emperor. He pursues the elixir of immortality and wants to be a god. In order to cater to Zhu Houcong's needs, the doctors in Taiyuan Hospital not only collected "immortal prescriptions" and "alchemy prescriptions" from all over the country, but also rummaged through ancient herbal books in an attempt to obtain the elixir of immortality.

Some medical officials said, "Taking mercury for a long time can help you live forever." Some medical officials said, "Refining sulfur can help you grow your skin and strengthen your strength." When Li Shizhen heard these nonsense, she made up her mind to revise this herbal book.

Li Shizhen took advantage of the good learning environment of Taiyuan Hospital and not only read a large number of medical books, but also made extensive reference to hundreds of classics and history, local chronicles, and official and unofficial histories. At the same time, he carefully observed imported medicinal materials from abroad and domestic precious medicinal materials, and recorded their forms, characteristics, and origins one by one. After about a year, in order to revise the cursive script, he no longer wanted to delay, so he resigned.

On the way home, one day, Li Shizhen stayed at a post station and met several horsemen driving carriages for the government. They gathered around a small pot and cooked weeds with roots and leaves. Li Shizhen stepped forward and asked. , the groom told him: "We drivers are running outside all year round, and it is common for our muscles and bones to be damaged. If we boil this herb and drink it, we can relax our muscles and activate blood circulation." This medicinal grassland is called "Guzihua", also known as "Convolvulus". Li Shizhen recorded the experience introduced by the horseman. Wrote: Binweed has the effect of "replenishing qi and rejuvenating muscles". This incident made Li Shizhen realize that revising this cursive script requires practice to make discoveries.

Li Shizhen and "Compendium of Materia Medica" (2)

In order to revise the Materia Medica, Li Shizhen investigated and studied different records in various medical books. In order to clarify the similar shapes of apple and water Ping and Ping met the grass, and they went to Yuhu Lake at the doorstep of their home, and also to the farther away Makou Lake, Yanshi Lake, and Chidong Lake to collect. They patiently observed and compared, and finally corrected the long-term confusion in the herbal book.

In order to find out the shape of the white-flowered snake and verify the book records, Li Shizhen went to Longfeng Mountain in the north of Qizhou City to catch snakes (white-flowered snake is a specialty of Qizhou). He only heard someone singing: "White-flowered snake, Who said you can ward off wind and evil? My boss, Saul, is as anxious as fire, and the doctor in the state only forces me to do it, and I won't be able to break my skin for a while." Along with the song came several snake catchers with bamboo baskets on their shoulders. They were walking towards some heather vines. It is said that the white snake likes to eat the leaves of the heather vine, so the heather vine became the "white snake". "Home", entangled in the heather vines day and night. After the snake catcher discovered the white snake, he immediately picked up a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at the white snake. Strangely enough, when the white snake encountered sand, it shrank into a ball just like flour meeting water. The snake catcher He immediately stepped forward and stabbed the white-flowered snake's neck with a wooden fork, and grabbed the back of the snake's body with his other hand. At this time, the white-flowered snake could no longer exert any power. Li Shizhen went to carefully observe the shape of the white-flowered snake. He saw that the snake's head was as big as a triangle, with 4 tusks in its mouth, 24 diagonal squares on its back, and stripes on its abdomen. It was indeed different from ordinary snakes. . Then, the snake-catcher hung the snake on a small tree by the roadside, cut its belly open with a knife, removed its internal organs, twisted it and put it into a bamboo basket. It is said that the snake can be used for medicine only after it is dried. Li Shizhen recorded every detail of the snake-catching process, which not only supplemented the herbal book, but also provided important materials for the later compilation of "The Biography of the White Flower Snake". A few years later, Li Shizhen made "White Flower Snake Wine" based on the wind-dispelling properties of White Flower Snake, which was specially used to treat hemiplegia and stroke. According to modern pharmacological analysis, it has been proven that the extract of Albus alba has sedative, analgesic, dilation of blood vessels and antihypertensive effects.

The pangolin is also called the dace carp. According to Tao Hongjing’s "Compendium of Materia Medica", the pangolin is an ant-eating animal that "can land and water. It comes out of the shore at noon, with its scales spread out like a dead person. Lure the ants into the armor, then close it and enter the water. All the ants with open armor will emerge, surround and eat them. "Is this really the life habit of pangolins? In order to clarify this problem, Li Shizhen followed the hunter into the deep mountains and old forests to conduct pangolin dissections. The discovery that the animal's stomach was indeed filled with undigested ants proved the herbalist's account to be correct. But Li Shizhen discovered that pangolins do not attract ants with their scales, but "often stick out their tongues to attract ants to eat them." He revised the erroneous record on this point in the herbal book. At the same time, he also collected the medicinal value of pangolins among the people, and recorded a jingle that "the pangolin, the king does not stay, and the woman's milk will flow after eating it".

Some people say that there is a medicine in the north called Datura flower. After eating it, it will make people dance and even cause anesthesia in severe cases. Li Shizhen left her hometown and came to the north in search of Datura flowers. Finally, he discovered the Datura flower, which has a single stem up to four or five feet tall, leaves like eggplant leaves, and flowers like morning glory. It blooms early and closes at night. In order to master the properties of Datura flower, he personally tried to "test it". Ye." And wrote down, "It is advisable to take this first when cutting sores and moxibustion fire, then you will not feel the pain." According to modern pharmacological analysis, Datura flowers contain scopolamine, which excites the brain and medulla oblongata on the central nervous system, and antagonizes or paralyzes the parasympathetic nerves on the peripheral nerves.

When Li Shizhen was doing the toxicity test on Datura flowers, she thought of the record in the herbal book that soybeans can detoxify hundreds of medicines. She also conducted many tests and confirmed that it is impossible to use soybeans alone to detoxify. If you add a hint of licorice to it, it will have a good effect. He said: "Such things must be known."

Li Shizhen not only conducted careful investigations and observations on botanical and animal medicines, but also did a lot of investigation on mineral medicines. He has visited copper mines, lead mines, lime kilns and other places for investigation and research. According to the Materia Medica, lead is a non-toxic substance.

In order to understand the properties of lead, Li Shizhen went deep into the mining area and saw the difficult working conditions of the miners. He wrote: "Lead grows among the rocks in the caves. People carry oil lamps for several miles and cut it up and down along the veins." Through the observation of the miners, A health survey revealed that lead is a toxic substance that is “sexually poisonous and should not be taken in excess.” At the same time, we also learned that lead poisoning can cause toxic hepatitis and jaundice symptoms. "If you don't get out of bed for a month, your skin will turn yellow, your abdomen will be bloated, you won't be able to eat, and you'll often get sick and die."

} "Mercury" is said to be non-poisonous according to previous herbal records; it is said to be used by gods for a long time; it is said to be the medicine of immortality. Is this true? Through investigation, Li Shizhen realized that mercury is decomposed from cinnabar when heated ("Mercury comes from cinnabar"); mercury and cinnamon can be turned into cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) when heated together; mercury is added with salt Wait, it can turn into another substance called light powder (mercuric chloride). From this, he described mercury as a "warm, dry and poisonous" substance. "If you take too much of the dose," "the poison will be evaporated into the meridians, muscles and bones," and "it will turn into spasm and bone pain, carbuncle, swollen malnutrition, or rupture of hands and feet, paralysis due to worms and tinea, and over time, it will turn into cancer," he said. The harm is endless." Li Shizhen also refuted the nonsense that long-term use of mercury can lead to immortality based on the historical fact that long-term use of mercury has resulted in lifelong disability, and wrote: "Alchemists are of no account, but herbal medicine can make false claims." < /p>

Li Shizhen was a medical scientist with a pragmatic spirit; in order to complete the arduous task of revising this cursive script, he traveled almost all over the mountains and rivers in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places, traveling no less than ten thousand miles. At the same time, he consulted more than 800 books, and after revising the draft three times, he finally compiled the "Compendium of Materia Medica" at the age of 61 (1578 AD). Later, with the help of his students, sons, and grandsons, the "Compendium of Materia Medica" was made more complete and more exquisite. "Compendium of Materia Medica" contains Li Shizhen's nearly 30 years of hard work and records Li Shizhen's difficult journey.

Compendium of Materia Medica has 52 volumes, containing 1,892 kinds of medicines, including 374 new drugs, and 11,096 medical prescriptions. The book also contains 1111 exquisite illustrations. A precious legacy in the treasure trove of medicine. Its achievements include, first of all, changing the original classification of upper, middle and lower categories of drugs, and adopting a scientific classification of "analyzing families, regions and categories, focusing on the main categories and categories". It divides medicines into mineral medicines, botanical medicines and animal medicines. Mineral medicine is also divided into four parts: gold, jade, stone and halide. Botanical medicines are divided into five parts: grass, grain, vegetable, fruit, and wood based on the performance, shape, and growth environment of the plant; the leather part is further divided into mountain grass, fragrant grass, wake grass, poisonous grass, and water grass. , creeping grass, stone grass and other small categories. The category of animals is divided into six parts, namely insects, scales, vectors, birds, beasts, and humans, in the order of evolution from low level to high level. There is also the server department. "Compendium of Materia Medica" is divided into 16 parts and 62 categories. This classification method has transitioned to a system based on natural evolution. From inorganic to organic, from simple to complex, from low-level to high-level, this classification method was very advanced at the time. Especially the scientific classification of plants was two hundred years earlier than the Swedish taxonomist Linnaeus.

Compendium of Materia Medica has not only made great achievements in pharmacology, but also made outstanding contributions in chemistry, geology, astronomy, etc. In the history of chemistry, it recorded a series of chemical reactions of pure metals, metals, metal chlorides, sulfides, etc. earlier. At the same time, it also records some operating methods used in modern chemistry such as distillation, crystallization, sublimation, precipitation, and drying. Li Shizhen also pointed out that the moon, like the earth, is a celestial body with mountains and rivers. "It is said that the moon is a ghost, and the ghosts in it are the shadows of mountains and rivers." "Compendium of Materia Medica" is not only a masterpiece of pharmacology in my country, but also an encyclopedia in ancient my country. As Li Jianyuan pointed out in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "From the tombs to the legends, whatever is relevant is not collected. Although it is a medical book, it is actually physics."

"Compendium of Materia Medica" After writing, Li Shizhen hoped to publish it as soon as possible. In order to solve the publishing problem of "Compendium of Materia Medica", Li Shizhen, who was in his 70s, ran from Wuchang to Nanjing, the center of the publishing industry at that time, hoping to solve it through private business. Due to years of hard work, Li Shizhen was finally ill in bed. While he was ill, he asked his children to dedicate "Compendium of Materia Medica" to the imperial court in the future and spread it to the world with the help of the imperial court. It is a pity that Li Shizhen passed away before the publication of "Compendium of Materia Medica". This year (1593), he just turned 76 years old.

Soon after, the Ming Emperor Zhu Xujun ordered all parts of the country to donate books to the court in order to enrich the national library. Li Shizhen's son Li Jianyuan dedicated the "Compendium of Materia Medica" to the court. The imperial court approved the seven words "the book should be read and the Ministry of Rites should know" and then the "Compendium of Materia Medica" was put aside. Later, under the imprint of Hu Chenglong, a private engraver still in Nanjing, "Compendium of Materia Medica" was published in the third year after Li Shizhen's death (1596). In 1603 AD, "Compendium of Materia Medica" was reprinted in Jiangxi. Since then, it has been widely spread in the country. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 30 printed versions of "Compendium of Materia Medica" in China.

The "Compendium of Materia Medica" was first introduced to Japan in 1606 AD. In 1647, the Polish Mig came to China and translated the "Compendium of Materia Medica" into Latin and spread it in Europe. Later, it was translated into Japanese, Korean and French. , German, English, Russian and other languages.

Li Shizhen’s contribution to mankind was great, so he was deeply respected by later generations. In order to commemorate this great medical scientist, "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "Baimaotang Collection" both wrote biographies of him. .

During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, a monument was erected in Li Shizhen's cemetery to commemorate her. After liberation, Li Shizhen Base was renovated again. In 1956, the scientist Guo Moruo commemorated it with an inscription, writing: "The sage of medicine is the culmination of Chinese medicine. The Compendium of Materia Medica is a description of 1892 kinds of medicines. It has been widely collected and has been spent thirty years. It has benefited the people. How many people have been saved for a long time! Great master, you will live forever with the life of the nation.

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