Who wrote compendium of materia medica?

Compendium of Materia Medica is the crystallization of more than 30 years' painstaking efforts of Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in Ming Dynasty. The book1.9000 words, recorded drugs 1.892 kinds, divided into 60 categories. Among them, Li Shizhen added 374 new drugs. There are more than 1 100 drawings and more than 1 1000 prescriptions. It is a summary of China's pharmacology for thousands of years. This Pharmacopoeia, no matter from its strict scientific classification, or from the number of drugs it contains and the fluent and vivid writing, far exceeds any ancient herbal works.

In this book, Li Shizhen pointed out the real functions of many drugs, such as Changshan can cure malaria and Yanhusuo can relieve pain. He also cited examples of poisoning in daily life, such as using tin as a container, because toxins can be dissolved in wine, and over time, people who drink alcohol will be chronically poisoned. In his book, he criticized that mercury is "nontoxic", "immortal" and "immortal" for a long time. At that time, all the emperors and ministers believed in Taoist mercury alchemy, so the big booksellers were afraid to publish this book until his death in 1596. Immediately after publication, it caused great repercussions. People spread it around, reprinted it and became essential books for doctors. Compendium of Materia Medica has been translated into Japanese, German, English, French and Russian since the 7th century. The 1953 edition of People's Republic of China (PRC) Pharmacopoeia contains 53 1 kinds of modern drugs and preparations. There are 100 kinds of drugs and preparations in Compendium of Materia Medica.

Li Shizhen's great academic achievements are also recognized by people all over the world as one of the scientists who have made the greatest contribution to mankind. Compendium of Materia Medica is known as "the masterpiece of oriental pharmacy".

Compendium of Materia Medica can be divided into three parts:

Foreword-Compendium of Materia Medica. Its contents include the contents of this volume and the attached drawings of 1 160.

Volumes 1 to 4-"Preface Examples" and "Indicative Drugs for All Diseases"

Volumes 5 to 52-This is the main content of Compendium of Materia Medica. The collected 1892 drugs are divided into 16 departments and classified into 60 categories. After taking most drugs, there are 1 1096 experienced prescriptions, of which 865438 are.

The following is the life of Li Shizhen.

Li Shizhen was born in a family where three generations are doctors. His grandfather is a doctor, and his father, Li Yanwen, also known as Li Yuechi, is also a famous local doctor. He used to be "too many doctors". He not only has rich clinical experience, but also has considerable attainments in medical theory. Later, Li Shizhen praised his father's knowledge in diagnosing diseases as "the essence, and superficial knowledge failed to catch a glimpse". According to records, Li Yanwen has heard of the inventions of Four Diagnoses, Chuan of Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Chuan of Ginseng and Diagnosis and Treatment of Acne Rash. Li Shizhen was nurtured in this environment since he was a child.

In feudal society, doctors' status was very low. They were often compared to "fortune tellers" and "fortune tellers", and sometimes they were oppressed by bureaucratic landlords and gentry. This power was even worse in the Ming Dynasty, when it was stipulated that "medical households" could not change their professions. This social atmosphere of despising doctors prompted Li Yanwen to change the status of doctors and decided to let Li Shizhen take the imperial examination, so that he could get an official position and worship his ancestors. Therefore, Li Shizhen was asked to recite the Four Books and Five Classics every day to prepare for the imperial examination.

Li Shizhen loved reading since he was a child. 14-year-old Jinshi, and then participated in the provincial examination. He failed three times. One year, in qi zhou, the river rose and flooded fields and streets. The farmland is barren, the epidemic situation is serious, and gastrointestinal diseases are prevalent everywhere. The "pharmacy" organized by the government of qi zhou refused to treat the poor. When the poor are sick, they all come to Li Shizhen's father for treatment. Everyone kept thanking them when they left. All this is in Li Shizhen's eyes. At the age of 20, Li Shizhen suffered from "bone steaming" (tuberculosis), coughing and having a fever, and almost died. Thanks to his father's careful diagnosis and treatment, he cured the disease with Qin Huang soup. The more Li Shizhen thought about it, the less willing he was to take the road of imperial examination. He told his father that he was determined to study medicine, be a good doctor and relieve the pain of patients. Seeing his resolute attitude, my father had to agree.

Li Shizhen began to study medicine at the age of 24. During the day, he and his father went to the "mysterious temple" to see a doctor. In the evening, I am familiar with classic medical works such as Neijing, Materia Medica, Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Pulse Meridian under the oil lamp. Li Shizhen's reading spirit is admirable. "After studying for ten years, I never leave home and know everything." . Thanks to hard work, he mastered the treatment. He cured Ji Hu, the king of Mu Jing, of his stomachache with "Rhizoma Corydalis" and cured his grandson of Fushun of his snuff with pesticides. Later, Fuzi Qihe Decoction was used to cure Fugu Wang's illness, and he was hired as the King of Chu to serve Zheng.

Years of clinical practice made Li Shizhen understand that to be a doctor, you should not only know medicine, but also know pharmacology. If you choose the wrong shape and performance of the medicine, it will kill people. On the basis of reading Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, he carefully read Tao Hongjing's Notes on the Classic of Materia Medica in Qi and Liang Dynasties, Newly Revised Materia Medica in Tang Dynasty, Kaibao Materia Medica in Song Dynasty, Jiayou Materia Medica, Classic Materia Medica and Materia Medica. Li Shizhen found many problems in ancient cursive scripts. First, in the classification of drugs, it is "regardless of plants, animals and insects, and the fish are mixed." For example, "ginger" and "yam" should be listed in the vegetable department, and ancient cursive scripts should be listed in the grass department; "withering" and "female withering" are two kinds of medicinal materials, and some cursive scripts say that they are one kind; "Orchid" can only be used for ornamental purposes and cannot be used as medicine, while some cursive scripts regard "orchid" as a medicinal "bluegrass"; What's more, people regard the poisonous Uncaria as a tonic, Polygonatum sibiricum. Li Shizhen thinks that there are so many mistakes in ancient cursive script, mainly because of the lack of on-the-spot investigation of drugs.

Since the Song Dynasty, pharmacology in China has made great progress, especially with the frequent cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, foreign drugs have been increasing, but they have not been included in this cursive script. Li Shizhen thinks it is necessary to revise and supplement the previous cursive script. At this time, Li Shizhen was 35 years old.

Five years later, the imperial court issued an imperial decree to select a group of experienced doctors from all over the country to fill the vacancy in the Imperial Hospital. Chu Wang Zhu of Wuchang recommended Li Shizhen. Li Shizhen thinks that Beijing is the Kyoto of Ming Dynasty, where not only important medical books from all over the country are gathered, but also more medicinal materials can be seen, which is an excellent opportunity to revise this cursive script. Li Shizhen accepted the recommendation of the King of Chu and entered the Beijing Imperial Hospital at the age of 4l as a judge of the Imperial Hospital.

Zhu Houzong, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was a very fatuous emperor. He is bent on pursuing the elixir of life and wants to be an immortal. In order to meet the needs of Zhu Houzong, the medical palace in Taichi Hospital not only collected the "fairy prescriptions" and "proven prescriptions" from all over the country, but also rummaged through the cursive scripts of past dynasties in an attempt to obtain the medicine of immortality. Some medical officials say that "taking mercury for a long time can make you live forever", and some medical officials say that "refining sulfur can grow skin and benefit qi"; Some say that "Ganoderma lucidum is a fairy grass, and long-term consumption can prolong life". Hearing this nonsense, Li Shizhen strengthened his determination to revise this cursive script.

Li Shizhen not only read a lot of medical books, but also extensively referred to hundreds of classics, local chronicles and unofficial history. At the same time, we carefully observed the precious medicinal materials imported from abroad and at home, and recorded their morphology, characteristics and origin one by one. After a year or so, in order to revise the cursive script, he didn't want to stay any longer and resigned under an excuse.

One day, Li Shizhen stopped at a post station on his way home and met several taxi drivers who were driving for the government. They gathered around a small pot and cooked weeds with roots and leaves. Li Shizhen came forward to ask, and the coachman told him, "We coachmen have been running around all the year round, and it's common to hurt our muscles and bones. If we cook this herb and drink it, we can relax our muscles and promote blood circulation. " This herb grassland is called "drum flower" or "spinning flower", and Li Shizhen recorded the experience introduced by the groom. It says: spinning flowers has the function of "invigorating qi and strengthening tendons" This incident made Li Shizhen realize that the modification of this cursive script can only be found in practice.

In order to revise this cursive script, Li Shizhen investigated and studied the different records in various medical books. In order to find apples, duckweeds and duckweeds with similar shapes, he went to Yuhu Lake in front of his house, and collected them in Makou Lake, Yanshi Lake and Dongchi Lake far away. After patient observation and comparison, he finally corrected the long-term confusion of this cursive script.

In order to find out the shape of the Agkistrodon, Li Shizhen came to Longfengshan in northern qi zhou to catch snakes (Agkistrodon is a specialty of qi zhou), only to hear someone sing: "Agkistrodon, who told me that I can resist wind evil, my boss Sol was anxious, and the doctors in the state only forced me, but I couldn't break my flesh for a while." Along with the ballad came several snake catchers with bamboo baskets on their shoulders. They walked towards some heather trees. It is said that the white snake likes to eat the leaves of heather, so heather has become the "home" of the white snake, winding around the heather day and night. After the snake catcher found the viper, he immediately grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and aimed it at the viper. Strangely, a viper meets sand, just like flour meets water, it shrinks into a ball. The snake catcher immediately stepped forward, grabbed Ajisen's neck with a wooden fork and grabbed the snake's back with his other hand. At this time, Adkisson can no longer exert its power. Li Shizhen decided to observe the shape of the viper carefully. He saw the snake's head as big as a triangle, with four tusks in its mouth, 24 diagonal squares on its back and stripes on its abdomen. It is really different from ordinary snakes. Then, hang the snake-catching personality on a small tree by the roadside, cut its abdomen with a knife, take out its internal organs, roll it up and put it in a bamboo basket. It is said that snakes can't be used as medicine until they are dried. Li Shizhen recorded every detail activity in the process of catching snakes, which not only supplemented the cursive script, but also provided important materials for the later compilation of Legend of the White Snake. A few years later, Li Shizhen made "Agkistrodon Wine" to treat hemiplegia and stroke according to the characteristics of Agkistrodon. According to modern pharmacological analysis, it is proved that Agkistrodon extract has sedative, analgesic, vasodilator and antihypertensive effects.

Pangolin is also called carp. According to Tao Hongjing's Notes on Materia Medica, pangolin is an ant-eater. It "can go hand in hand with land, come out from the shore at noon, spread its scales like death, and lure ants into the armor, that is, keep them in the water, and all the ants with open armor come out and eat them around." Is the life habit of pangolin really like this? In order to find out this problem, Li Shizhen followed the hunter into the depths of the forest, dissected pangolins, and found that the animal's stomach was indeed full of undigested ants, which proved that the records in this cursive script were correct. However, Li Shizhen found that pangolins were not lured by scales, but "often spit out their tongues to lure ants to eat." He corrected the wrong record on this point in cursive script. At the same time, he also collected the medicinal value of pangolin among the people, and recorded a jingle of "Pangolin, Wang Liuxing, women breast-feeding for a long time".

Some people say that there is a medicine called Datura flower in the north, which can make people dance and even anesthetize in severe cases. Li Shizhen left his hometown to look for Datura flowers in the north. Finally, he found that the single stem was four or five feet high, the leaves were like eggplant leaves, the flowers were like morning glory, and the Datura bloomed early at night. In order to master the performance of Datura flower, he personally tried to "test it" and wrote, "It is better to take this first, but you will not feel bitter." According to modern pharmacological analysis, Datura contains scopolamine, which can excite the brain and medulla oblongata on the central nervous system and antagonize or paralyze the parasympathetic nerves on the peripheral nerve.

When Li Shizhen was doing toxicity test of Datura stramonium, he thought of the records in this cursive script. Soybean has a curative effect on various drugs, and he also conducted many experiments, which confirmed that it is impossible to detoxify simply with soybean. If you blindly add licorice, it will have a good effect and say, "You must know such a thing."

Li Shizhen not only made a detailed investigation and observation on plant medicine and animal medicine, but also made a lot of investigations on mineral medicine. He has been to copper mines, lead mines, lime kilns and other places for investigation and research. According to this cursive script, lead is a non-toxic substance. In order to understand the performance of lead, Li Shizhen went deep into the mining area and saw the hard working conditions of the miners. He wrote: "In the caves and rocks where lead was born, people walked for miles with oil lamps and cut up and down with the twists and turns of the veins." Through the health survey of miners, he realized that lead is a toxic substance, "toxic, you can't take more." At the same time, I learned that lead poisoning can cause toxic hepatitis and cause jaundice symptoms. "I won't be out for a few months, my skin is sallow, I can't eat with abdominal distension, and I will die." .

} "Mercury" is recorded in the cursive script before, and it is not poisonous; Say for a long time, serve the gods; Words are the medicine of immortality. Is that really the case? Through investigation, Li Shizhen realized that mercury is decomposed by heating cinnabar ("mercury comes from cinnabar"); Mercury and Ryukyu yellow can be heated together to become vermilion (mercury sulfide); Mercury salt, etc. , can become another substance, called calomel (mercuric chloride). Therefore, he described mercury as a "warm, dry and toxic" substance. If you take too much medicine, the poison will evaporate into the meridian bones, which will turn into tendon contracture and bone pain, resulting in carbuncle and swelling, or hand and foot fractures. In a few years, it will become a disease and cancer, and its harm will be endless. According to the historical fact that taking mercury for a long time since the Six Dynasties led to lifelong disability, Li Shizhen refuted the nonsense that taking mercury for a long time could lead to immortality, and wrote: "The alchemist is not strong enough, but the herbs are ridiculous. "

Li Shizhen is a medical scientist with realistic spirit. In order to complete the arduous task of revising this cursive script, he almost traveled all over the famous mountains and rivers in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places without stopping in Wan Li. At the same time, I consulted more than 800 books, and after three revisions, I finally compiled Compendium of Materia Medica at the age of 6l (AD 1578). Later, with the help of his students, sons and grandchildren, Compendium of Materia Medica became more complete and refined.