The story of Li Shizhen.

1. One day, Li Shizhen came to the mouth of the lake and saw a group of people carrying coffins for the funeral, with blood flowing out of the coffins. Li Shizhen stepped forward and saw that blood was not blood, but blood. He quickly stopped the crowd and said, "Stop, the people in the coffin are still saved!" Hearing this, everyone looked at each other and couldn't believe each other. Isn't it unlucky to open the coffin and disturb the old friend after death? It could be a thousand ... Of course, Li Shizhen saw everyone's thoughts, so he persuaded again and again and finally let the master promise to open the coffin. Li Shizhen got a massage first, and then put a needle in her heart. After a while, she saw the woman in the coffin gently snorted and woke up, so the crowd was full of joy. Soon after, the woman gave birth to a son successfully, so people all rumored that Li Shizhen saved two lives with a silver needle, and there was a wonderful way to bring him back to life. This is the story of Li Shizhen who opened the coffin to save his mother and son.

2. There is also a rumor about Li Shizhen's story that "the living will kill him". Legend has it that after Li Shizhen saved the mother and son with a needle, many people wanted to meet this magical doctor. One day, the son of a drugstore owner was eating and drinking at the counter. When he heard about it, he also wanted to see the excitement. With great effort, he finally squeezed in front of Li Shizhen and asked, "Sir, do you think I have any disease?" Li Shizhen saw that his popularity was not good, so he took his pulse quickly. Later, he said with great regret, "Little brother, it's a pity that he is too young to live for three hours. Please hurry home, lest your family look everywhere. " Everyone doesn't believe it, and the son of the drugstore owner is even more swearing. Later, under the persuasion of everyone, he left panting. Sure enough, in less than three hours, the man died. It turned out that this man ate too much and jumped, his intestines were broken and his internal organs were damaged. As a result, people are even more amazed at Li Shizhen's magical medical skills.

3. Some people say that there is a medicine called Datura flower in the north, which will make people dance and be anesthetized 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 and late. In order to master the performance of Datura flower, he personally tried to "test it". And wrote, "If you cut the moxibustion fire, you should take it first, so you won't 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 record in this cursive script that soybean has the function of curing various drugs, and he also conducted many experiments, which confirmed that soybean alone could not detoxify. If you blindly add licorice, it will have a good effect and say, "You must know such a thing."

4. Li Shizhen not only read a large number of medical books, but also made use of the good learning environment of Taiyuan Hospital to extensively refer to hundreds of ancient books, 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. On the way home, one day, Li Shizhen stopped at a post office 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 is written that convolvulus has the function of "benefiting qi and continuing tendons" This incident made Li Shizhen realize that the modification of this cursive script can only be found in practice.

Li Shizhen was born in a medical family in Ming Dynasty, and his grandfather and father were both doctors. He also liked medicine since he was a child. When he grew up, he became a doctor, studied medicine and became a great physician in China.

At that time, Emperor Jiajing was superstitious and prayed for immortality. The alchemist saw the emperor's mind and tried his best to make the elixir live forever and please the emperor, thus setting off an alchemy craze all over the country, but many people died of poisoning after eating the elixir.

Li Shizhen knew that the elixir of life was mostly refined from mercury, lead, cinnabar, sulfur and tin, and contained toxins, so he shouted, "It is absolutely incredible that the elixir of life can live a hundred years! 」

He cited the example that he died after eating Dan medicine, but an alchemist retorted: "The ancient medical books said that mercury is nontoxic, and it can become immortal after eating it, which is an elixir. 」

Li Shizhen said: "The knowledge left by predecessors can be used for reference, but it must be analyzed. We can't believe everything in the book. Ancient books also say that "eating gold can make a fairy", but who has seen who has become a fairy? Both Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wudi ate the elixir, hoping to live forever. Didn't they die as a result? The ingredients of the so-called elixir are mostly toxic substances. Eating them will not only lead to longevity, but will lead to poisoning and death!

Although Li Shizhen was firmly opposed to taking the elixir of life, he applied the method of alchemy with a scientific attitude. He personally developed mercury to cure scabies and other diseases, and used alchemy to burn external medicine. He also recorded research data in Compendium of Materia Medica, which had a far-reaching impact on later generations.

6, 15 18, Li Yanwen's second son Li Shizhen was born. At that time, no one would have thought that this thin boy would become a great physician and one of the world cultural celebrities in the Ming Dynasty. There are many herbs in Li's backyard, all of which like to study the collection of pharmacy. Li Shizhen had an indissoluble bond with these plants since he was a child. He likes to watch these flowers sprout, blossom and bear fruit; I like to watch how my father makes them into herbs and then treats others. As he grew older, he became more and more familiar with the characteristics of these herbs and became more and more fascinated. He stayed in the garden all day. At that time, doctors were regarded as "poor people" by gentry and nobles, and their social status was very humble. Li Yanwen was deeply impressed by the discrimination he suffered. Naturally, he didn't want his clever little son to make the same mistake, but pinned all his hopes of changing his family on the world.

Although Li Shizhen loves medicine, in order to live up to his father's high hopes, he has to temporarily concentrate on the boring eight-part essay. He is brilliant and brilliant, and he was admitted to a scholar at the age of 14. Li Yanwen is very happy. He thinks his son is expected to rise. Unexpectedly, since the age of 65,438+07, Li Shizhen has failed in Sun Shan for three consecutive provincial examinations. The harsh reality educated Li Yanwen, and he finally understood a truth: you can't impose your will on your son, and it's not sweet to twist a melon. From then on, Li Shizhen gave up his fame and became a doctor wholeheartedly.

When Li Shizhen was a teenager, Li Yanwen often took his two sons to the "mysterious temple" as a clinic. While practicing medicine, he taught his son to read, and from time to time he asked his children to help him copy prescriptions. Li Shizhen became more and more familiar with the knowledge and skills of practicing medicine, and his interest became stronger and stronger. He often takes time to put down his eight-part essay, open his father's medical books and read them with relish. He recited all the articles in Er Ya, such as Cao Shi, Shi Mu, Shi Bird and Shi Beast.

One day, at the invitation of the sick family, Li Yanwen took his eldest son to make house calls, leaving Shizhen alone in a mysterious field of vision. At this time, two patients came, one was burning eyes with redness and pain, and the other was bleeding. Li Shizhen thought for a long time and said, "Dad won't come back until evening. Otherwise, I'll give you a prescription first and see if it can be cured. If not, call my father again. " The patient with diarrhea was very upset and couldn't wait to say, "Okay, okay, how can the doctor's son make a mistake in prescribing?" Another patient also covered her red and swollen eyes and repeatedly urged Zhen to prescribe medicine. Li Shizhen decisively prescribed medicine and sent the patient away. When Li Yanwen came home, he found the prescription prescribed by his youngest son. His heart suddenly touched his throat, and he asked, "Did you open this?" Shizhen replied in a low voice: "Yes, I don't know if it's right?" Then, the patient's symptoms, why to use these drugs, what are the properties of these drugs and so on. , said once, and said very clearly. Tang gaozu kept nodding while listening. Only then did he know that his son not only read many medical books, but also applied them to the practice of treating diseases. He is really a doctor's material, and he is pleasantly surprised. At this time, my brother Guo Zhen listened to my brother's talk about medicinal properties and was very envious. He secretly made up his mind to do a beautiful thing for his father who is good at medical treatment.

Coincidentally, a few days later, two patients with eye pain and dysentery came to see a doctor, and only Guo Zhen happened to be in the clinic that day. As soon as he saw the illness of the two men and their brother, he didn't think much, so he dealt with it according to his brother's prescription. Unexpectedly, early the next morning, the two patients came to the door, saying that their illness had worsened after taking the medicine, and asked Li Yanwen to see what was going on. Guo Zhen dared not hide it, so he had to tell the truth. Li Yanwen even called "wrong" after hearing it. Guo Zhen was not convinced: "The same disease, the same medicine, why is my brother right and I am wrong?" Li Yanwen replied: "Some diseases look alike, but they are different in nature." Then, I explained why Jane used wormwood as the main medicine that day, but today these two patients want to use coptis as the main medicine, and persuaded a fruit Jane. Li Yanwen always does this, instilling comprehensive medical knowledge into his children from both medical theories and diseases, which is of great benefit to both sons.

7. When Li Shizhen was 20 years old, there was a serious flood in qi zhou. The flood burst its banks like a beast, and the thousand hectares of fertile land on both sides of Qihe River suddenly became Wang Yang. The villagers were displaced and there were cries everywhere. Just after the flood, the plague began to spread, and the disease mercilessly devoured innocent lives. Li Shizhen's heart ached at the sight of the horror. He rescued patients day and night with his father and brother, and I don't know how many dying people were snatched back from the hands of death.

One day, Li Shizhen was seeing a doctor. Suddenly, a group of people rushed into the clinic with a quack. The young man headed by him shouted angrily, "Dr. Li, give me a statement!" " My dad took the medicine prescribed by this guy, and instead of getting better, it got worse. I went to settle accounts with him, and he insisted that the prescription was right. We trust you, please have a look at it. "Then he handed the pot of decocting medicine to his father:" Well, this is the residue. " Li Shizhen grabbed the dross, sniffed it carefully, put it in his mouth and chewed it, saying to himself, "This is a tiger's paw! As soon as the charlatan heard "Tiger Claw", he quickly argued, "I have never prescribed this medicine! "

"That must be a mistake in the pharmacy!" As the young man said, he was about to rush out. Li Shizhen quickly grabbed him and said, "Don't go, this is a mistake in ancient medical books. As far as the records of Japanese Materia Medica are concerned, is it confusing the leaky basket with Tiger Claw? " "Yes, I opened a leaky basket!" The charlatan quickly interjected. "Yes, pharmacies are opened according to medical books, and it is useless to go to court." They lamented for a while and had to let the charlatan go.

Soon, another doctor prescribed medicine for a mental patient and blindly used a medicine called anti-sunflower. The patient died soon after taking the medicine. There is also a weak person who took a tonic called Polygonatum prescribed by the doctor and died inexplicably. It turns out that in several ancient medical books, Fang Kui and Stellera chamaejasme, Polygonatum sibiricum and Gelsemium elegans are all described as the same medicine, and Stellera chamaejasme and Gelsemium elegans are very toxic. How can people not die after eating it? This one after another, one after another drug misleading, in Li Shizhen's heart aroused great waves. There is no doubt that ancient medical books contain rich knowledge and valuable experience, but there are also some omissions. If it is not revised as soon as possible, the medical profession will use them as the basis to spread the truth, delay treatment and kill people!

In the middle of the night, the moonlight is like water, and the candlelight is flickering. Li Shizhen and his father had a heart-to-heart talk under the light. After listening to his son's grand theory, Li Yanwen said earnestly, "Your idea of re-studying materia medica is very good, but it is very difficult. This requires a lot of manpower and financial resources. I'm afraid only the imperial court has such great power. " What's more, there are quite a few books on materia medica. Although I have read some books, I haven't studied enough, which is far from meeting the requirements of book revision. Let's study hard first, don't you think? "

Father's words, like a bright lamp, lit up Li Shizhen's heart. In the next 65,438+00 years, he immersed himself in a huge treasure house of medical books, and became familiar with classic medical books such as Neijing, Materia Medica, Treatise on Febrile Diseases and synopsis of the Golden Chamber, as well as the works of famous writers in past dynasties and a large number of books on flowers and trees. His notes alone filled several cabinets and accumulated many precious materials for revising Materia Medica.

8. 155 1 year, the imperial clan of the Ming Dynasty, King Chu of Wuchang, learned that Li Shizhen had excellent medical skills and hired him to take charge of sacrificial ceremonies and medical services in the palace. Li Shizhen didn't want to associate with royalty, but considering that the king of Chu might help him, he made the court promise to rebuild materia medica, so he packed his bags and went to the palace. Soon after, he became famous in the imperial court because he cured the King of Chu's sudden syncope and other incurable diseases, and was recommended as a medical officer in the Imperial Hospital. The Royal Hospital, the central medical institution in the Ming Dynasty, has a large number of precious medical books and medical specimens. Li Shizhen opened his eyes here, plunged into the pile of books, studied, refined and depicted drug patterns day and night, and tried to absorb the medical essence provided by predecessors. At the same time, he repeatedly suggested to the hospital the compilation of New Materia Medica. However, his suggestion was not only not adopted, but was attacked and slandered by groundless satire. Li Shizhen soon understood that this place was by no means his own. In order to realize the ideal that he fought for all his life, he must go his own way. A year later, he resolutely returned to China.

From 65438 to 0552, 35-year-old Li Shizhen began to study materia medica again as planned. Due to full preparation, the beginning was smooth, but after writing here, the problem came: the so-called materia medica is synonymous with ancient pharmacology. It includes many plants, animals and mineral medicines, such as flowers, fruits and trees, birds, animals, fish and insects, lead, tin, sulfur and mercury. Because most of them are plants, which can be said to be botanical, people directly call drugs "materia medica". Shennong Herbal Classic was written in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the 400 years before Li Shizhen's birth, many monographs were published by physicians in past dynasties, but there was never a summary book that could summarize the new progress of pharmacology in this period. Li Shizhen is duty-bound to shoulder this heavy burden and is aware of its weight, but he still didn't expect that drugs are so diverse that it is difficult to know their characteristics, habits and growth like the back of his hand. For example, Agkistrodon, together with bamboo leaves and mugwort leaves, is one of the three specialties in qi zhou, which can be used to treat diseases such as wind arthralgia, convulsion and tinea, and is a valuable medicinal material. But the "Agkistrodon" he bought from drug dealers is sometimes a fake of another kind of snake, which is quite different from what is described in the book. So, what is a real white snake like? In order to solve this mystery, Li Shizhen personally followed the snake catcher up the mountain and caught a white snake. Take a closer look and it's exactly the same as what the book says.

From then on, Li Shizhen left home and went to Shan Ye to compare and identify drugs. In addition to Huguang, I have also been to Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and other places, covering the north and south of the river and traveling more than 20,000 miles. Farming, fishing, firewood, hunting and mine are all his friends and teachers, providing him with a wealth of drug knowledge that has never been seen in books.

9. Once, Li Shizhen passed a post station in Henan and saw some drivers cooking some pink flowers in a pot. When he looked carefully, it turned out to be just a whirlpool flower that can be seen everywhere in the south. I don't know what use these drivers have cooked it. I asked them for advice, and a driver replied, "We people have been out all the year round, and in the wind and rain, most of our bones have sunk in and hurt." Drinking water spinach soup can cure bone diseases. "Li Shizhen carefully wrote down the shape and medicinal properties of this herb and wrote it in the book.

On another occasion, Li Shizhen came to Wudang Mountain with his disciple Pang Xian. Wudang Mountain has beautiful scenery, lush vegetation, towering old trees and wild flowers like the sea, which is a natural drug treasure house. Master and apprentice discovered the diamond mine like treasure hunters and were immediately fascinated by these flowers and plants. Nine fairies, Zhu Shagen, Millennium Ai, Goshen Xiao? These precious drugs were collected by them and made into specimens. On this day, Pang Xian split the vines to open the way and searched carefully. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: Datura flower! This is Huatuo's famous medicine for preparing Mafeisan! Li Shizhen was obviously excited and pointed to the flowers and said to Pang Xian, "It's a pity that Ma Feisan has long been lost. This kind of flower is poisonous, and how to dispense it has to be re-tested. " Later, in order to find out the toxicity of Datura stramonium and obtain a reliable prescription, Li Shizhen risked his life to try it himself to confirm its anesthetic effect, and combined it with hemp seed flower to make an anesthetic for surgery.

Li Shizhen visited all the way, treated the villagers well, and was deeply respected and relied on by people. There is an old lady who has been habitually constipated for 30 years. Although she was treated in many ways, it didn't work. Li Shizhen used folk prescription and proper amount of morning glory as medicine, and soon cured her disease. There is also a woman with a nosebleed, which can't stop all day long. No matter how to treat it, it doesn't work. Li Shizhen put garlic slices on the patient's feet, and soon the bleeding stopped. He also collected this recipe from the people. Examples like this are endless. Li Shizhen deeply felt that this vast field is full of knowledge, and new gains will be made every day. In this way, Li Shizhen trudged on the road of medicine for decades, and finally realized his dream: 1578, an epoch-making pharmaceutical masterpiece Compendium of Materia Medica finally came out.

It's a pity that Li Shizhen didn't see the publication of this great book that he worked hard all his life. 1593 In the early autumn, when the 76-year-old man died, Compendium of Materia Medica was still engraved in Nanjing by bookseller Hu Chenglong and others, and it was not until three years later that printing began.

This masterpiece has more than 654.38+09,000 words, and every word is saturated with Li Shizhen's painstaking efforts. There are 1892 drugs in the book, including 374 new drugs, more than 1 1000 prescriptions and more than100 illustrations. It is larger than any previous book on pharmacology. It combines scientific knowledge in botany, zoology, mineralogy, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology and many other fields. Its extremely systematic and rigorous layout style, conclusive evidence of boldly correcting predecessors' mistakes, and its scientific attitude are all amazing. It is no exaggeration to say that it is an important milestone in the history of pharmacy in China. Since the 0/7th century, Compendium of Materia Medica has spread like wildfire in the medical field and spread all over the world. It has been translated into more than ten languages such as Japanese, German, French, English, Russian and Latin, and is recognized as the "Dictionary of Oriental Medicine". /kloc-Darwin, a famous biologist in the 0/9th century, once commented on Compendium of Materia Medica, saying that it is the "encyclopedia" of ancient Chinese medicine.

Li Shizhen's life, outstanding performance, outstanding achievements, for the motherland's pharmaceutical industry has made great contributions. He is not only the pride of the Chinese nation, but also a recognized world cultural celebrity. Now, in front of Li Shizhen's tomb on the south bank of Yuhu Lake in qi zhou, there is a granite tomb door, and the four characters of "Light of Science" are engraved on the beam, which is the highest praise from Chinese descendants.

10, Li Shizhen said in the original preface of Compendium of Materia Medica that reading ancient books and classics is just like eating sugar and chewing sugar cane. "If you love classics for a long time, if you like sugarcane", Compendium of Materia Medica is a book with additions and deletions. When Compendium was written, Li Shizhen was seventy-six, ready to pay tribute to the imperial court. He himself foresaw his dying days, and he was "suddenly killed". Li Shizhen wrote a petition to his son Jianyuan before he died, and asked him to give it to the emperor.

Not long after, during the Wanli period, Zongshen wrote a book on the history of the country, and made contributions to four literary works. Jianyuan dedicated his father's will and the book "Outline". The emperor praised it, and the court ordered it to be written and published in two cities and two provinces. Since then, "scholar-officials have their own books." From then on, materia medica can be regarded as a masterpiece. The emperor's statement in Li Shizhen's suicide note is roughly as follows: After a long time, many drugs are the same thing with different names, and different things have the same name, some are illegible, some are wrongly classified, and some drugs are toxic but similar to non-toxic drugs, which increases the difficulty of collecting drugs and affects the therapeutic effect. There are also some new drugs discovered in past dynasties that were not recorded in previous books, so many drugs were supplemented and revised. There are more than 1500 kinds recorded in old books, and 374 kinds have been added to Compendium of Materia Medica. It is divided into 16 parts and 52 volumes. Taking the "rectification of the name" of drugs as the key link and "attached release" as the purpose; In addition, the source, smell, indications, etc. of the drugs are recorded in detail by collecting solutions, distinguishing doubts and correcting mistakes. There are many reference books in this book, from graves to books, as long as there are stakeholders, they are included in the book. Although it is called a medical book, it actually explains the principles of everything and medicine. I hope the emperor can "focus on Confucian officials and make it a masterpiece of Zhao Dynasty" and make this book a good reference book to guide doctors to use. In his later years, Li Shizhen claimed to be a mountain man by the lake, and his works included Poems on Collected Books, Medical Records, Pulse Tactics, Graph Theory of Five Zangs, Sanjiao Puzzle, Ming Men Kao, Poems and so on. Because his son Jianzhong was an official, he was named Wen. Li Shizhen is not only an excellent doctor and herbalist, but also a practitioner of immortal art. He meditates and works out every night, pretending to be immortal. Look at Gu Jingxing's Biography of Li Shizhen and you will know: "When I was a child, I heard anecdotes about my husband, filial piety and Rao Yinde. I travel from my father at night, study in and out during the day and stay up late at night. Is it accidental? " There is a comment on Zhang Ziyang's Eight Pulse Meridians in Shi Zhen's "Hu Ling Pulse Studies": "The meridians contained in Ziyang Eight Pulse Meridians are slightly different from what doctors said, but they are' internal tunnels'. Only those who look back can observe them and their words must be true." It just shows that the secrets of the eight strange meridians observed by the Xiuxian family are different from those recognized by doctors, and they are observed in the opposite direction.

In addition, as a master of medicine and cultivation of immortals, he attached great importance to the secret of "the eight strange meridians". Therefore, in his Eight Veins of Strange Classics, it is believed that both doctors and practitioners must know the Eight Veins of Strange Classics. He said, "Doctors don't know this, and it's no use visiting sick machines. If the fairy doesn't know this, the furnace tripod will be difficult to secure. " "The doctor knows the eight veins, and the twelve meridians and fifteen collaterals are of great use; Fairy and tiger have eight veins, tiger and dragon rise and fall, mysterious and mysterious, wonderful. " China medicine is a huge treasure house, which contains many precious scientific heritages. China's long-term drug knowledge was mostly recorded in herbal books of past dynasties. Because the description of the source, nature, identification, preparation and formula of some drugs in Materia Medica involves a wide range of chemical knowledge, Materia Medica has become a rich content and source of chemistry in ancient and medieval China, and it is a brilliant achievement in China's chemical history. Li Shizhen is an outstanding pharmacologist who has made great contributions to materia medica.