The author of Compendium of Materia Medica is Li Shizhen.
Li Shizhen (1518-1593), whose name was Dongbi, was born near the lake. In his later years, he was born in Qizhou, Hubei Province (now Qizhou Town, Qichun County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province). Li Shizhen has consulted more than 8 kinds of books on medicine and its academic studies in past dynasties, combined with his own experience and investigation, and compiled a book Compendium of Materia Medica for 27 years.
Introduction
Compendium of Materia Medica has 52 volumes, containing 1,892 kinds of drugs, including 374 kinds of new drugs, collecting 11,96 prescriptions, and drawing l111 exquisite illustrations, which is a precious heritage in China's medical treasure house.
Compendium of Materia Medica has made great achievements not only in pharmacology, but also in chemistry, geology and astronomy. In the history of chemistry, it recorded a series of chemical reactions of pure metals, metals, metal chlorides and sulfides earlier. At the same time, some operation methods applied in modern chemistry, such as distillation, crystallization, sublimation, precipitation and drying, are also recorded.
Li Shizhen also pointed out that the moon, like the earth, is a celestial body with mountains and rivers. Compendium of Materia Medica is not only a masterpiece of pharmacology in China, but also an encyclopedia in ancient China.