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Book/Printed Material Ben cao gang mu : Wu shi er juan, fu tu er juan 本草綱目 : 五十二卷, 附圖二卷

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About this Item

Title

  • Ben cao gang mu : Wu shi er juan, fu tu er juan

Other Title

  • 本草綱目 : 五十二卷, 附圖二卷

Translated Title

  • Compendium of Materia Medica, 52 Juan; Illustrations, in Two Juan

Summary

  • Ben cao gang mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) is a systematic encyclopedia of traditional Chinese medicine before the 16th century. The work, in 52 juan of text and two juan of illustrations, consists of 1,892 entries, 374 of them added by the author and compiler Li Shizhen (1518-93). Included are about 11,000 prescriptions. It is a priceless legacy of the treasury of Chinese medicine and still applicable. Li Shizhen completed the first draft of the text in 1578, but it was not published until the 21st year (1593) of the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty, after his death, when it was printed by Hu Chenglong in Jinling. The Jinling copy is the earliest version, drawn and proofread by the Li family and considered the original edition. At present it is kept in the Shanghai Library and in the library of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing. In the 31st year (1603) of the Wanli reign, the work was reprinted in Jiangxi. The later editions were all based on the 1603 edition and spread widely throughout the country. The original 1590 preface by Wang Shizhen (1526--90), the reprint preface by Zhang Dingsi dated 1603, the editorial guide, table of contents, the start of juan one, and illustrations are shown here. Ben cao gang mu was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2011.

Names

  • Li, Shizhen, 1518-1593 Author
  • Wang, Shizhen, 1526-1590 Author of Introduction, etc
  • Zhang, Dingsi, 1543-1603 Author of Introduction, etc

Created / Published

  • Jiangxi Sheng : Zhang Dingsi, 1603.

Headings

  • -  China
  • -  1578 to 1603
  • -  Materia medica
  • -  Medicine, Chinese
  • -  Memory of the World

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Only the original preface (1590), reprint preface (1603), explanatory notes, and juan 1 of the prefatory material are included in the WDL presentation."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 56 volumes ; 22.6 x 15.5 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of China.
  • -  Content in Chinese.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
  • -  Title revised per Asian Division.--cc28 2023-01-06

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666452

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Li, Shizhen, Author, Shizhen Wang, and Dingsi Zhang. Ben cao gang mu: Wu shi er juan, fu tu er juan. Jiangxi Sheng: Zhang Dingsi, 1603. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666452/.

APA citation style:

LI, S., Wang, S. & Zhang, D. (1603) Ben cao gang mu: Wu shi er juan, fu tu er juan. Jiangxi Sheng: Zhang Dingsi. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666452/.

MLA citation style:

Li, Shizhen, Author, Shizhen Wang, and Dingsi Zhang. Ben cao gang mu: Wu shi er juan, fu tu er juan. Jiangxi Sheng: Zhang Dingsi, 1603. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666452/>.