1. Li Shizhen, courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty.
10 Facts About Li Shizhen
1. 2.
Li Shizhen is the author of a 27-year work, the Compendium of Materia Medica.
3.
Li Shizhen developed several methods for classifying herb components and medications for treating diseases.
4.
Li Shizhen lived during the Ming dynasty and was influenced by the Neo-Confucian beliefs of the time.
5.
Li Shizhen's grandfather was a doctor who traveled the countryside and was considered relatively low on the social scale of the time.
6.
Li Shizhen's father was a traditional physician and scholar who had written several influential books.
7.
Li Shizhen encouraged his son to seek a government position.
8.
Li Shizhen began correcting some of the mistakes and conflicting information in these medical publications.
9.
Li Shizhen soon began the book Compendium of Materia Medica to compile correct information with a logical system of organization.
10.
Li Shizhen broke them down to animal, mineral, and plant and divided those categories by their source.