Small Preface to the Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica

A guest once asked me, "I have heard that you are writing a Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica original: "Bencao Gangmu Shiyi". Is this true?"

I replied, "It is."

The guest said, "Master Binhu The courtesy name of Li Shizhen (1518–1593), the most famous pharmacologist in Chinese history and author of the original Compendium. was a man of immense learning who exhausted the study of countless books. His work encompassed a hundred generations, examining texts and investigating traditions from the Classics and Histories down to the most minor records. He collected everything in detail to establish a singular school of thought. Furthermore, at that time, he spared no expense in labor or cost, inviting the empire’s finest physicians and inquiring everywhere into local customs. He traveled to the most remote and secluded regions to find their products, and braved dangerous peaks to explore their flora. Even obscure items like the Mandrake original: "Yabulu" (押不蘆), a plant from the West often identified as Mandragora, mentioned in the Yuan Dynasty "Guixin Zhashi". or the Mummy original: "Munaishi" (木乃伊), recorded in the "Chuogeng Lu" as a medicinal substance from the Middle East.—which were only known through rare miscellaneous records—were all included by Binhu. What could possibly have been left out that is waiting for you to 'gather' it? Looking at your project, does it not seem like adding an extra finger to a hand or a superfluous wart to the skin?" A classical metaphor for something redundant or unnecessary.

I replied, "Yes and no. It is true that Binhu’s book is indeed vast. However, as living things exist over long periods, their varieties become even more numerous. As popular tastes lean toward the curious, rare and excellent specimens are collected more than ever before. Thus, medicines like the 'Ding-vine' or 'Chen-medicine' were not seen in the Divine Farmer's Classic original: "Benjing," the earliest Chinese materia medica.. Plants like Jili and Jinu Refers to Shaoqi (Jili) and Siphonostegia chinensis (Jinu), which were added to the medical canon in later eras. were only passed down by later generations. The study of birds and insects was greatly expanded in the works of Simiao Sun Simiao (581–682), the 'King of Medicine' from the Tang Dynasty. and his writings on decoctions..."