Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty.
[1] The Compendium is a pharmacology text with 1,892 entries, with details about more than 1,800 traditional Chinese medicines, including 1,100 illustrations and 11,000 prescriptions.
[1][2] In addition to Compendium of Materia Medica, Li Shizhen wrote eleven other books,[3] including Binhu Maixue (Pin-hu Mai-hsueh; 瀕湖脈學; "A Study of the Pulse") and Qijing Bamai Kao (Chi-ching Pa-mai Kao; 奇經八脈考; "An Examination of the Eight Extra Meridians").
[5] Li Shizhen's grandfather was a doctor who traveled the countryside and was considered relatively low on the social scale of the time.
He soon began the book Compendium of Materia Medica to compile correct information with a logical system of organization.
In the writing of the Compendium of Materia Medica, he travelled, gaining first-hand experience with many herbs and local remedies and consulted over 800 books.
[4] In addition to writing Compendium of Materia Medica, Li wrote about gallstones, using ice to bring down a fever, and using steam and fumigants to prevent the spread of infection.
[6] He said that "To cure disease is like waiting until one is thirsty before digging a well..." and listed over 500 treatments to maintain good health and strengthen the body, 50 of which he invented himself.