Grand View Herbal

Author: Tang Shenwei (Song Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: April 1, 2002
Features: This book is based on the Jingshi Zhenglei Beiji Bencao written by Tang Shenwei during the Song Dynasty. In the second year of the Great View era (1108), Ai Sheng compiled the Biye section of Chen Cheng's Chongguang Buzhu Shennong Bencao Bingtu Jing into the book, renaming it Da Guan Jingshi Zhenglei Beiji Bencao, abbreviated as Da Guan Bencao. The book consists of 31 volumes, with 1 volume of the index, listing 1,745 medicinal substances, including 628 newly added ones, and appending over 3,000 ancient prescriptions. It collects the medical and pharmaceutical knowledge from various famous works before the Tang and Song dynasties, as well as from historical records, geographical texts, poetry, miscellaneous records, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, and other related fields of herbal medicine. It provides detailed descriptions of the functions, collection methods, processing techniques, identification, and insights of renowned physicians for each medicinal substance. The book extensively references over 500 rare manuscripts before the Song Dynasty, preserving much of the medical and pharmaceutical literature that has since been lost. For the ancient herbal medicine materials it includes, the book transcribes the original texts in chronological order, making it more distinctive than Bencao Gangmu in preserving the original form of earlier herbal medicine texts. Therefore, this book serves as an important source for studying the development of ancient herbal medicine, the history of individual herbs, compiling ancient prescriptions, and preserving ancient herbal medicine. It is also a valuable reference for future exploration of China's medical heritage and the enrichment and advancement of Chinese medicine.