New Annotated Edition of Compendium of Materia Medica (Volumes 1 and 2): Reduced-Size Edition

Author: Li Shizhen (Ming Dynasty) / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Li Shizhen spent 27 years referencing over 800 books to write Compendium of Materia Medica, and then used more than a decade to revise and perfect it before its first publication in 1593. The newly annotated edition of Compendium of Materia Medica is a masterpiece of contemporary research on the work, completed by the father-and-son team Liu Hengru and Liu Shanyong over more than 20 years. Using two of the only remaining Jincheng editions as the main and secondary base texts, and referencing three Jiangxi editions and nine Ming-Qing editions, they meticulously checked nearly 400 books cited by Li Shizhen against their best preserved versions. For instance, Compendium of Materia Medica alone selected 15 historical editions from dozens of versions as reference texts. While restoring the original meaning of Compendium of Materia Medica to the greatest extent possible, they also carefully corrected some errors. The edition has the following four major features: ① Authoritative annotators ② Extensive use of versions ③ Highly accurate text ④ Rich content. This annotated edition is a monumental work, the most accurate in text, exquisite in illustrations, comprehensive in annotations, and thorough in research since the first Jincheng edition was published 400 years ago. It holds irreplaceable value for reading and studying Compendium of Materia Medica. For this reason, the new 16-page hardcover annotated edition of Compendium of Materia Medica published by this press won the National Outstanding Science and Technology Book Award in 1999, the National Progress Award (Book Category), and was nominated for the Fourth National Book Award. In recognition of the touching dedication of annotator Liu Shanyong in inheriting his father’s legacy and devotedly researching the work for over a decade, CCTV’s "Eastern Sons" program reported on his story, and the People’s Daily published a lengthy commentary by Professor Qian Chaocen, President of the National Li Shizhen Research Association, titled "Ten Years of Solitude in Annotating Compendium of Materia Medica" as a tribute.