Shen Nong's Herbal (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Li Shizhen (Ming Dynasty) / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
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 two decades. Using two remaining Jingshi editions as the main and secondary base texts, and referring to three Jiangxi editions and nine Ming-Qing editions as supplementary, the annotators meticulously checked nearly 400 books cited by Li Shizhen against their best existing versions. For instance, Compendium of Materia Medica with Annotations alone selected 15 historical editions from dozens of versions as supplementary references. While striving to restore the original meaning of Compendium of Materia Medica to the greatest extent possible, the annotators 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 in 400 years since the first Jingshi edition, renowned for its highly accurate text, exquisite illustrations of medicinal herbs, meticulous annotations, and thorough research. It holds irreplaceable value for reading and studying Compendium of Materia Medica. For this reason, the newly annotated hardcover edition of Compendium of Materia Medica published by this press won the National Excellent Science and Technology Book Award in 1999, the National Progress Award (for works) in 1999, and was nominated for the Fourth National Book Award. The touching story of Liu Shanyong, the annotator, inheriting his father’s legacy and dedicating himself to research for over a decade, was reported by CCTV’s "Children of the East" program; the People’s Daily also published a lengthy commentary by Qian Chaocen, the president of the National Li Shizhen Research Association, titled "Ten Years of Solitude in Annotating Compendium of Materia Medica," as a tribute.