Chapter Two Li Shizhen Medical Culture, a Window to the World

“Li Shizhen does not belong to Qichun only. He and his Compendium of Materia Medica are valuable treasures for all mankind. Li shizhen is a unique brand in Hubei, in China, and in the world. It is a rich medical and cultural mine to be exploited.”

This year is the 500th anniversary of Li Shizhen, the great medical herbologist of the Ming Dynasty. Upon this special occasion, Zhang Liangsen,director of the Institute of Science and Culture of Li Shizhen and scholar of Qichun history and literature, commented:“Qichun is located in the eastern part of Hubei Province, the southern foothills of the Dabie Mountains, and the northern shore of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, where ample sunlight, mild climate, and sufficient rainfall prevail. The natural environment is suitable for the growth of various plants and animals, from which Li Shizhen drew his inspirations and compiled his great medical book.”

第二章李時珍醫道文化走向世界

“李時珍不僅僅屬于蘄春，他和他的《本草綱目》也是全人類的寶貴財富，是具有湖北唯一性、中國唯一性、世界唯一性的特色品牌，更是一座亟待開采的醫道文化富礦。”

Li Shizhen, courtesy name Dongbi, pseudonym Binhu,switched from the study of Confucian Classics to medical practice after three failures at the provincial examination (the prelevel of Imperial Examination). He then spent his whole life compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica. With 1.9 million characters in 52 volumes, the book describes 1,892 distinct herbs, 11,096 prescriptions for various diseases,plus 1,100 illustrations.

It is China’s most important book on traditional pharmaceuticals before the 16th century, and regarded by Charles Darwin (1809-1882) as “an ancient Chinese encyclopaedia.” Zhang Liangsen said that, Li Shizhen began to learn from Gu Riyan, a famous tutor in Qizhou at the age of five. Later in his life, Li Shizhen treated diseases for locals and practiced medicine for a long time in the Xuanmiao Temple. He was influenced by both Confucian culture and Taoist culture, which stamped in him a profound and solid sense of Chinese culture.

Wang Shizhen (1526-1590), a noted writer of the Ming Dynasty,commented on Li Shizhen’s book:“It’s not only a medical book; it is a book trying to find out the nature of things and to reflect the subtleties of nature.” In this regard,Zhang Liangsen believes that Li Shizhen’s medical culture has been passed down from generation to generation because of its rich philosophical ideology, which is the origin of its strong vitality.

One of Li Shizhen’s outstanding innovations is that he revolutionized the traditional classification which divided TCM materials into top,middle, and bottom levels. Instead,he divided them into 16 basic categories and thus established a comparatively scientific classification method. It was a huge contribution to the world’s medical sciences. Moreover, he summarized the mineralogical knowledge of the past centuries, which was surely enlightening for the modern study on microelements and health science.

“What we inherit is not only medical technology, methods of diagnosis and treatment, but the concept of health care that Li Shizhen medical culture conveys.His holistic philosophy of harmony among man, nature, and all life is still of practical significance today.”Zhang Liangsen continues, “The best way to inherit and develop the spirit of Li Shizhen and the traditional Chinese medicinal legacy is to build it into an internationally famous and strong brand. Li Shizhen will always live in the people of Qichun’s hearts.Qichun needs to open its door to the world so that people from other countries and regions will get to know more about this place.”

The statue of Li Shizhen in Li Shizhen Museum李時珍紀念館·李時珍雕像

2018年是偉大的醫藥學家李時珍誕辰500周年。值此之際，李時珍科技文化研究院院長、蘄春文史研究專家張梁森介紹說：蘄春地處湖北省東部，大別山南麓，長江中游北岸，這里光能充足、氣候溫和、雨量充足，特別適宜各種動植物的生長，自然環境得天獨厚，孕育了一代醫圣李時珍。

李時珍字東璧，號瀕湖，三次鄉試不第之后，23歲棄儒從醫，以畢生精力著成《本草綱目》，全書分為52卷，190萬字，記載藥物1892種，附圖1100幅，記載藥方11096個。

它是16世紀以前中國最系統最完備的一部醫藥巨典，被達爾文譽為中國古代的百科全書。張梁森說，李時珍從5歲起，從師于蘄州的名師顧日巖，后來，他為民治病療疾，長期在香火旺盛的玄妙觀行醫，受到儒學文化和道家文化的影響，具備深厚的中國傳統文化基礎。

明代文學家王世貞稱贊李時珍：“茲豈僅以醫書觀哉，實性理之精微，格物之通典。”對此，張梁森認為，正是包含豐富的哲學思想內涵，李時珍醫道文化才會綿延至今，仍然具有旺盛的生命力。

李時珍有許多創新之舉，他改變傳統中藥材的上、中、下三品的分類法，分為16部，建立科學的分類法，對世界醫藥學貢獻巨大。而且，李時珍總結古人的礦物學知識，對現代“微量元素與健康學”的研究具有啟發意義。

“我們要傳承的不僅是一種醫療技術，也不限于診療的方法，尤其是李時珍醫道達到的那種養生境界，那種人與自然、生命和諧的整體性觀念。這在今天仍然具備現實意義。”張梁森說：“傳承和發展李時珍科學精神和中醫藥文化遺產，就是要把這一國際知名品牌做好。李時珍永遠活在蘄春，要讓蘄春走向世界，讓世界了解蘄春。”