Li Shizhen was a doctor and writer in the Ming Dynasty. He spent 27 years writing a medical book, Ben Cao Gang Mu ( Compendium of Materia Medica), which is a great contribution to traditional Chinese medicine.
  Background
Shizhen was born into a family of doctors in today’s Hubei Province in 1518. His grandfather was a travelling doctor who journeyed from place to place to treat sick people. His father was a doctor and scholar.
  Early life
When Shizhen was young, he followed his father to the mountains to pick herbs and learn about animals, plants and medicine. Also, he followed his father on medical calls. He was fascinated by his father’s work. He wanted to become a doctor one day. However, his father would like him to get a job in the government and encouraged him to take the civil service exam. At the age of 14, Shizhen passed the exam at the county level. Unfortunately, he failed the exam at the national level three times. He gave up the goal of working in the government eventually.
  Career path
Later his father took him on as an apprentice and passed on his medical knowledge to him. Shizhen studied very hard and read many medical books. A few years later, he became a famous doctor in town.
When he was 38, Shizhen cured the son of the Prince of the Chu State. He was then invited to work as a medical official in the royal court. Later, he was recommended to the Imperial Medical Institute in Beijing as an assistant president. While working in the government, he read many rare medical books. He left the government shortly and returned to his work as a doctor.
  Achievements
Shizhen found that there were serious problems in most medical books at that time, e.g. obvious mistakes, conflicting information and disorderly organisation. He thought sick people would suffer a lot if doctors gave them the wrong herbs as medicine. He decided to write a medical book and entitled it Ben Cao Gang Mu, to provide correct information about herbs in an organised way.
It took Shizhen 27 years to compile the medical book. He travelled extensively to collect information for Ben Cao Gang Mu. He interviewed people and gained first-hand experience with many herbs and local remedies. Also, he made reference to over 800 medical books (nearly every medical book available at that time). Ben Cao Gang Mu listed, analysed and described all the plants, animals, minerals, and other objects that were believed to be able to cure diseases. The first draft was completed in 1578. Shizhen died in 1593 at the age of 75. The great medical book, Ben Cao Gang Mu, was first published three years after his death.
      Other information
Ben Cao Gang Mu remains one of the most important reference books for herbal medicine. It has been translated, totally or partially, into different languages. Also, it was recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2011.

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Suggested answers

Suggested answers

Li Shizhen wanted to become a doctor because he ___.
was fascinated by his father’s work
What did Li Shizhen’s father want him to become when he was young?
a government official
Did Li Shizhen like to work as a medical official? How do you know?
No, he didn’t. It was because he left the work in the government shortly.
Li Shizhen had worked as ___.
an apprentice under his father’s supervision
What were the problems of the medical books at that time?
all of the above
What did Li Shizhen do to collect information for Ben Cao Gang Mu? He ___.
all of the above
Ben Cao Gang Mu was first published in ____.
1596

Part A

Read the biography of Li Shizhen. Arrange the events in chronological order by clicking each text box and choosing the correct event.