The Compendium of Materia Medica was written by Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist and naturalist in the Ming Dynasty. It is the most globally influential pharmacy and naturalism classic in China. It combines the highest achievements of ancient Chinese medicine, and extensively covers related fields such as biology, chemistry, astronomy, geography, geology, mining, etc. It has become the largest and most abundant masterpiece in the history of ancient Chinese science and technology, and was once praised by British biologist Darwin as the "encyclopedia of China".
The Compendium of Materia Medica has not only been a mandatory scripture for physicians for 400 years, but also profoundly influenced the lives of Chinese people. The Compendium of Materia Medica is a collection of the great achievements of Chinese people in the cultivation, harvesting, preparation, and medical and nutritional effects of medicines and food for thousands of years. It has had a profound impact on later food nutrition, culinary studies, medicine, planting studies, and people's daily lives. The idea of the same origin of medicine and food has been deeply influenced to this day, becoming an important part of Chinese culture and tradition, and has always influenced Chinese people's food choices and health preservation methods.
In order to present this masterpiece of ancient China in a perfect modern way and cater to the reading taste of modern readers, "Illustrated Compendium of Materia Medica" has made two major editorial innovations to the original work: firstly, it has simplified and simplified the content. The original text of "Compendium of Materia Medica" is too lengthy, and some of the species recorded in it are now difficult to visit or have been proven to have toxic side effects. Therefore, we have carried out practical refinement, including commonly used and accessible species, as well as precise therapeutic formulas, in order to truly exert the effects of health preservation and disease treatment in daily life. Even though we strive for excellence, we still retain over 1200 types of products, including 2066 practical and effective attachments, without losing our "comprehensive" capacity. Secondly, the graphics are rich and practical. For the first time, over 500 accurate and realistic color hand drawn images were provided, vividly depicting the original ecology of medicinal plants. This not only facilitates natural ecology enthusiasts to search for medicinal plants in the wild, but also has great ornamental value. At the same time, more than 300 frames of physical display photos of traditional Chinese medicine are provided to present the form of Chinese medicine when it is used in medicine, making it convenient for expert level readers to appreciate and identify in pharmacies and herbal markets. We even included 1031 ancient line drawings from the authoritative Jinling edition of the Compendium of Materia Medica. The three levels of illustrations, from the most modern to the most ancient, have added greater value to the Compendium of Materia Medica.