Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) contains an extensive knowledge that the Chinese nation has accumulated through practical experimentation and theoretical research in treating diseases and promoting health over a period of thousands of years. Throughout the history, many TCM theorists, experts, and pharmacists have contributed valuable works. The most representative of them was Li Shizhen with his Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), which was praised by Charles Darwin as an 'encyclopaedia' of ancient China and was selected into Memory of the World Register by UNESCO in 2011.This book is divided into two parts: the introduction and the selected reading of the original work of Ben Cao Gang Mu. In the introductory part, the life story, academic characteristics and main contributions of Li Shizhen are illustrated, and suggested learning methods of the book are recommended. In the selected reading part, five aspects are mainly discussed: original preface and memorial to the throne, essence of Li Shizhen's medical theories, treatment of various diseases, Li Shizhen's medical records and medical notes, and health preservation. Apart from the selected reading from Ben Cao Gang Mu, theoretical exposition and modern application are supplemented in each chapter so as to improve readers' theoretical knowledge and ability of practical problem-solving.

Volume IX in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 47 through 52, devoted to fowls, domestic and wild animals, and human substances. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.

Volume II in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 5 through 11, devoted to waters, fires, soils, metals, jades, stones, minerals, and salts. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.

Volume IV in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 15 through 17, devoted to marshland herbs and poisonous herbs. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul U. Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.

Volume III in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 12 through 14, devoted to mountain herbs and fragrant herbs. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul U. Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.

Volume VII in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 34 through 37, devoted to woods. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul U. Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.

Volume V in the Ben cao gang mu series offers a complete translation of chapters 18 through 25, devoted to creeping herbs, water herbs, herbs growing on stones, mosses, and cereals. The Ben cao gang mu is a sixteenth-century Chinese encyclopedia of medical matter and natural history by Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The culmination of a sixteen-hundred-year history of Chinese medical and pharmaceutical literature, it is considered the most important and comprehensive book ever written in the history of Chinese medicine and remains an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners. This nine-volume series reveals an almost two-millennia-long panorama of wide-ranging observations and sophisticated interpretations, ingenious manipulations, and practical applications of natural substances for the benefit of human health. Paul U. Unschuld's annotated translation of the Ben cao gang mu, presented here with the original Chinese text, opens a rare window into viewing the people and culture of China's past.