Li Shizhen was a Chinese physician, pharmacologist and naturalist of the Ming dynasty who, after repeated failure in the imperial civil service examinations, devoted himself to medicine. Over twenty-seven years he compiled the Bencao Gangmu, or Compendium of Materia Medica, a pharmacological reference of about 1,900 entries covering plant, animal and mineral substances, organized by category and habitat and illustrated with roughly 1,100 drawings and 11,000 prescriptions. He also described practical treatments, including methods for managing gallstones and reducing fever, and the Compendium was later translated into multiple languages and remains a foundational text in the history of pharmacology and botany.
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