(1)contents
• It presented a huge number of diverse materials: 1,892 medicinal substances (1,094 from plants; 444 from animals, and 275 from mineral sources), including 374 new items.
Li Shizhen was born in Qizhou( now Qizhou county)of Hubei province in China. Both his father and his grandfather were doctors. When he was a child, Li Shizhen was very interested in the nature of various herbal medicines . He helped his father collect herbal medicines and look after the patients.
3.His contribution--Compendium of Materia Medica
(1)Reason to write the book
• Chinese Materia Medica was a record of traditional Chinese medicine. During Li’s study and practice, he found many mistakes in the old Chinese Materia Medica and the compiling way was confused. So he made up his mind to compile a complete, accurate and new Chinese Materia Medica..