History of traditional Chinese medicine on display at Shanghai museum
A new exhibition at Shanghai History Museum explores the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practices in the city through more than 300 artifacts, including a treasured first print copy of Bencao Gangmu, or Compendium of Materia Medica, by Li Shizhen (1518-1593).
Li spent almost 30 years compiling the encyclopedia, considered to be one of the greatest medical works in Chinese history, which consists of 52 volumes, with medical substances categorized into three main types: minerals, plants and animals. About 160 editions of the work have been discovered to date, the earliest being the Jinling edition, which is considered to be the original version. The copy on display at the History Museum has been loaned from Shanghai Library for one week.
