Li Shizhen

Li Shizhen (1518–1593), courtesy name Dongbi and pseudonym Binhu, was a native of Qizhou (present-day Qichun) in Hubei and a renowned Ming dynasty physician and pharmacologist. Born into a family of physicians, he served as a memorial official in the Prince of Chu's household and as a judge in the Imperial Medical Academy, gaining long exposure to medical texts and clinical practice. Over twenty-seven years he compiled the Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), a systematic survey of medicinal substances with lasting influence. His other works include Binhu Maixue (Binhu's Pulse Studies), known as an introduction to pulse diagnosis, and Qijing Bamai Kao (Study of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians). The library holds twenty-seven of his works, mostly on materia medica and pulse studies, along with an art-related compilation, reflecting the wide circulation of his writings. Public information is limited, and this note relies only on well-established facts.