Chapter 54 234 Li Shizhen Goes to the Mountain to Collect Herbs

Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty had been on the throne for more than 40 years, enjoying himself to his heart's content, but he was worried that he would grow old day by day, die one day, and he would not be able to live a happy life.So, he did everything possible to find a prescription for immortality. In 1556 AD, the imperial court ordered officials from all over the country to recommend famous doctors.At that time, the king of Chu, who was enshrined in Wuchang, recommended Li Shizhen, a doctor who was in the palace, to the imperial hospital.Li Shizhen was from Qizhou (now Qichun, Hubei, Qiyin qi).Both his grandfather and father were doctors.His father, Li Yanwen, has a lot of research on medicinal herbs. Li Shizhen was influenced by his father since childhood, and often went to the mountains with his friends to collect various medicinal herbs.After a long time, he can recognize the names of various plants and trees, and he can also know what kind of grass can cure what kind of disease.His medical knowledge gradually enriched.

However, in those days, being an ordinary doctor was looked down upon by the upper class.Li Yanwen was a doctor himself, but he asked Li Shizhen to study and pass the imperial examination.Under the urging of her father, Li Shizhen passed the examination of scholar at the age of fourteen, but she failed in the examination three times after she took part in the Juren examination.Others feel sorry for him, but Li Shizhen is not disappointed.His wish is to be a good doctor who treats the common people. From then on, Li Shizhen devoted herself to studying medicine with his father.Just in this year, there was a big flood in his hometown. After the flood receded, epidemic disease spread again, and those who fell ill were poor people with no money.Li Shizhen's family is not well-off, but both father and son sympathize with the poor. When the poor seek medical treatment from them, they treat them wholeheartedly, regardless of remuneration.The common people think that they have excellent medical skills and enthusiasm in treating diseases, and are very grateful to them.

Li Shizhen read many ancient medical books in order to study medicine.In ancient my country, there were medical books very early.People in the Han Dynasty wrote one, and many new medical books have been published for more than a thousand years.Li Shizhen often treated the local princes and nobles, and those nobles had a lot of books in their homes. Li Shizhen borrowed books from the princes and nobles' homes because of the convenience of his medical practice.In this way, his knowledge became more and more abundant, and his medical skills became more and more sophisticated. Li Shizhen's reputation became more and more famous, and those who were treated by him publicized Dr. Li's goodness everywhere.People from nearby prefectures and counties who were sick also came to invite Li Shizhen to see a doctor.

Once, the son of King Chu had a convulsion.Although there are medical officers in Chu Palace, no one can cure him.This child is the lifeblood of King Chu, why is King Chu not in a hurry?Someone told the king of Chu that the disease could be cured only by looking for Li Shizhen. The king of Chu quickly sent someone to invite Li Shizhen to the palace.Li Shizhen saw the patient's face and pressed the pulse, and knew that the child's convulsions were caused by gastrointestinal problems.He wrote a prescription for regulating the stomach and intestines, and asked someone to go to the pharmacy to get the medicine.As soon as the king of Chu's son took the medicine, he was completely cured.

The king of Chu was very happy, and repeatedly asked Li Shizhen to stay in the mansion of the king of Chu.There are not many days, and the court is soliciting talents.In order to please Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, King Chu recommended Li Shizhen to Beijing Tai Hospital. Tai Hospital was originally the highest medical institution in the country.But at that time, Ming Shizong didn't pay much attention to real medicine, but superstitiously believed in a group of deceptive alchemists, who worked in the palace as dojos and made alchemy pills, hoping to make himself immortal by these methods.Li Shizhen is an upright doctor, and she can't understand the smoky environment.He stayed in Tai Hospital for a year, then resigned and went home.

Li Shizhen resigned from office and visited many famous mountain resorts on the way home.He went up the mountain not to enjoy the scenery, but to collect herbs and study the medicinal properties of various plants.Once, he went to Wudang Mountain in Junzhou (now Jun County, Hubei Province), and heard that there was a kind of mango plum grown there, which could make people rejuvenate after eating. People called it "fairy fruit".The nobles in the court regarded it as a treasure, requiring local officials to pay tribute every year, and prohibiting the common people from picking it.Li Shizhen didn't believe that there were any fairy fruits.In order to find out the truth, he took risks and climbed the cliff, picked a nutmeg and brought it back to his hometown.After careful research, he realized that the fruit was just like ordinary plums, which had the effect of promoting body fluids and quenching thirst, and it was not a "fairy fruit" at all.

Li Shizhen obtained a lot of scientific information from the long-term medical work and the process of collecting medicines.He found that there were many mistakes in the records in ancient medical books; besides, after so many years, people have discovered many medicinal herbs that were not recorded in ancient books.He decided to write a new and complete medicine book.After resigning and returning home, he spent nearly thirty years writing famous medical works.In this book, a total of 1,892 kinds of medicines are recorded, and more than 10,000 prescriptions are collected, which has made great contributions to the development of medical science in the motherland.

After publication, it has been spread all over the world, and has been translated into Japanese, German, English, French, Russian, Latin and many other languages, occupying an important position in the world's medical field. As for Ming Shizong, who was superstitious in alchemy and wanted to live forever, he not only failed to live forever, but lost his life because he took the poisonous "golden pill" by mistake.After Ming Shizong's death, his son Zhu Zaihou (sound hou) came to the throne, that is, Ming Muzong.