Shennong Materia Medica Classic, also known as Materia Medica Classic or Benjing, is one of the four classic works of traditional Chinese medicine. As the earliest extant Chinese medicine book, it originated from Shennong's family and was passed down from generation to generation. It was assembled and compiled into a book in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was not completed for a while, and the author was not the same. Many medical scientists in Qin and Han Dynasties collected, summarized and compiled the monographs of pharmacological experience at that time, which was the first systematic summary of traditional Chinese medicine in China. Before Li Shizhen published Compendium of Materia Medica, it was always regarded as the most authoritative medical book.
Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica systematically summarizes the medication experience of ancient physicians and other aspects, and makes a comprehensive and systematic arrangement of the drug knowledge that has been mastered. The book contains 365 kinds of drugs, which coincides with 365 days of the year. This is not a coincidence, but the result of the author's intention. In fact, the number of drugs mastered at that time had far exceeded this number. However, due to the influence of the idea of mathematical skills, 365 kinds of drugs were selected, "the method is 365 degrees, and once it should be one day, it will be one year old".
Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica not only collects drugs, but also classifies the collected drugs consciously, and divides 365 drugs into three categories according to the top, middle and bottom, which is called "three-product classification". The classification is mainly based on the performance and efficacy of drugs.
It is said in the Preface to the Classic: "One hundred and twenty kinds of medicines are kings, which are mainly used to support life and are non-toxic, and will not hurt people if taken for a long time," such as ginseng, licorice, rehmannia root, jujube and so on; "One hundred and twenty kinds of traditional Chinese medicines are ministers, and their main nourishment is to respond to people. They are non-toxic and toxic, so we should consider them appropriately." , need to distinguish the medicinal properties to use, such as lily, angelica, longan, coptis, ephedra, angelica dahurica, scutellaria, etc.; "One hundred and twenty-five kinds of drugs are used as assistants, and the main treatment should be based on the local conditions. It is toxic and cannot be taken for a long time." Such as rhubarb, aconite, kansui, croton, etc.
Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica also contains rich and profound drug theory, which lays the theoretical framework of pharmacology. This part is mainly found in the preface, which is equivalent to the general introduction of the book. Although the text is not long, there are only 13 articles, but it has covered all aspects of pharmacology.
Taking the compatibility of drugs as an example, the principle of prescription composition is put forward in Shennong Herbal Classic. The so-called monarch, minister and assistant are members of different classes in society and have different functions and grades. Pharmacology uses them to explain the different roles of drugs in compatibility, such as top-grade drugs are monarch drugs, Chinese drugs are minister drugs, and inferior drugs are assistant drugs. When formulating prescriptions, we should fully consider the characteristics of drugs, including monarch drugs, minister drugs and assistant drugs. Its proportion can be handled according to the principle of one monarch, two ministers, three assistants, five ambassadors or one monarch, three ministers and nine assistants.
In drug compatibility, two or more drugs are used in one prescription, which will have different reactions with each other: some drugs can play a greater role when used together, and some drugs will reduce the medicinal properties of the other when they meet; Some drugs can restrict the toxicity of another drug; Some two drugs are not toxic in themselves, but if they meet, they will have great toxicity and cannot be used together. In Shen Nong's Classic of Materia Medica, * * * summarizes seven kinds of relationships, including one-way, mutual necessity, mutual fear, mutual evil, opposite and mutual killing, and holds that the "seven emotions" should be "combined and regarded", which is the compatibility principle of "seven emotions combined and harmonious".
The efficacy and indications of various drugs in Shennong Herbal Classic are briefly recorded and described, which is undoubtedly a summary of valuable experience in early clinical pharmacy. Long-term clinical practice and modern research have proved that most of the knowledge about the efficacy of drugs contained in Shennong Materia Medica Classic is correct, and many of them are still widely used in clinic, such as ginseng tonifying, coptis stopping dysentery, ephedra stopping asthma, Changshan stopping malaria, rhubarb diarrhea and so on. Moreover, there are a wide range of diseases treated by various drugs, about 170, including diseases of internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, five senses and other departments. In addition, Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica covers the nature and taste, origin, collection and processing methods of drugs, as well as the principles and methods of medication, which greatly enriches the knowledge system of pharmacology.