Li Shizhen (1518-1593)

This Chinese medical poster features a colorful, artistic portrait of Li Shizhen, the famous 16th-century physician and pharmacologist from the Ming Dynasty. He is depicted in traditional scholarly dark robes and a black cap, holding a medicinal plant with green leaves and delicate white flowers in his right hand. In his left hand, he holds a traditional calligraphy brush near a set of yellow double-gourd vessels used for storing remedies. The background is filled with detailed botanical illustrations of various herbs, flowers, and vines, reference charts, and Chinese characters. The bottom of the poster displays his name, historical lifespan (1518–1593), and descriptive Chinese text highlighting his monumental scientific achievement in compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu), listing 1,892 types of herbs and over 11,000 prescriptions.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges

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