The Medical Works of Li Shizen
Bhati 1
Shaktisinh Bhati
History CHW3M7-01
Mr. Stockdale
October 9, 2012
The Medical Works of Li Shizhen
How did the medical work of Li Shizhen aid in the dominance of the Chinese Empire over other nations in the world? The Chinese Empire was a dominant world force during the ruling of the Ming Dynasty. Advances were being made in many different areas which helped the Chinese Empire become a superior nation. One important area of advancement was medicine. The Chinese had used herbal medicine throughout their history as a primary method of curing illnesses (Liao, Jianwei “Famous People of China: China 's Greatest Pharmacologist”). Li Shizhen was a medical practitioner who spent a great deal of his life practicing medicine produced from natural resources to help treat people (Hammond, Stapleton 2). His work had helped the Chinese Empire rise above the other empires because of advancements made in medicine and pharmacy, and providing an important medical reference for future generations. Li Shizhen was a significant factor in the history of China for his incredible work, which is remembered even presently. Li Shizhen was grew up in a family who had been practicing medicine for generations; his grandfather, and his father Li Yanwen were both doctors. He would travel with his father to different locations where he collected herbs for medicine and observe his father practice. He abandoned his scholarly studies to pursue his passion in medicine. Li Shizhen’s father accepted the decision and passed onto him all that he knew of his profession (Liao, Jianwei “Famous People of China: China 's Greatest Pharmacologist”). Li Shizhen began to study and practice medicine with his father. He studied many books on medicine and began to conduct his own experiments about the text he read. Li criticised many numerous book he read because they did not seem practical or contained errors. (Hammond, Stapleton 6). Becoming discouraged by the available information on the
Shaktisinh Bhati
History CHW3M7-01
Mr. Stockdale
October 9, 2012
The Medical Works of Li Shizhen
How did the medical work of Li Shizhen aid in the dominance of the Chinese Empire over other nations in the world? The Chinese Empire was a dominant world force during the ruling of the Ming Dynasty. Advances were being made in many different areas which helped the Chinese Empire become a superior nation. One important area of advancement was medicine. The Chinese had used herbal medicine throughout their history as a primary method of curing illnesses (Liao, Jianwei “Famous People of China: China 's Greatest Pharmacologist”). Li Shizhen was a medical practitioner who spent a great deal of his life practicing medicine produced from natural resources to help treat people (Hammond, Stapleton 2). His work had helped the Chinese Empire rise above the other empires because of advancements made in medicine and pharmacy, and providing an important medical reference for future generations. Li Shizhen was a significant factor in the history of China for his incredible work, which is remembered even presently. Li Shizhen was grew up in a family who had been practicing medicine for generations; his grandfather, and his father Li Yanwen were both doctors. He would travel with his father to different locations where he collected herbs for medicine and observe his father practice. He abandoned his scholarly studies to pursue his passion in medicine. Li Shizhen’s father accepted the decision and passed onto him all that he knew of his profession (Liao, Jianwei “Famous People of China: China 's Greatest Pharmacologist”). Li Shizhen began to study and practice medicine with his father. He studied many books on medicine and began to conduct his own experiments about the text he read. Li criticised many numerous book he read because they did not seem practical or contained errors. (Hammond, Stapleton 6). Becoming discouraged by the available information on the
Cited: Hammond, Kenneth James., and Kristin Eileen. Stapleton. The Human Tradition in Modern China. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. Books.google.ca. Google.ca. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Liao, Yan, and Jianwei Wang. "China 's Greatest Pharmacologist." Famous People of China. Broomall: Mason Crest, 2006. N. pag. Http://www.ebscohost.com/. EBSCO Publishing. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Lin, Xu. "Top 10 Classics on Traditional Chinese Medicine." China.org.cn. China.org, 15 Sept. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2012. <http://www.china.org.cn/wap/2011-09/15/content_23445513_6.htm>.