《本草綱目》是一部藥物學(xué)的洋洋巨著，也可以說是生物學(xué)上一部較早的百科全書。它不僅是祖國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)發(fā)展史上的光輝成就，也為世界醫(yī)藥學(xué)和生物學(xué)做出了重大的貢獻(xiàn)。

《本草綱目》這部書在明代萬歷年間出版以后，很快就流傳到了日本、朝鮮和越南。十七、十八世紀(jì)傳入歐洲，立即得到各國(guó)的重視。先后被翻譯成英文、法文、德文、俄文和拉丁文出版。英國(guó)生物學(xué)家達(dá)爾文在撰寫關(guān)于進(jìn)化論的著作（《人類的由來》）時(shí)，還引用了《本草綱目》中關(guān)于金魚顏色的形成的史料，來說明動(dòng)物的人工選擇，可見這部著作的價(jià)值和影響是多么大。

這部巨著的作者是生活在明代嘉靖、萬歷年間的李時(shí)珍。李時(shí)珍最偉大的貢獻(xiàn)是對(duì)“本草”的研究和整理方面。《本草》是專講藥物的，李時(shí)珍在長(zhǎng)期的醫(yī)療實(shí)踐中，發(fā)現(xiàn)以前的本草不僅缺漏較多，而且有不少錯(cuò)誤，李時(shí)珍深知這些藥書上的混亂和錯(cuò)誤，會(huì)帶來治療上的嚴(yán)重后果，因此，他決心重新編寫一部本草。《本草綱目》是李時(shí)珍傾注了畢生精力的不朽巨作。可惜，這部書定稿之后不久，他便與世長(zhǎng)辭了，生前沒有看到這部書的出版。

Compendium of Materia Medica

Compendium of Materia Medica is a monumental work of pharmacology,also known as an earlier encyclopedia in the field of biology.It acts not only as a brilliant achievement in TCM development,but also a momentous contribution to the world's medicine and biology.

Published in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty（1573—1620），the book spreadrapidly to Japan,Korea,Vietnam,and then to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.It lured a worldwide attention and was highly valued by the world.It has also been translated and published in English,French,German,Russian and Latin.In his In Human Variation And Origins:An Introduction To Biology And Evolution,the British biologist Charles Robert Darwin（1809—1882）once consulted the book for historical data on the formation of skin colors of gold fish to demonstrate the artificial selection process of animals,a vivid evidence of the great value and influence of the book.

The author of this masterpiece is Li Shizhen.He was a great physician and pharmacologist in the Jiajing period and Wanli period of Ming Dynasty.His most significant contribution falls on the study and organizing of "herbal medicines"，which was finally compiled into a monograph on medication.In his age-long medical practice,Li Shizhen found that there had been a great amount of mismatches and deficiencies and even some inaccuracies in the previous herbal medicine books,which,Li Shizhen affirmed,might lead to dangerous consequences.Given this fact,he was determined to write a book on herbal medicine.Li Shizhen dedicated all his lifetime to this immortal work.It was a pity that he passed away no sooner than the manuscript had just been finalized.He failed to witness the publication of the book in his life time.