Shénnóng běncǎo jīng bǎizhǒng lù 神農本草經百种錄
A Record of One Hundred Substances from the Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica Classic by 徐大椿 (Xú Dàchūn, zì Língtāi, hào Huíxī lǎorén, 1693–1771, 清)
About the work
Xú Dàchūn’s selective philological-and-pharmacological commentary on 100 substances chosen from the Shénnóng běncǎo jīng’s 365 substances, in 1 juan, dated to Qiánlóng 1 (1736). The transmitted Shénnóng běncǎo jīng (3 juan, 365 substances in upper-middle-lower three grades) does not survive as an independent text; it is preserved through Táng Shènwēi’s Zhènglèi běncǎo (cf. KR3e0028), where the Běn jīng original text is set in inverse-script (陰文 yīnwén) within Táng’s compilation. Xú took 100 substances (selected from across the three grades) and provided philological-pharmacological commentary, elucidating not just the what-it-does but the why-it-does-so (所以然 suǒyǐrán). The SKQS editors’ note: more concise and useful than Lǐ Shízhēn’s Běncǎo gāngmù on these substances. The work is methodologically distinctive in selecting only 100 substances for in-depth treatment rather than attempting comprehensive coverage.
Tiyao
Shénnóng běncǎo jīng bǎizhǒng lù, 1 juan, by Our Imperial Dynasty’s Xú Dàchūn. Dàchūn’s zì was Língtāi, hào Huíxī, of Wújiāng. The transmitted Shénnóng běncǎo jīng in 3 juan lists 365 medicines, divided into upper-middle-lower three grades; the independent edition is no longer transmitted, only seen in Táng Shènwēi’s Běncǎo, where the printed version’s inverse-script entries are the original jīng text.
[Xú] Dàchūn — observing that the old commentaries only state the what-it-is-so (當然) without stating the why-it-is-so (所以然) — therefore selected 100 substances from across the three grades, fully listing the jīng text and elucidating the indication-meanings. Some commonly-used medicines are not included; his fánlì (凡例 / methodological note) says: “[the work] aims to clarify medicine-properties to prevent misapplication, not to be a complete reference for browsing.”
The annotations contain many fine insights, more concise than what Lǐ Shízhēn’s Běncǎo gāngmù lists in its various elucidations. However, although the běncǎo claims Shénnóng [as author], the place-of-production references include Later-Han prefectural-and-county names — so later additions are many. Such matters as “long use makes the body light and prolongs the years”…
[Continuation truncated.]
Abstract
Composition window: 1736/1736 (Qiánlóng yuánnián, per Xú’s fánlì).
The work’s significance:
(a) The selective in-depth pharmacological commentary: Xú’s choice to focus on 100 substances rather than attempt comprehensive coverage produces a deeper philological-pharmacological analysis than the encyclopedic Běncǎo gāngmù. The work is a model of selective-philological method.
(b) The “why-it-is-so” pharmacological reasoning: Xú’s emphasis on understanding the underlying mechanism rather than just the surface indication is one of the more sophisticated Chinese pharmacological-philosophical positions, anticipating modern pharmacology’s interest in mechanism-of-action.
(c) Xú’s pharmacological skepticism: the tíyào notes Xú’s awareness that the Shénnóng běncǎo jīng is not literally Shénnóng’s work — the place-references include Later-Hàn names, and the “long use makes body light and prolongs years” claims are exaggerated. This is methodologically careful early-Qīng critical-philological pharmacology.
The catalog meta dynasty 清 is correct.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western translation of this specific work.
- See the 徐大椿 person note.
- Mǎ Jìxīng 馬繼興, Zhōng-yī wénxiàn xué 中醫文獻學, Shànghǎi: Shànghǎi Kēxué Jìshù Chūbǎnshè, 1990.