Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng Shū 神農本草經疏
Exegesis on the Shennong Materia Medica by 繆希雍 (Miù Xīyōng, zì Zhòngchún 仲淳, c. 1546–1627, 明)
About the work
The Shénnóng běncǎo jīng shū is the great late-Míng exegetical pharmacology — the first systematic effort to read the Běnjīng as a jīng (canonical scripture) requiring philosophical and clinical commentary in the manner of Confucian classics. Miù Xīyōng treats each Běnjīng substance entry as the jīng text and then expands it with prose 疏 (sub-commentary) drawing on his half-century of clinical practice, his reading of Sòng-Jīn-Yuán pharmacology (especially Lǐ Gǎo and Zhū Zhènhēng), and his philosophical investment in qìwèi and yīnyáng metaphysics. The work in 30 juǎn opens with three long programmatic chapters — 續序例 (Continued Editorial Preface), 原本藥性氣味生成指歸 (Source-Principles of Drug Properties’ Origin in Qì-Wèi), and 藥性主治參互指歸 (Principles of Drug Properties’ Main-Effects Mutual Reference) — before turning to substance-by-substance exegesis.
The work was completed c. 1622 (Tiānqǐ 2) and printed c. 1625. Its impact on late-Míng / Qīng pharmacology was profound: every later yīzōng pharmacology — including the Běncǎo bèiyào (KR3ec038) of Wāng Áng, the Běncǎo congxīn (KR3ec045) of Wú Yílù, the Běncǎo qiú zhēn (KR3ec051) of Huáng Gōngxiù — cites Miù Xīyōng as the principal late-Míng exegetical authority.
Prefaces
The 漢學文典 transmitted text opens with 讀經疏引 — Miù’s own short methodological introduction explaining his exegetical strategy: “In writing this Shū, I have covered the jīng-text in general but the meaning is hard to summarise; seeking its purport requires editorial selection.” He distinguishes six exegetical methods (先經而闡義, 隨文而暢旨, 斷章以相比, 因源以導流, 從末而會本, 根性以知非), all serving the single goal of fā míng jīng zhǐ 發明經旨 — drawing out the canonical text’s meaning. He acknowledges the limits of his method (“partial views easily miss the whole”) and appeals to “the help of the wise” for future correction.
The 續序例上, 下 then unfold a complete pharmacological metaphysics: qì (heavenly yáng — temperature) and wèi (earthly yīn — taste) generate every drug’s xìng; the wǔxíng correspondences map drug wèi to zàngfǔ organ; the qī fāng (seven prescription-classes: 大、小、緩、急、奇、偶、復) and shí jì (ten therapeutic actions) constitute the formal grammar of pharmacology. The Shū (proper) then proceeds substance by substance, in Běnjīng three-grade order.
Abstract
Miù Xīyōng (繆希雍), zì Zhòngchún 仲淳, hào Mùtáizǐ 木臺子, c. 1546 (some sources 1553) – 1627, native of Chángshú 常熟 (Jiāngsū) but later resident of Jiāngxī. Miù was a layman scholar-physician who refused official appointment; his medical practice attracted prominent literati clients including Xú Guāngqǐ 徐光啟 (the great Jesuit-Confucian astronomical translator) and Zhāng Pǔ 張溥 (the Fùshè 復社 leader). He travelled widely, treating cases in Sūzhōu, Sōngjiāng, Nánjīng, Yángzhōu, and Beijing, and was deeply invested in late-Míng intellectual networks.
His pharmacological achievement is the integration of Sòng zhènglèi-tradition substance lore with the Yìshuǐ-Dōngyuán-Dānxī pharmacological philosophy of the Jīn-Yuán. Where Lǐ Shízhēn 李時珍’s Gāngmù (KR3ec025) is encyclopaedic and natural-historical, Miù’s Shū is philosophical and clinical — it is the principal late-Míng monument of jiǎngyī (理醫, reasoning-medicine). Miù’s other major works are the Xiānxǐng zhāi yīxué guǎngbǐ jì 先醒齋醫學廣筆記 (1610s; a casebook) and the Mùtáizǐ shīcáo 木臺子詩草.
Translations and research
- Hanson, Marta. 2011. Speaking of Epidemics in Chinese Medicine. Routledge. — discusses Miù as a key late-Míng medical thinker.
- Xiè Hǎizhōu et al. 1985. Miù Xīyōng yīxué quánshū 繆希雍醫學全書. Renmin weisheng.
- Cullen, Christopher. 2000. “Yi’an 醫案 (case statements) in the Ming and Qing.” In Hsu (ed.), Innovation in Chinese Medicine. — uses Miù’s casebook as a principal exhibit.
- Furth, Charlotte. 1999. A Flourishing Yin. UCP. — ch. 6 on the late-Míng medical literati.
- No complete Western-language translation.
Other points of interest
Miù Xīyōng’s Shū is the principal late-Míng systematisation of pharmacological qìwèi theory and is the immediate source of the Qīng “schoolbook” tradition of pharmacology mediated through Wāng Áng. Its three programmatic introductory chapters constitute the most sustained late-Míng meditation on the philosophy of pharmacology.
Links
- Wikidata: Q11078334 (Shénnóng běncǎo jīng shū).
- 神農本草經疏 jicheng.tw
- Kanseki DB