Tú jīng jí zhù yǎn yì běn cǎo xù lì 圖經集註衍義本草序例
Preface and General Principles to the Illustrated, Collected-Commentary, Extended-Meaning Materia Medica
compiled by 寇宗奭 (Kòu Zōngshì, fl. 1116); revised by 許洪 (Xǔ Hóng, fl. 1208)
A Sòng-era Daoist-medical preface / introduction to the Běn cǎo 本草 (materia medica) tradition, compiled by Kòu Zōngshì 寇宗奭 (1116) and revised by Xǔ Hóng 許洪 (1208). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 768 / CT 768 (Dòngshén bù, Líng tú lèi 洞神部靈圖類).
About the work
The text is a general introduction to the běn cǎo 本草 pharmacopoeia tradition, providing principles of classification, usage, and interpretation of medicinal substances. It belongs to the Sòng-era revival of materia medica scholarship under imperial patronage.
Authors
Kòu Zōngshì 寇宗奭 (fl. 1116) is the author of the celebrated Běn cǎo yǎn yì 本草衍義 (1116) — one of the most important Northern-Sòng běn cǎo critical works, which refined and extended the Jīng shǐ zhèng lèi běi jí běn cǎo 經史證類備急本草 of Táng Shèn wēi 唐慎微. This DZ 768 text contains the preface and general principles of that work.
Xǔ Hóng 許洪 (fl. 1208) — a Southern-Sòng scholar who revised Kòu Zōngshì’s preface.
Significance for Daoism
The inclusion of a běn cǎo preface in the Daoist Canon reflects the deep integration of medical / pharmacological knowledge into Daoist cultivation tradition — yǎng shēng 養生 practice requires knowledge of medicinal plants, minerals, and animal substances, and the Daoist Canon preserved many such medical works.
Dating
Kòu Zōngshì’s original 1116 preface; Xǔ Hóng’s 1208 revision. Frontmatter gives 1116–1208 as the composition window. Dynasty: 宋.
Translations and research
- Unschuld, Paul U. Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. For the Běn cǎo tradition including Kòu Zōngshì.