Tang Shenwei
Tang Shenwei, courtesy name Shenyuan, was a Chinese physician of the Song dynasty. He compiled an influential pharmacopoeia, Zhenglei bencao.
Career
Tang Shenwei was born in a family of professional physicians from Jinyuan. During the Yuanyou era of Emperor Zhezong's reign, he became a disciple of and moved to Huayang near Chengdu.''Zhenglei bencao''
Tang spent several years on studying books on pharmaceuticals to create his own compendium. He merged the entirety of some existing works and added information researched on his own to the compilation. The book was ready about 1082–1083. Its full title, Jingshi zhenglei beiji bencao translates as "Ready-to-use pharmacopoeia, classified as collected from the Classics and historiographical books".The compendium encompassed 1,748 different drugs and beyond 4,000 treating methods. It quotes more than 240 ancient written sources, many of which are lost today. Part of the information hails from his own research. In the preface, Tang summarized the history of materia medica books and explained the way in which he carried out the compilation. Every drug entry includes the description of usage, function in the Chinese medicine framework, places or origin, methods of collection and preparation. 933 illustrations are included for easier identification. Some of the medical materials were not described before in any known book.
The book has spawned many editions, including state-sponsored revisions. It stayed influential for several centuries, even if outshined by the even more monumental Bencao gangmu of the Ming dynasty. Its author, Li Shizhen spoke about Tang Shenwei favorably.
Depictions
Song dynasty official Yuwen Xuzhong described Tang Shenwei as "ugly in appearance and slow in demeanor and speech".The Strange Doctor Tang Shenwei, a 2014 film produced by CCTV6 and directed by Fang Junliang, depicts Tang Shenwei's life, with actor in the title role.