In theMing Dynasty, (1368-1644) doctors began to distinguish between typhoid fever, seasonal epidemics, and plagues, with a book in theQing Dynasty(1644-1911) focusing exclusively on this topic.
Also in the Ming Dynasty, an expert of herbal medicineLi Shizhenspent 27 years accomplishing the book, Ben Cao Gang Mu. The book recorded 1,892 types of herbal medicine, including the most types of herbal medicines, making it the greatest book in Chinese history.
It was during the Ming Dynasty that Western medicine began to be introduced to China. People in medical science then began to combine Eastern and Western medicine. This endeavor has continued to this day, with the current Chinese medicine reflecting this progression.
Since the founding of thePeople's Republic of Chinain 1949, plenty of researches have been done in various fields such as botany, identification science, chemistry, pharmacology, and clinical medicine. These researches have provided a scientific basis to identify the source and authenticity of herbal medicines as well as their function scheme. Later, a nationwide survey was done on the source of the medicine, which helped produced the book, Zhong Yao Zhi in 1961.
In 1977, the Herbal Medicine Dictionary was publicized, which brought the number of recorded herbal medicine to 5,767. In addition, reference books, treatises, newspapers, and magazines on Chinese medicine were publicized. Also, institutions on scientific research and the teaching and production of Chinese medicine were established.
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