本草之始， 于神农，药止三百六十品。此乃开天之圣人，与天地为一体，实能探造化
之精
，穷万物之理，字字精确，非若后人推测而知之者。故对症施治，其应若响。仲景诸方之药
，悉本此书。药品不多，而神明变化，已无病不治矣。迨其后，药味日多，至隐弘景倍之，
而为七百二十品。后世日增一日。凡华夷之奇草逸品，试而有效，医家皆取而用之，肛有成
书。至明·李时珍，增皆取而用之，代有成书。至明·李时珍，增益唐慎微《证类本草》为
《纲目》，考其异同，辨其真伪，原其生产，集诸家之说，而本草更大备。此药味由少而多
之故也。至其功用，则亦后人试验而知之，故其所治之病益广。然皆不若《神农本草》之纯
正真确。故宋人有云∶用神农之品无不效，而弘景所增已不甚效，若后世所增之药则万有不
足凭者。至其诠释，大半皆视古方用此药医某病，则增注之。或古方治某病，其药不止一品，
而误以方中此药为专治此病者有之。更有己意推测而知者。又或偶愈一病，实非此药之功，
而强着其效者。种种难信。至张洁古、李东垣辈，以某药专派入某经，则更穿凿矣，共详在
治病不必分经络脏腑篇。故论本草，必以神农为本，而他说则必审择而从之。更必验之于病
而后信。又必考古方中所曾用者，用可采取，余则只可于单方外治之法用之。又有后世所谓
之奇药，或出于深山穷谷，或出于殊方异域，前世所未尝有者，后人用之，往往有奇效。此
乃偏方异气之所钟，造物之机，久而愈泄，能治古方所不能治之奇病。博物君子，亦宜识之
，以广见闻，此又在本草之外者矣。
本草学的起源，始于神农氏，当时药物仅有三百六十种。这是开创文明的圣人，与天地融为一体，确实能够探求造化的精微，穷尽万物的道理，书中的记载字字精确，不像后人通过推测而得知的。因此，针对病症施治，疗效迅速显著，如同回声响应一样。张仲景的各种方剂中的药物，都依据这本书。药物种类不多，但变化神妙，已经没有不能治疗的疾病了。等到后来，药味日益增多，到了陶弘景时增加了一倍，达到七百二十种。后世又一天比一天增加。凡是中原和边疆地区的奇草异品，经过试用有效，医家都选取使用，代代都有成书的记录。到了明代李时珍，在唐代慎微《证类本草》的基础上增益编成《本草纲目》，考证其中的异同，辨别真伪，追溯产地，汇集各家学说，从而使本草学更加完备。这就是药味由少变多的原因。至于药物的功效，也是后人通过试验才知道的，所以它们能治疗的疾病范围更广。然而，都不如《神农本草经》那样纯正确切。所以宋代有人曾说：使用神农时代的药物没有不有效的，而陶弘景所增加的药效已不太显著，至于后世所增加的药物则大多不可靠。至于对药物的解释，大半都是看到古方中用此药治疗某种病，就补充注释上去。或者古方治疗某种病，其中不止一种药，却错误地认为方中的某一种药专门治疗这种病。更有甚者，凭自己的心意推测而知晓的。又或者偶然治愈了一种病，实际上并非此药的功劳，却强行标注其疗效。种种情况难以取信。到了张元素、李东垣等人，将某种药物专门归属于某条经络，那就更加牵强附会了，详细内容见《治病不必分经络脏腑篇》。所以讨论本草，必须以神农氏为本，其他的说法必须审慎选择后采纳。还必须通过临床验证后才相信。另外必须考察古方中曾经使用过的，如果可以使用就采用，其余的只可在单方和外治法中使用。还有后世所谓的奇药，有的出自深山幽谷，有的出自偏远异域，是前代未曾有过的，后人使用它们，往往有奇特的疗效。这是偏方异气所汇聚，造物主的机巧，时间久了越发显露，能够治疗古方所不能治疗的奇特疾病。博学君子，也应该了解这些，以拓宽见闻，这又是在本草学范围之外的事了。
The origin of Materia Medica (Bencao) dates back to Shennong, when there were only 360 medicinal substances. This was the sage who opened the world, united with Heaven and Earth, truly capable of exploring the essence of creation and exhaustively understanding the principles of all things; every word is precise, unlike later generations who relied on speculation. Therefore, treating diseases according to symptoms yields results as immediate as an echo. The herbs in Zhang Zhongjing's prescriptions are all based on this book. Although the number of medicinal substances was small, their divine variations allowed for the treatment of any disease. Later, the number of drug types increased daily; by Tao Hongjing, it doubled to 720 items. In subsequent generations, it continued to increase day by day. Any rare herbs or exotic products from China or foreign lands, once tested and found effective, were adopted by physicians, resulting in successive compilations. By the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen expanded Tang Shenwei's *Zhenglei Bencao* into the *Bencao Gangmu*, examining differences, distinguishing truth from falsehood, tracing origins, and collecting theories from various schools, thereby making Materia Medica more comprehensive. This explains why the number of medicinal substances grew from few to many. Regarding their functions, these were also known through later trials, so the range of diseases they could treat became broader. However, none are as pure and accurate as the *Shennong Bencao Jing*. Thus, a Song dynasty scholar said: "Using substances from Shennong's era ensures efficacy, whereas those added by Hongjing are less effective, and those added in later generations are largely unreliable." As for interpretations, most were added because ancient formulas used a certain herb for a specific disease, leading to supplementary notes. Or, in ancient formulas treating a disease involving multiple herbs, it was mistakenly assumed that one specific herb was exclusively responsible for treating that disease. Some were even inferred through personal speculation. Occasionally, a disease was cured by chance, not due to the herb's merit, yet its efficacy was forcibly attributed to it. Such accounts are hard to trust. When Zhang Jiegu and Li Dongyuan assigned specific herbs to specific meridians, their reasoning became even more forced; details can be found in the chapter "Treating Diseases Does Not Require Distinguishing Meridians and Zang-Fu Organs." Therefore, when discussing Materia Medica, one must take Shennong as the standard, and other theories should be adopted only after careful selection. One must verify them clinically before believing them. Furthermore, one should examine which herbs were used in ancient formulas; if applicable, they may be adopted, while others should only be used in single-prescription remedies or external treatments. There are also what later generations call "miraculous drugs," originating from deep mountains, remote valleys, or distant lands, unknown in previous eras. When used by later people, they often produce miraculous effects. These are concentrated energies of remote regions and peculiar climates, revealing the mechanisms of Creation over time, capable of curing strange diseases that ancient formulas could not treat. Learned scholars should also be aware of these to broaden their knowledge, which lies beyond the scope of standard Materia Medica.