神农本草经

《神农本草经》，简称《本草经》，是现存最早的中药学专著，作者相传为神农氏，约成书于秦汉时期。书内记载的药物凡365种，分上品、中品和下品三品。原书早已佚失。南朝陶弘景为《神农本草经》做注，并补充《名医别录》，编定《本草经集注》共七卷，把药物的品种数目增加至七百三十多种。清朝孙星衍将《神农本草经》考订辑复，成为现在通行本。

《神农本草经》为中国现存较早的本草学、药物学重要文献，其通过将药分为三品，即君（无毒的药，称上品）、臣（毒性小的药，称中品）、佐使（毒性剧烈，称下品），而首次提出了君臣佐使的方剂理论，该书还首提七情和合的配伍原则与辨证用药的思想，是中医药理论体系形成的标志之一，奠定了中药学的基本理论构架。

成书问题

《汉书·艺文志》登载了“《神农黄帝食禁》七卷”与“《神农》二十篇”两种文献，前者归属于“经方家”，后者则为“农家”，东汉的班固解释“《神农》二十篇”为六国时期诸子担心诸侯荒怠农事，故托言是神农所作，成书于西汉之前的“《神农》二十篇”并不是登载各种草石功效的《神农本草经》。

清人孙星衍认为这部书或有可能源自神农、黄帝之时，当时虽无文字，但药石知识相传不绝，经过历代名家修订、增补（例如：吴普的《神农本草》六卷），屡有阙佚，今本远非古本之旧。

大致上，西汉已有“本草”之名，亦有托言“神农、黄帝”之食禁书、经方家言，这虽为今本《神农本草经》之滥觞，但已非古本《神农黄帝食禁》面貌。

Shennong Bencaojing (also Classic of the Materia Medica or Shen-nong's Herbal Classics and Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching; Chinese: 神農本草經) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to Shennong. Researchers believe the text is a compilation of oral traditions, written between the first and second centuries AD. The original text no longer exists, but is said to have been composed of three volumes containing 365 entries on medicaments and their description.

Content

The first volume of the treatise included 120 drugs harmless to humans, the "stimulating properties": lingzhi, ginseng, jujube, the orange, Chinese cinnamon, Eucommia bark, cannabis, or the root of liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis). These herbs are described as "noble" or "upper herbs" (上品).

The second volume is devoted to 120 therapeutic substances intended to treat the sick, but have toxic, or potentially toxic properties of varying degrees. In this category are ginger, peonies and cucumber. The substances of this group are described as "human", "commoner", or "middle herbs" (中品).

In the last volume there are 125 entries corresponding to substances which have a strong or violent action on physiological functions and are often poisonous. Rhubarb root, and the kernel of apricot (xing ren) and kernel of peach (tao ren) are among those featured. These herbs are referred to as "low herbs" (下品).