东瀛访书记

Investigation of Compendium of Materia Medica in Japan

明代本草学著作《本草纲目》最初的刻本金陵版,刊行于1593—1596年间,被称作《本草纲目》的祖本,有着极高的文献价值与学术价值。金陵版《本草纲目》问世400多年来,历遭战乱灾荒及自然破损、虫蛀、霉变等,全卷存世者屈指可数,弥足珍贵。因为历史上文化交流、贸易往来等原因,很多古代典籍,包括本草等医药书籍,流出、保存于海外,其中以日本为数尤多。作者对在仙台的东北大学以及东京的东洋文库、内阁文库、国会图书馆收藏的、保存较完好的四套《本草纲目》金陵版进行了实地考察,并对日本传统医药的发展现状有了更全面的认识。

Published in the Ming Dynasty around 1593 to 1596, the Jinling Edition of the Compendium of Materia Medica is considered the earliest engraved version. This edition has considerable literary and academic value. Only a handful of copies remain as they had to survive more than 400 years of human conflict and environmental damage such as mold and mildew. Throughout history, many ancient books, including herbal materia medica, have been exported to overseas, following the expansion of trade and cultural exchange. In Japan, many of these books are still well preserved. The author conducted a field investigation to Tohoku University in Sendai, Tokyo’s Oriental Library, the Cabinet Library of the National Archives, and the National Diet Library to study four very well-preserved Jinling Editions of the Compendium of Materia Medica to fully understand the development of traditional medicine in Japan.