明代 · 李时珍撰 · 约1552–1578年编写，1596年刊行
Ming dynasty · Compiled by Li Shizhen · Written ca. 1552–1578, published 1596
李时珍历时二十余年，参考八百余种文献，并结合实地访查与亲身实践，编成《本草纲目》五十二卷。书成于万历六年（1578），后经刊行（金陵本等）。它系统总结了明代以前的本草成就，并对许多药物进行了订正与重新分类。
Li Shizhen spent more than twenty years compiling the *Bencao Gangmu* in fifty-two juan, drawing on over eight hundred sources as well as field investigation and personal practice. The work was completed in 1578 and later printed (the Jinling edition being among the early important printings). It systematically summarises pre-Ming materia medica knowledge and revises the classification and description of many substances.
以「纲目」体例重新组织药物，纠正前代若干错误，扩大收录范围，并保存了大量前代已佚文献的片段。它是古代本草学的集大成之作，也是研究药物史与博物知识的重要文献。
It reorganises materia medica under a hierarchical “outline and detail” structure, corrects earlier errors, expands the range of recorded substances, and preserves fragments of many otherwise lost texts. It stands as a major synthesis of pre-modern Chinese materia medica and an important source for the history of drugs and natural knowledge.