Shen Nung (神農): the Divine Husbandman
Shen Nung (神農), drawing published in Zhongguo li dai ming yi tu zhuan (Biographies and portraits of Chinese famous doctors in past dynasties), 1987
Considered to be the father of Chinese agriculture, this legendary emperor taught his people how to cultivate grains as food, to avoid killing animals. He is said to have tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medicinal value and is assumed to be the author of Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching (Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica), the earliest extant Chinese pharmacopoeia. This text includes 365 medicines derived from minerals, plants, and animals. The true authorship of this work is also unknown.
Shen Nung 神農 is venerated as the Father of Chinese medicine. He is believed to have introduced the technique of acupuncture.
About the Book
Zhongguo li dai ming yi tu zhuan, (Biographies and portraits of Chinese famous doctors in past dynasties) 1987