China.- Medicine.- Shizhen (Li, complier) Bencao gangmu [Medical Encyclopaedia], 32 vol., woodblock printed on bamboo paper, 9 columns per page, 20 characters per column, single black fishtail motif, single-line borders, c.1160 illustrations, title page with publisher's seal and publishing date, some fore-edge folds split, the occasional chip or short tear, mainly to margins, one vol. with some pages affixed together through glue-marks to fore-edge, lightly browned, some marginal water stains, still overall good, bound and stitched Japanese-style in original paper wrappers, printed paper labels to upper wrappers, most vol. with stitching renewed, a couple with old stitching working loose, some chips and tears, some soiling, housed in 8 modern cloth wrap-around cases with clasps, 8vo, China, Beijing, Benli Tang bookshop, Kangzi 56, Early Qing Dynasty [1717].*** A complete set of the renowned Bencao gangmu, the most comprehensive Chinese materia medica, containing detailed descriptions of 1192 medicines, including minerals, herbs and animals. It was compiled by Li Shizhen (1518-1593), private physician to Prince Chu, who had access to many rare and ancient books, especially manuscripts with secret prescriptions, handed down by the previous royal physicians. The first edition was carved in Nanjing in 1596, to immediate acclaim. The present example was published in the 56th year of the Kangxi period (1717), and is among the finest Qing Dynasty editions. The title contains four red stamps, including two publisher's seals, the publishing date and a warning message to pirate publishers reading 'the pirate will be sued'. The illustrations, present in the first two volumes, are notable for their practicality and careful execution.