That is true not only of China but also of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, from which ancient texts recording traditional remedies still survive today. Being easier to obtain, plants have been used in the traditional medicines of most countries more widely than have animal in gredients.
我國如此，古希臘、羅馬也都有載述藥材和處方的書流傅至今；同屬東方古國的埃及人，也保存了上千年歷史、記滿植物藥材的「紙草本」。