The Compendium of Materia Medica of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) was hailed by westerners as the greatest work of natural history of the 16th century, but in China it was used only for medical reference.
明朝李時珍的「本草綱目」，被西方學者認為是十六世紀最偉大的博物學，此後卻一直只停在治病、食療的應用階段。至於中國人文精神，又重心靈體驗，對於萬事萬物不多做西方式的理性分析。