Chinese herbal medicine is generally held to have started at the time of the legendary ruler Shen Neng, who introduced it along with agricultural techniques about 2,600 B.C. The story goes that Shen Neng wrote a classic on herbal medicine after experimenting with about 100 different types, and being poisoned "70 times in a day."
中國醫學的起源，一般相傳是始於神農氏，傳說中神農氏曾經嘗百草，並且「日中七十毒」，而後累積經驗寫成了「神農本草經」。從此以後，我國先民開始懂得用草藥，來治療疾病，拯救人命。