The Two Masters of Lingzhi: Ge Hong and Li Shizhen

Release date:

2023-06-19

Ge Hong and Li Shizhen were both eminent pharmacologists of ancient China, who conducted extensive research on lingzhi and made significant contributions to its study. Their medical philosophies and the classical texts they authored continue to exert a profound influence both at home and abroad, and have become an integral part of Chinese culture.
Ge Hong—The Earliest Taxonomist of Lingzhi Mushrooms:
A Daoist scholar and physician of the Eastern Jin dynasty, he authored China’s first clinical emergency‑treatment manual, the “Handbook of Emergency Remedies,” along with other works such as the “Posterior Handbook for Saving Lives in Emergencies,” the ten‑volume “Golden Treasury of Medicinal Formulas,” the ten‑volume “Divine Methods of Dietary Therapy,” the four‑volume “Methods of Dietary Therapy,” and the five‑volume “Jade Casket Collection of Decoction Recipes.” As a distinguished figure of Daoism, Ge Hong also compiled such texts as the “Biographies of the Immortals” and the “Baopuzi.”
“The Immortal Medicines in the Inner Chapters of the Baopuzi” is the best extant work to offer a systematic study of lingzhi. It provides a measured and relatively accurate description of the fruiting body’s color, external characteristics, and weight, while also offering varied accounts of its therapeutic effects and noting that “all who take it are said to live for a thousand years.”
Li Shizhen—the earliest expert to classify lingzhi as both a medicinal and edible substance:
The great ancient Chinese medical and pharmacological scholar recorded in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” that “Lingzhi enhances wisdom, promotes a healthy complexion, benefits the joints, and strengthens the muscles and bones,” thus regarding Lingzhi as a beneficial food suitable for long-term consumption.
“In the past, when the Four Elders of Mount Qi gathered medicinal mushrooms, and the immortals consumed them, it became clear that certain species of fungi are edible; thus, they were classified under the vegetable category.” Li Shizhen was a pioneer in recognizing the dual medicinal and culinary value of lingzhi.

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